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.

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

British Muslims rally to the Uyghur cause
Bitter Winter, February 20, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

王峭岭:709李和平律师之子李泽远被株连不准办护照的情况通报 (Son of 709 lawyer Li Heping banned from applying for passport for third time)
Weiquanwang, February 21, 2019

Police reopen alleged rape case amid justifiable defense debate
Sixth Tone, February 20, 2019

李克强主持召开国务院常务会 要求制定涉企法规规章和规范性文件必须听取相关企业和行业协会商会意见 使政府决策更符合实际和民意等 (Premier Li Keqiang: Administrative regulations and normative documents involving enterprises must involve input from industry)
Central People’s Government, February 20, 2019

全国社会组织登记管理工作视频会议在京召开 (Ministry of Civil Affairs vows to “unswervingly guide social organizations to be grateful to the Party, listen to the Party, and follow the steps of the Party”)
Central People’s Government, February 19, 2019

Access to Information (信息公开)

本台寄政治書到台灣 有快遞公司拆件查驗 (SF Express says Taiwan culture department requires opening packages to examine books; department denies imposing such rules)
Radio Television Hong Kong, February 20, 2019

Manufacturing creativity and maintaining control
MERICS, February 14, 2019

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Defending rights in a “no rights zone”: Annual report on the situation of human rights defenders in China (2018)
Chinese Human Rights Defenders, February 21, 2019

Int’l Mother Language Day: Dear Xi Jinping, embrace cultural and linguistic diversity
Hong Kong Free Press, February 21, 2019

Public Security Bureau sub-bureaus open in Beijing, visits to foreign NGO offices in Jiangsu, and representative office training in Yunnan
China NGO Project, February 20, 2019

A Tibetan-Canadian student was attacked online after winning student council elections. She thinks Beijing is to blame.
Global Voices, February 20, 2019

Government Accountability (政府问责)

中纪委内设机构调整:扩充案件监督管理、案件审理等部门力量 (Structural adjustments in Central Commission for Discipline Inspection expand case management, adjudication powers)
The Paper, February 21, 2019

UK vulnerable to Chinese interference, report says
BBC, February 20, 2019

Related:
China–UK relations: Where to draw the border between influence and interference?
RUSI, February 20, 2019

教育部:全面推进共建“一带一路”教育行动 (Ministry of Education promotes “Belt and Road” education campaign; 60 Chinese schools operate education programs in 23 “Belt and Road” countries with 317 thousand students visiting China)
Central People’s Government, February 20, 2019

Former military chief of staff sentenced to life imprisonment
Xinhua, February 20, 2019

Facing an aggressive Beijing, Taiwan's president issues a warning to the world
CNN, February 20, 2019

Related:
Taiwan says no compromise on democracy after opposition’s China peace overture
Reuters, February 20, 2019

李锐葬礼上的哀悼与争议
In Beijing, a Communist funeral for an inconvenient critic
The New York Times, February 20, 2019

China recruits professional firefighters for the first time. 99.9% of them are required to be men
SupChina, February 20, 2019

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

东南亚各国是否选择华为?5G网络成政治问题 (Whether Southeast Asian countries choose Huawei for 5G? has become a political question)
Voice of America, February 21, 2019

英国网络安全主管称华为风险可控
UK cyber security chief says Huawei risk can be managed
Financial Times, February 21, 2019

Related:
Huawei hasn't yet fixed its security vulnerabilities, says UK’s NCSC overseers
The Register, February 20, 2019

Huawei founder says he would defy Chinese law on intelligence gathering
CBS, February 20, 2019

Related:
Why low profile Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has grabbed the microphone to defend telecoms giant
South China Morning Post, February 21, 2019

Hong Kong (香港)

團體發表聯合聲明反對修訂逃犯條例 憂法治變得更脆弱 (Joint civil society statement opposing extradition law amendments raises rule of law concerns)
Radio Television Hong Kong, February 20, 2019

Related:
陳文敏:修移交例 已簽國或重新檢視協議 (Legal Scholar Johannes Chan: Foreign countries might re-evaluate existing extradition agreements in light of proposed amendments)
Ming Pao, February 20, 2019

Mixed reactions in Hong Kong as Beijing sets out strategic integration plan for southern China “Bay Area”
Hong Kong Free Press, February 19, 2019

Related:
【大灣區】朱凱廸批港人必定是被規劃 「無渠道決定內容,立法會都唔得」(Legislators slam Hong Kong’s development in Greater Bay Area plan: No channel for public participation, including through LegCo)
Inmediahk.net, February 20, 2019

China’s Silicon Valley blueprint has plenty of holes
Bloomberg, February 19, 2019

Hong Kong activist Edward Leung fends off riot allegations over Mong Kok unrest as lawyer accuses authorities of bias
South China Morning Post, February 20, 2019

Commentary (评论)

Distrust of Beijing is at the heart of Hongkongers’ opposition to extraditing fugitives to the mainland
South China Morning Post, February 21, 2019

Global assault on NGOs reaches crisis point as new laws curb vital human rights work
Amnesty International, February 21, 2019

傘運關鍵詞書寫筆記(一):假如雨傘是失敗的,為何有必要重啓記憶?(Umbrella Movement keywords: If the movement is a failure, why revisit it?)
The Initium, February 20, 2019

China will likely corner the 5G market—and the U.S. has no plan
Wired, February 20, 2019