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.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Defense lawyers to cover all criminal cases in China
Xinhua News Agency, January 19, 2018
http://english.sina.com/china/s/2018-01-19/detail-ifyquixe4432964.shtml

Related:
Chinese justice minister stresses CPC leadership of lawyers
Xinhua News Agency, January 19, 2018
http://english.sina.com/china/p/2018-01-19/detail-ifyquixe4515582.shtml

Son of detained rights lawyers arrives in Australia after battle to leave China
709案意外突破 王宇儿子遭多番阻挠后终获准出国留学
Radio Free Asia, January 18, 2018
EN: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/lawyer-son-01182018140246.html
CH: http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/arrival-01182018055405.html

Related:
China detains rights lawyer after call for reform
Agence France-Presse, January 19, 2018
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5287169/China-detains-rights-lawyer-call-reform.html

China jails six Protestants in Yunnan amid massive crackdown on “evil cult”
云南云县“邪教”案6基督徒被判刑 最长13年
Radio Free Asia, January 18, 2018
EN: http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/protestants-01182018110902.html
CH: http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/ql2-01182018105144.html

China to discuss constitutional amendments, but how far will Xi Jinping go?
Voice of America, January 18, 2018
https://www.voanews.com/a/china-to-discuss-constitutional-amendments/4213388.html

Uyghur inmates suffer health complications due to neglect in Xinjiang detention centers
Radio Free Asia, January 18, 2018
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/health-01182018171513.html

Access to Information (信息公开)

留學加國大陸生Twitter貼西藏旗 6小時後公安即致電其父母 (Chinese student in Canada posts Tibetan flag on Twitter and police calls his parents 6 hours after)
Stand News, January 18, 2018
http://bit.ly/2DtoFZG

新疆少数民族使用苹果手机受阻 (Ethic groups in Xinjiang face hurdle using iPhones)
Radio Free Asia, January 18, 2018
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql1-01182018105108.html

加强新时代高校思想政治理论课建设现场推进会召开 (Ministry of Education hosts meeting in Shanghai to push Xi Jinping Thought deeply into “teaching materials, classrooms, and brains” at universities)
Ministry of Education, January 18, 2018
http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2018-01/18/content_5257886.htm

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

中国LGBT群体用法律为自己发声 把广电总局、京东都告了 (LGBT groups bring State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television and JD.com to court)
British Broadcasting Corporation, January 18, 2018
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-42729962

顺德土地问题纷争不断 村民申请信息公开被警扣押 (Villager in Guangdong demands information disclosure over land rights dispute and gets detained by police)
Radio Free Asia, January 18, 2018
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/yf1-01182018105214.html

The #MeToo movement arrives in the people’s republic
The Economist, January 18, 2018
https://www.economist.com/news/china/21735078-communist-party-nervous-metoo-movement-arrives-peoples-republic

Government Accountability (政府问责)

China’s two-child policy has already stopped working
Quartz, January 19, 2018
https://qz.com/1183692/after-ending-chinas-one-child-policy-in-2015-its-two-child-policy-has-already-stopped-working-as-births-decline/

全总要求各地工会保障春节期间农民工工资支付 (All-China Federation of Trade Unions asks affiliates to ensure migrant workers getting paid during Chinese New Year)
Xinhua News Agency, January 18, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2018-01/18/c_1122280909.htm

多地自曝GDP造假 国家统计局:国家数据实行“分级核算”真实性不受影响 (After many local governments confess to have fabricated GDP numbers, National Bureau of Statistics claims national data is “accounted at different levels” and its authenticity is not affected)
The Beijing News, January 18, 2018
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2018/01/18/473039.html

国有资产报告制度建立 今年10月将首次晒国资家底 (In new system, first report by State Council on management of state-owned assets will be heard by NPC Standing Committee in October)
Economic Information Daily, January 18, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2018-01/18/c_1122275054.htm

The climate change promise of China’s Belt and Road Initiative
The Diplomat, January 18, 2018
https://thediplomat.com/2018/01/the-climate-change-promise-of-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative/

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

AI beat humans at reading! Maybe not
Wired, January 18, 2018
https://www.wired.com/story/ai-beat-humans-at-reading-maybe-not/

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

China is getting tougher on Taiwan
The Economist, January 18, 2018
https://www.economist.com/news/china/21735075-it-also-luring-its-people-china-getting-tougher-taiwan

Related:
How China’s military is girding for battle, and what it means for neighbors
South China Morning Post, January 18, 2018
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2129471/how-chinas-military-girding-battle-and-what-it-means

Claims that Wendi Deng Murdoch was a spy fuel debate in China as state-run media responds
South China Morning Post, January 18, 2018
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2129581/report-wendi-deng-murdoch-could-be-spy-fuels-debate-china

Hong Kong (香港)

Former Bar Assoc. head: Members will unite behind new chair Philip Dykes to face challenges
Hong Kong Free Press, January 19, 2018
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/01/19/former-bar-assoc-head-members-will-unite-behind-new-chair-philip-dykes-face-challenges/

Related:
City’s barristers want Bar Association to “step up to the plate” on constitutional matters, says one of its new leaders
South China Morning Post, January 19, 2018
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2129653/citys-barristers-want-bar-association-step-plate/

Incoming HKUST chief Wei Shyy says he will continue university’s stance on Hong Kong independence
Hong Kong Free Press, January 19, 2018
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/01/19/incoming-hkust-chief-wei-shyy-says-will-continue-universitys-stance-hong-kong-independence/

Related:
Hong Kong university condemns independence calls again as student group adds members
South China Morning Post, January 17, 2018
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2128704/hong-kong-university-condemns-independence-calls-again

Hong Kong police to receive 3 water cannon vehicles, worth HK$27m, this year
Hong Kong Free Press, January 19, 2018
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/01/19/hong-kong-police-receive-3-water-cannon-vehicles-worth-hk27m-year/

209,700 people live in subdivided flats in Hong Kong, 2016 gov’t by-census reveals
Hong Kong Free Press, January 19, 2018
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2018/01/19/209700-people-live-subdivided-flats-hong-kong-2016-govt-census-reveals/

浸大生佔領反對普通話試 學生會長批評分機制難明白 (Baptist University students protest at language center against Putonghua test, as student union chief claims grading mechanism is hard to understand)
Mingpao, January 19, 2018
https://news.mingpao.com/ins/instantnews/web_tc/article/20180119/s00001/1516334532862

Hong Kong Law Society warns lack of clarity on joint rail checkpoint could undermine “One Country, Two Systems”
South China Morning Post, January 18, 2018
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2129566/hong-kong-law-society-warns-lack-clarity-joint-rail

Commentary (评论)

嚴薔:削減文革的教材,卻為何擴充了改革開放? (Why China is downplaying Cultural Revolution in school textbooks while chanting Reform and Opening-up?)
The Initium, January 19, 2018
https://theinitium.com/article/20180119-opinion-yanqiang-cultural-revolution/

如果孩子要做之鋒 (What if your child wants to be Joshua Wong)
Inmediahk, January 19, 2018
https://www.inmediahk.net/node/1054607

Is promoting human rights in ASEAN an impossible task?
The Diplomat, January 19, 2018
https://thediplomat.com/2018/01/is-promoting-human-rights-in-asean-an-impossible-task/

How to stand up for human rights in the age of Trump
Foreign Policy, January 18, 2018
http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/01/18/how-to-stand-up-for-human-rights-in-the-age-of-trump/