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.

Monday, January 04, 2016

Access to Justice (司法公正)

维权律师浦志强可能决定放弃上诉 (Human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang may decide to abandon his appeal)
Radio France Internationale, January3, 2016
http://cn.rfi.fr/中国/20160103-中国维权律师浦志强可能决定放弃上诉

China grants courts greater autonomy on limited matters
中国司法改革:前进还是倒退?
New York Times, January 2, 2016
EN: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/world/asia/china-grants-courts-greater-autonomy-on-limited-matters.html
CH: http://cn.nytimes.com/china/20160103/03chinalaw/

Access to Information (信息公开)

French journalist expelled from China for “supporting terrorism” prepares to leave
South China Morning Post, December 31, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1896803/french-journalist-expelled-china-supporting-terrorism

Weibo warriors: The Communist Party’s battle with social media is a closely fought one
The Economist, January 2, 2016
http://www.economist.com/news/china/21684793-communist-partys-battle-social-media-closely-fought-one-weibo-warriors

China’s top 5 censored posts in 2015
Foreign Policy, December 31, 2015
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/31/china-top-5-censored-posts-2015-censorship-communist-party-xi-jinping-explosion-pooh/

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Cruel irony: China’s Communists are stamping out labor activism
Washington Post, January 3, 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/cruel-irony-chinas-communists-are-stamping-out-labor-activism/2016/01/03/99e986f2-b0bb-11e5-b820-eea4d64be2a1_story.html

Xinjiang seethes under Chinese crackdown
高压下的新疆:恐惧和愤怒在沸腾
New York Times, January 3, 2016
EN: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/03/world/asia/xinjiang-seethes-under-chinese-crackdown.html
CH: http://cn.nytimes.com/china/20160104/c04xinjiang/

Government Accountability (政府问责)

CPC vows resolve in fighting corruption
Xinhua, December 30, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-12/30/c_134965545.htm

China’s new two-child policy legislation formally comes into force
South China Morning Post, January 1, 2016
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1896991/chinas-new-two-child-policy-legislation-formally-comes-force

Eleven arrested over Shenzhen landslide as authorities swoop and search continues for 62 missing people
South China Morning Post, January 1, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1897357/eleven-arrested-over-shenzhen-landslide-authorities-swoop-and

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Microsoft disputes that it covered up China’s relentless hacking of separatist activists
Quartz, December 31, 2015
http://qz.com/584544/microsoft-covered-up-chinas-relentless-hacking-of-separatist-activists/

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong bookseller's disappearance stokes fears of cross-border kidnaps by mainland Chinese police
Global Voices, January 3, 2016
https://globalvoices.org/2016/01/03/hong-kong-booksellers-disappearance-stokes-fears-of-cross-border-kidnap-by-mainland-chinese-police/

Related:
捍衛出版自由 中共立即交代——社民連就近日李波無故失蹤之聲明 (Defend publishing freedom, request CPC’s immediate reply—League of Social Democrats’ statement regarding recent disappearance of Lee Bo)
InMedia HK, January 4, 2016
http://www.inmediahk.net/node/1039832

【短片、書店5人失蹤】公民黨擬立會質詢促黎棟國交代 ([Video] 5 missing from bookstore: Civic Party to inquire with Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok at LegCo and demand explanation)
Mingpao, January 4, 2016
http://news.mingpao.com/ins/instantnews/web_tc/article/20160104/s00001/1451880342259

视频:香港政党游行声援铜锣湾书店 ([Video] HK political party marches in support of Causeway Bay Bookstore)
British Broadcasting Corporation, January 3, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/multimedia/2016/01/160103_vid_hongkong_bookstore_disappearance

Disappearance of 5 tied to publisher prompts broader worries in Hong Kong
The New York Times, January 4, 2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/world/asia/mighty-current-media-hong-kong-lee-bo.html

More than 3,000 march against Arthur Li’s appointment as chairman of HKU governing council
South China Morning Post, January 3, 2015
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1897821/more-3000-march-against-arthur-lis-appointment

香港逾四十个团体元旦游行促梁振英下台 (Over 40 HK groups march on New Year’s day demanding CY Leung step down)
Radio Free Asia, January 2, 2016
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/ql1-01022016113908.html

National Security & Counterterrorism (国家安全和反恐)

Will China's new law tackle terror?
British Broadcasting Corporation, January 2, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35199712

Opinion and Editorial (观点和社论)

No, Pu Zhiqiang’s release is not a victory
ChinaFile, December 31, 2015
https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/viewpoint/no-pu-zhiqiangs-release-not-victory

The day will break at the end of the night—New Year greetings from the 300-member Chinese human rights lawyers group
China Change, January 1, 2016
http://chinachange.org/2016/01/01/the-day-will-break-at-the-end-of-the-night/

“In winter-frozen earth, spring starts to quicken”—A 2016 New Year’s message from China’s labor community
China Change, January 1, 2016
http://chinachange.org/2016/01/01/in-winter-frozen-earth-spring-starts-to-quicken/

The Guardian view on the foreign press in China: expelling the messenger
The Guardian, January 1, 2016
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/01/the-guardian-view-on-the-foreign-press-in-china-expelling-the-messenger

大赦国际:香港正在慢慢窒息 (Amnesty International: Hong Kong is slowly suffocating)
Radio France Internationale, January 3, 2015
http://cn.rfi.fr/中国/20160103-大赦国际:香港正在慢慢窒息