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.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Access to Justice (司法公正)

记者无国界呼吁欧盟外长为高瑜向中国施压 (Reporters Without Borders calls on EU foreign minister to put pressure on China over Gao Yu’s case)
Voice of America, July 30, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/gaoyu-case-20150729/2884422.html

Related:
EU foreign ministers must press China about ailing detained journalist
Reporters Without Borders, July 29, 2015
http://en.rsf.org/china-eu-foreign-ministers-must-press-29-07-2015,48160.html

State Council approves legal draft against domestic violence
Xinhua, July 29, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-07/29/c_134460638.htm

国内首例“确有悔改表现”减刑案在河南开审 (Henan court hears country’s first case on sentence-reduction on basis of “showing remorse”)
China Youth Daily, July 30, 2015
http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2015-07/30/nw.D110000zgqnb_20150730_4-04.htm

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Ai Weiwei denied six-month UK visa
艾未未:英国政府拒发6个月商务签证
BBC, July 30, 2015
EN: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33714740
CH: http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/07/150730_ai_weiwei_britain

UK’s Ai Weiwei visa rejection part of bigger game
Financial Times, July 30, 2015
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/db56221c-36ae-11e5-b05b-b01debd57852.html

法轮功学员的亲属旧金山中领馆前举行记者会要求中共释放被抓捕的亲人 (Families of Falungong practitioners hold press conference in front of Chinese Embassy in San Francisco to demand release of relatives)
Radio Free Asia, July 29, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/ck-07292015102734.html

Chen Guangcheng vows to pursue justice as nephew is released from jail
Radio Free Asia, July 29, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-chen-07292015140944.html

China detains Christian pastors for resistance to cross demolitions
Radio Free Asia, July 29, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-crosses-07292015101743.html

Related:
China's crusade to remove crosses from churches “is for safety concerns”
The Guardian, July 29, 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/29/china-crusade-remove-crosses-from-churches-safety-concerns

中俄联合抵制西方NGO? (Sino-Russian joint resistance to Western NGOs?)
Radio Free Asia, July 29, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/commentaries/weipo_com-07292015081909.html

Government Accountability (政府问责)

China’s Communist Party sets out criteria for demoting incompetent officials
South China Morning Post, July 29, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1844809/chinas-communist-party-releases-rules-setting-out-how

With changes at top, China's land ministry aims to bolster oversight of graft-prone sector
South China Morning Post, July 29, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1844952/changes-top-chinas-land-ministry-aims-bolster-oversight

After appearing drunk on television, Chinese official faces inquiry
The New York Times, July 29, 2015
http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/29/after-appearing-drunk-on-television-chinese-official-faces-inquiry/

Chinese prosecutor in murder trial of Gu Kailai found dead
Financial Times, July 29, 2015
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/66ebaa2c-35dd-11e5-b05b-b01debd57852.html

China watchdog says graft risk controls tightened at central bank
Channel NewsAsia, July 30, 2015
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/china-watchdog-says-graft/2017242.html

China anti-graft purge recovers $6.2bn in ill-gotten gains
Financial Times, July 29, 2015
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f896a9a2-35d5-11e5-b05b-b01debd57852.html

环保部原副部长张力军涉嫌严重违纪违法接受调查--中纪委 (Former deputy environmental protection minister accused of corruption)
Reuters, July 30, 2015
http://cn.reuters.com/article/2015/07/30/cn-anti-corruption-idCNKCS0Q401F20150730

武汉市公安局成立内保支队 (Wuhan PSB establishes internal security detachment)
Legal Daily, July 29, 2015
http://legal.people.com.cn/n/2015/0729/c188502-27376324.html

Critics: China’s president using law to tighten grip on power
Voice of America, July 29, 2015
http://www.voanews.com/content/chinas-president-uses-law-to-tighten-grip-on-power/2883135.html

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

FireChat, darling of Occupy Central protesters, throws down gauntlet to WhatsApp with off-the-grid texting
South China Morning Post, July 30, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/tech/social-gadgets/article/1844837/firechat-darling-occupy-central-protesters-throws-down-gauntlet

Hong Kong (香港)

HKU struggles to contain fallout over delayed appointment of Johannes Chan Man-mun as pro-vice-chancellor
South China Morning Post, July 30, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1844970/university-hong-kong-struggles-contain-fallout

Counterterrorism (反恐)

中国和土耳其将共同合作打击恐怖主义 (China & Turkey agree to closer joint counterterrorism efforts)
Deutsche Welle, July 29, 2015
http://www.dw.com/zh/中国和土耳其将共同合作打击恐怖主义/a-18616364

Opinion and Editorial (观点和社论)

China's crackdown on lawyers and rights
The New York Times, July 30, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/30/opinion/chinas-crackdown-on-lawyers-and-rights.html

Interview with a Wenzhou pastor: The Chinese government’s large-scale destruction of crosses in Zhejiang province
China Change, July 29, 2015
http://chinachange.org/2015/07/29/interview-with-a-wenzhou-pastor-the-chinese-governments-large-scale-destruction-of-crosses-in-zhejiang-province/

After mother's death on China-made escalator, safety standards must be enhanced
South China Morning Post, July 30, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1844921/after-mothers-death-china-made-escalator-safety-standards

Related:
湖北“吞人”同款電梯全國4648部 總工程師否認蓋板尺寸不符 (Mfr of Hubei’s “man-eating” escalator sold 4648 sets of same model in China; engineering director denies accusation that measurements of cover plate are off )
South China Morning Post, July 30, 2015
http://www.nanzao.com/tc/national/14edcf7e7199523/hu-bei-tun-ren-tong-kuan-dian-ti-quan-guo-4648-zong-gong-cheng-shi-fou-ren-gai-ban-chi-cun-bu-fu