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, December 31, 2018

Xinjiang (新疆)

Why did Kyrgyz stage a protest outside the Chinese embassy?
The Diplomat, December 29, 2018

几十名 “寒冬”网刊供稿人在中国被逮捕或失踪 (Over 40 Bitter Winter contributors arrested, disappeared in China for Xinjiang coverage)
Radio Free Asia, December 28, 2018

“Now we don’t talk anymore”: Inside the “cleansing” of Xinjiang
ChinaFile, December 28, 2018

Chinese Muslim poet Cui Haoxin fears his people will suffer as history repeats itself in wave of religious repression
Associated Press, December 28, 2018

Access to Justice (司法公正)

China's disappeared: A look at who went missing in 2018
Associated Press, December 30, 2018

王炳章预感自己有生命危险 (Imprisoned activist Wang Bingzhang expresses fear for personal safety)
Radio Free Asia, December 30, 2018

廣東維權人士甄江華 被判囚兩年 (Guangdong activist Zhen Jianghua sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for inciting subversion of state power)
The Stand News, December 29, 2018

China releases Canadian teacher but others still held in Huawei row
The Guardian, December 29, 2018

Canadian drug smuggler to face retrial after China says 15 years too lenient
Agence France-Presse, December 29, 2018

In Pictures: Security personnel block wife of detained China lawyer Wang Quanzhang from submitting court petition
Agence France-Presse, December 28, 2018

German rights commissioner slams trial of Chinese lawyer
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, December 27, 2018

Related:
Human Rights Commissioner Kofler on the trial of Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang
Federal Foreign Office of Germany, December 29, 2018

Access to Information (信息公开)

China thwarts U.S. effort to promote American culture on campuses
The New York Times, December 30, 2018

China’s cyber watchdog shuts down 3,500 apps over “pornographic” content
TechNode, December 29, 2018

权健帝国与疫苗之王:“新闻游侠”能否成为中国媒体管制下的曙光 (Are “news rangers” a ray of hope for journalism despite China’s media control?)
BBC News, December 28, 2018

Chinese government departments ordered to sharpen up on social media
Reuters, December 28, 2018

Three years on from Causeway Bay booksellers’ disappearances, mainland Chinese traders of banned books say the business is like selling “cocaine at the price of cabbage”
South China Morning Post, December 28, 2018

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

北大马克思主义学会学生和警卫发生冲突
Chinese students clash with guards over Marxist society crackdown
Financial Times, December 29, 2018

Students defiant as Chinese university cracks down on young Communists
The New York Times, December 28, 2018

Related:
China university students protest Marxist group shakeup
Agence France-Presse, December 29, 2018

Two temporary activities removed from Ministry of Public Security database
China NGO Project, December 28, 2018

历史关头 中国百余公共知识分子为改革奋身呐喊 (100 intellectuals speak out on 40th anniversary of Reform and Opening)
Radio France Internationale, December 30, 2018

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Xi: Upholding Socialism in the new era is a “great social revolution”
The Diplomat, December 29, 2018

Chinese police officers given exemption from prosecution
South China Morning Post, December 29, 2018

Teacher sentenced in Beijing kindergarten abuse scandal
Sixth Tone, December 28, 2018

Beijing’s new man in Macau is a former vice-minister of commerce, with the aim of bolstering ties with Portuguese-speaking countries
South China Morning Post, December 28, 2018

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Beijing turns to facial recognition to combat public housing abuses
South China Morning Post, December 28, 2018

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš hits back at Chinese diplomats’ Huawei and ZTE claims
South China Morning Post, December 28, 2018

Hong Kong (香港)

Give the job of finding land to a dedicated body to solve Hong Kong’s land shortage crisis, says advisory task force
South China Morning Post, December 31, 2018

News outlet HK01 hits back after press freedom watchdog questions its Taiwan independence “disclaimer”
Hong Kong Free Press, December 29, 2018

Deputy director of Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office steps down, a year late
South China Morning Post, December 29, 2018

Hongkongers gloomy about 2019 – just 30 per cent expect life to improve as US-China trade war and Brexit weigh on economy
South China Morning Post, December 28, 2018

After Tiananmen crackdown, Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew said 200,000 influential Hongkongers should “band together” and bargain if Beijing interfered in city’s affairs
South China Morning Post, December 28, 2018

Commentary (评论)

中國「土地整理」拆老家,是肥了政府還是貧了農民?(China’s “land reorganization”: Profit for the government while exploiting the poor?)
The News Lens, December 31, 2018

Canada, China’s Schellenberg’s retrial and Beijing’s calculating maneuvers
Jerome Cohen, December 31, 2018

Justice chief Teresa Cheng doesn’t think she owes Hong Kong any explanation about the CY Leung case. She’s clueless
South China Morning Post, December 31, 2018

Something to hide? This Christmas, it was not a rights lawyer on trial, but the Chinese legal system itself
Hong Kong Free Press, December 30, 2018

How Hong Kong’s public political discourse was mainlandized in 2018
Hong Kong Free Press, December 29, 2018

巨龍與陰影:五年之後的「一帶一路」(The dragon and the shadow: Five years into Belt and Road)
The Initium, December 29, 2018

We must finally see China for what it truly is
The Globe and Mail, December 27, 2018