The HRIC Daily Brief is a daily selection of news stories and commentary related to human rights in China, drawn from Chinese- and English-language news and online media sources that we monitor daily. In addition to headlines and source links, HRIC also provides English translation of Chinese headlines.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Updated (更新)

Information Control (信息控制)

北京查处一网络推手公司 抓获“秦火火”“立二拆四” (Beijing cracks down on web company for spreading rumors, four employees taken away)
Xinhua, August 21, 2013
http://news.ifeng.com/mainland/detail_2013_08/21/28831466_0.shtml

Related Twitter post:
Beifeng 北风(温云超, Yunchao Wen), August 21, 2013
我8月2日发的推:(Retweeted from August 2, 2013) https://twitter.com/wenyunchao/status/363181267174838272 … 。RT @wenyunchao: 当局要整肃网络,对大V和有影响力草根一起下手不奇怪,目标对准炒作成性且颇不被自由派受落的秦火火也顺理成章,但应看到当局的目标是压缩民众的言论空间,而不是为了所谓的网络虚假信息。(It is not strange that "VIP" Weibo Users and influential grassroots leaders are both being targeted as the authorities try to clean-up the Internet. Although it is reasonable that Qin Huohuo, who has been a habitual rumor spreader and is not favored by liberals, has been targeted, but we should realize that the authorities’ real goal is to suppress space for public opinion, rather than to crackdown on so-called false cyber information.)
https://twitter.com/wenyunchao/status/369866932360462336

Bo Xilai Case (薄熙来案)

Despite Bo's trial in China, no redress for victims of his crackdown
Reuters, August 20, 2013
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/20/us-china-politics-bo-parttwo-idUSBRE97J0C720130820?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

薄瓜瓜:父亲应有机会回应、辩护 (Bo Guagua: My father should have opportunity to respond and defend himself)
Deutsche Welle, August 20, 2013
http://bit.ly/19vlid4

Censorship and Surveillance (审查和监控)

China monitors online chatter as users threaten state hold on the internet
The Guardian, August 20, 2013
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/20/china-internet-listening-citizens-views

Corruption (腐败)

贪污、挪用公款 内蒙古乾坤公司原董事长被判死刑 (Inner Mongolian enterprise chairman sentenced to death for corruption and embezzlement)
The People’s Daily, August 20, 2013
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/0820/c1001-22621268.html

Cyber Security (网络安全)

Cyber attack? What cyber attack?
USA Today, August 19, 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/nation/2013/08/19/china-cyber-attack-pentagon/2671579/

Disasters (灾难)

东北洪涝灾害已致85人死亡 习近平李克强指示 (85 dead from flooding in Northeast China)
China News Service, August 20, 2013
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2013/08/20/279414.html

Education (教育)

China's new college graduates struggle to put their skills to work
Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2013
http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-china-unemployment-20130818,0,3605693.story

Human Rights Defenders (人权卫士)

维权人士郭飞雄妻子向习近平发出公开信 (Wife of rights defender Guo Feixiong issues open letter to Xi Jinping)
British Broadcasting Corporation, August 20, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/08/130819_guofeixiong_wife_open_letter.shtml

See English translation of open letter:
Open letter from Guo Feixiong’s wife Zhang Qing to Xi Jinping
China Media Project, August 20, 2013
http://cmp.hku.hk/2013/08/20/33877/

Veteran Chinese rights lawyer held on public order charges
Radio Free Asia, August 19, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/lawyer-08192013110014.html

For more information on Guo Feixiong:
Guangzhou activist Guo Feixiong criminally detained
广东维权人士郭飞雄被刑事拘留
Human Rights in China, August 19, 2013
EN:http://www.hrichina.org/content/6882
CH:http://www.hrichina.org/cn/content/6883

International Relations (Security, Trade and Investment), 国际关系(安全,贸易和投资)

U.S. and China to expand military exchanges despite cybersecurity and territory rows
South China Morning Post, August 20, 2013
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1298001/us-and-china-expand-military-exchanges-despite-cybersecurity-and

Open Government Information (信息公开 )

调查显示:83%民众认为官员信息公开不力应被追责 (83% of survey participants think officials should be accountable for inadequate levels of open government information)
China Youth Daily, August 20, 2013
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/0820/c1001-22622392.html

Political and Economic Reform (政治经济改革)

China’s new leadership takes hard line in secret memo
中央秘密文件谴责宪政与人权
New York Times, August 20, 2013
http://cn.nytimes.com/china/20130820/c20document/dual/

Protests and Petitions (抗议和请愿)

维权律师联署取缔黑监狱并追究犯罪者 (Ten rights defense lawyers sign joint statement to ban black jails and hold perpetrators accountable)
Radio Free Asia, August 20, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/sy2-08192013110843.html

Tibet (西藏)

Chinese security forces crack down on Tibetan mine protesters
Radio Free Asia, August 16, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/lawyer-08192013110014.html