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, December 18, 2018

Xinjiang (新疆)

Locked away, forgotten: Muslim Uyghur wives of Pakistani men
Associated Press, December 17, 2018

Popular Uyghur singer and parents held in Xinjiang political re-education camp
Radio Free Asia, December 17, 2018

U.S. sportswear traced to factory in China's internment camps
Associated Press, December 17, 2018

Gansu removes 4 halal-linked standards to curb religious extremism
Global Times, December 17, 2018

Access to Information (信息公开)

Minitrue: Approved sources on 1989 spokesman’s death
China Digital Times, December 17, 2018

Related:
Former Chinese official Yuan Mu – who said “not one person died on Tiananmen” – dies at 90
Hong Kong Free Press, December 17, 2018

China launches crackdown on Twitter amid calls for protection of accounts
Radio Free Asia, December 17, 2018

How a red dot kept Chinese-Canadian readers from getting the full story on Huawei
The Star Vancouver, December 14, 2018

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

China's pre-Christmas church crackdown raises alarm
BBC, December 18, 2018

Shenzhen offers Hunan workers pneumoconiosis compensation deal
China Labour Bulletin, December 17, 2018

Four Chinese activists shave heads to protest “persecution” of husbands
Reuters, December 17, 2018

Chinese distiller Yanghe Brewery agrees to raise factory workers’ pay after protest
South China Morning Post, December 17, 2018

Related:
Striking brewery workers clash with police in Jiangsu
Radio Free Asia, December 17, 2018

Government Accountability (政府问责)

China marks 40th anniversary of economic opening up
Al Jazeera, December 18, 2018

Related:
China’s reform, opening-up serve world’s common development
Sina English, December 18, 2018

Xi challenged over direction of China’s economic reforms
Financial Times, December 17, 2018

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Twitter warns of “unusual activity” from China and Saudi Arabia
BCC, December 18, 2018

Google’s secret China project “effectively ended” after internal confrontation
The Intercept, December 18, 2018

Related:
Amnesty welcomes reports of an end to Dragonfly
Amnesty International, December 17, 2018

What do Chinese internet users think of Google's “Dragonfly” project?
Global Voices, December 17, 2018

Czech Republic warns against using Huawei, ZTE products
Associated Press, December 17, 2018

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

Report: China driving use of armed drones in Middle East
Associated Press, December 17, 2018

Hong Kong (香港)

Green group slams Hong Kong’s air quality goals, saying they are too conservative and “a numbers game”
South China Morning Post, December 18, 2018

Lawmaker Claudia Mo and coalition to contest latest requirement added to Hong Kong’s national anthem bill
Hong Kong Free Press, December 17, 2018

Beijing has pledged to protect rights of four Hongkongers jailed for life in the Philippines on drug charges, city’s security chief John Lee says
South China Morning Post, December 17, 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping praises “courageous” Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam
South China Morning Post, December 17, 2018

Related:
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang praises Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam for city’s “new progress,” including push for innovation and tackling of livelihood issues
South China Morning Post, December 17, 2018

Commentary (评论)

China is holding two Canadians as hostages. It’s not even denying it.
Washington Post, December 18, 2018

China’s crisis of overconfidence
The Diplomat, December 18, 2018

China’s Khashoggi can still be saved
Foreign Policy, December 17, 2018