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, November 12, 2018

Xinjiang (新疆)

“Purify” or perish: the vulnerable lives of China’s Uyghur scholars
Hong Kong Free Press, November 10, 2018

“We are all Chinese”: Beijing’s message on Xinjiang shifts to ethnicity
South China Morning Post, November 10, 2018

中国驻德大使馆就新疆人权问题向德国议员施压 (Chinese embassy pressures German federal parliament on discussions of Xinjiang human rights issues
Radio France Internationale, November 10, 2018

Access to Justice (司法公正)

孟宏伟辞职信真假再受聚焦 (Authenticity of Meng Hongwei’s resignation letter under scrutiny as Interpol “no choice but to accept” resignation)
Radio France Internationale, November 11, 2018

Access to Information (信息公开)

Locals fear Chinese officials more concerned with cover-up rather than clean-up after chemical spill
South China Morning Post, November 10, 2018

Chinese education officials sorry for announcing Mao-style political background check on students
South China Morning Post, November 9, 2018

Related:
Political vetting before college entrance exam? Officials downplay controversial announcement
SupChina, November 9, 2018

自媒体冬寒骤降央视飙控6大罪状 (Independent media in China faces bitter winter under “six sins”)
Radio France Internationale, November 11, 2018

A very Chinese World Internet Conference
China Media Project, November 9, 2018

Related:
Minitrue: No comment on open web access at World Internet Conference
China Digital Times, November 9, 2018

微信虚假新闻误导美国华裔 (Chinse community in U.S. falls victim to WeChat fake news)
Radio Free Asia, November 9, 2018

Celebrity Big Brother gets real as China orders less screen time for overhyped stars
South China Morning Post, November 10, 2018

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

湖南塵肺工人舉村深圳維權:我們不是拿命來拼,而是無命可拼 (A village of Hunan silicosis workers: we’re not fighting with our lives, we have no lives left to fight)
The Initium, November 10, 2018

中国多名倡导工人权利的年轻活动人士失踪
Young activists go missing in China, raising fears of crackdown
The New York Times, November 12, 2018

Related:
Police “kidnap” 10 labour activists across China: Rights group
Agence France-Presse, November 11, 2018

聲援佳士北大學生 疑遭黑衣人擄走 聲援團稱十多人被「綁架」(Jiashi student supporters attacked and kidnapped on campus in Beijing University, others taken from their homes)
The Stand News, November 11, 2018

流亡藏人哀悼及声援最新自焚者 (Exiled Tibetans mourn latest self-immolation)
Radio Free Asia, November 9, 2018

Coastal villagers count the cost of southeast China toxic chemical spill
South China Morning Post, November 11, 2018

The road ahead for China’s trade unions
China Labour Bulletin, November 8, 2018

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Risking Beijing’s wrath, Taiwan to vote on removing “China” from name of its 2020 Olympic team
South China Morning Post, November 11, 2018

Beijing's secret plot to infiltrate UN used Australian insider
The Sydney Morning Herald, November 11, 2018

In China, desperate patients smuggle drugs. Or make their own.
The New York Times, November 11, 2018

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

China confounds all that western liberals believed about the net
The Guardian, November 11, 2018

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

Explaining the proliferation of China’s drones
The Diplomat, November 10, 2018

Hong Kong (香港)

China’s “red line” for Hong Kong’s creative freedom
Quartz, November 11, 2018

Related:
马凯 马建 巴丢草 香港言论自由“受制”的三件事 (Mallet, Ma Jian, Badiucao: three incidents of restrictions on Hong Kong’s freedom of speech)
BBC News, November 9, 2018

“Shocked and baffled”: Hong Kong’s ban on journalist a “threat to free society,” says press club as UK demands answers
Hong Kong Free Press, November 9, 2018

Related:
Ban on Financial Times journalist Victor Mallet entering Hong Kong risks undermining business confidence, British minister warns
South China Morning Post, November 9, 2018

The death knell for freedom of speech in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Free Press, November 9, 2018

Dissident author Ma Jian urges “courage” to defend free speech as Hong Kong leader denies involvement
Agence France-Presse, November 10, 2018

“It depends on allies”: Non-binary transgender activist Vincy Chan on pushing Hong Kong’s LGBT+ narrative forward
Hong Kong Free Press, November 11, 2018

Don’t silence sign language: call for dying medium to be revived and used as teaching tool for deaf in Hong Kong
South China Morning Post, November 10, 2018

Two arrested as Tung Chung protesters clash over influx of visitors from mainland China to Hong Kong
South China Morning Post, November 11, 2018

Commentary (评论)

Rampant racism in Hong Kong is why the government’s defence of its human rights record falls flat
South China Morning Post, November 11, 2018

Why won’t Muslim countries defend China’s Muslims?
Human Rights Watch, November 8, 2018

Signs of China (5): Tightening the Screws on China’s Foreign Reserves
China Change, November 8, 2018

Why is transparency so important for China’s development assistance?
The Diplomat, November 10, 2018