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, March 18, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

China says 13,000 “terrorists” arrested in Xinjiang since 2014
Reuters, March 18, 2019

Related:
China strikes at terrorism, extremism in accordance with law: White paper
Sina, March 18, 2019

Chinese envoy calls Muslim detention centers “campuses”
Voice of America, March 15, 2019

Related:
China defends Xinjiang centers for Muslims, but aims to “downsize”
Reuters, March 15, 2019

China to prosecute top-ranking Uyghur official for corruption
Reuters, March 16, 2019

海外哈萨克人倡游行示威 促释放塞力克江 (Overseas Kazakhs to rally for release of jailed Serikzhan Bilash suspect he was coerced in video opposing rally)
Radio Free Asia, March 15, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

China keeps “education” centers for prostitutes
Agence France-Presse, March 18, 2019

六四酒案周五開審 律師拒談開庭地點 (Detained for 3 years for “inciting subversion,” makers of satiric wine label about June Fourth finally get trial)
Ming Pao, March 18, 2019

捍卫人权 新疆张海涛被判重刑 其妻吁国际关注 (Wife of Zhang Haitao, Han activist serving 19 years for advocating for Xinjiang Muslims, urges international attention; no visits or communication allowed)
Radio Free Asia, March 15, 2019

刘守民:提高国家赔偿金数额,给当事人最有效的救济 (NPC representative Liu Shoumin proposes removing cap on state compensations for infringement on rights to life, health)
Legal Daily, March 15, 2019

Access to Information (信息公开)

Chinese university puts students to WeChat test to pass social media course
South China Morning Post, March 17, 2019

Why China silenced a clickbait queen in its battle for information control
The New York Times, March 16, 2019

Censored on WeChat: The disappearance of Ye Jianming, former chairman of CEFC China Energy
Global Voices, March 15, 2019

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

“我们这种怪咖”:台湾太阳花世代的政治新力量 (“Weirdos like us”: The new political power rising from Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement)
The New York Times, March 18, 2019

Vatican says China should not fear “distrust or hostility” from Catholic Church
Reuters, March 17, 2019

从难民到“模范少数族裔”:一批美国人的上海根 (From refugees to “model ethnic minorities”: The Shanghai roots of a group of Americans)
The New York Times, March 16, 2019

Tibet struggle’s slow slide off the global radar as Dalai Lama ages
Agence France-Presse, March 16, 2019

Related:
Is this the last Dalai Lama?
ChinaFile, March 15, 2019

Activists in Hong Kong and Taiwan feel heat as China fears “separatist” collusion
Reuters, March 15, 2019

Chinese netizens’ response to New Zealand mosque attacks
What’s On Weibo, March 15, 2019

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Chinese school principal sacked over claims moldy food found in canteen
South China Morning Post, March 17, 2019

Concerns grow over Chinese influence at UN Human Rights Council
Radio Free Asia, March 15, 2019

Related:
联合国人权理事会核可中国参加第三轮国别人权审议报告 (UN Human Rights Council adopts China human rights report, China responds: “China rejects interference in China’s internal affairs under the excuse of human rights,” “firmly walks on the path of human rights development with Chinese characteristics”)
Xinhua, March 16, 2019

U.S. at UN takes aim at China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Agence France-Presse, March 16, 2019

Free flow of ideas absent in China’s “Two Sessions,” observers say
Voice of America, March 15, 2019

中华人民共和国外商投资法 (NPC passes Foreign Investment Law, effective Jan 1, 2020; “Foreign investment shall comply with Chinese laws and not endanger national security”)
National People’s Congress, March 15, 2019

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Suspicion of Huawei, from 5G to under the sea
China Digital Times, March 14, 2019

Hong Kong (香港)

梁天琦等4人被控參與暴動案 陪審團開始退庭商議 (Jury considers verdict in retrial of Edward Leung riot case)
Radio Television Hong Kong, March 18, 2019

審議國歌法許智峯被指未經同意發言被趕離會議室 (Legislator expelled from LegCo meeting for “speaking without permission” to oppose chairman’s strict deadline for written questions on national anthem bill)
Radio Television Hong Kong, March 18, 2019

Activist “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung barred from entering Japan to attend trial of Hongkongers
Hong Kong Free Press, March 18, 2019

Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials lied to UN Human Rights Council about city’s high degree of autonomy, activists say
South China Morning Post, March 17, 2019

Give Hong Kong more leeway and separatism will subside, leading mainland Chinese constitutional scholar tells Beijing
South China Morning Post, March 17, 2019

European Union voices concern over Hong Kong’s plan to allow extraditions to mainland China
South China Morning Post, March 15, 2019

Related:
Beijing weighs in on Hong Kong extradition plan, urging doubters to respect the legal process, after Law Society calls for alternatives
South China Morning Post, March 16, 2019

9 protesters arrested at extradition demo released on bail, as group condemns guard for restraining female activist
Hong Kong Free Press, March 16, 2019

Related:
“Legalized kidnapping”: Hong Kong activists arrested following sit-in over China extradition law
Hong Kong Free Press, March 15, 2019

Hundreds of Hong Kong students skip school in call for action on climate change, joining global day of protest
South China Morning Post, March 15, 2019

Commentary (评论)

孔子學院沒有孔子,只剩一群追隨「無道之君」的讀書人 (When Confucius institutes are no longer Confucian)
The News Lens, March 18, 2019

China’s Xinjiang propaganda
Jerome A. Cohen, March 18, 2019

The Guardian view on Xinjiang’s detention camps: Not just China’s shame
The Guardian, March 17, 2019

China’s brutal “boarding schools”: Beijing’s indoctrination centers for Muslim Uyghurs are stark violations of human rights
The New York Times, March 17, 2019

China’s double standard on terrorism: While Beijing clamps down on Muslims in its own territory, it provides cover for Pakistan’s support of extremist groups
The Diplomat, March 15, 2019

再訪 Ian Johnson:宗教復興遭遇收緊治理,中國要打一場「靈魂之戰」嗎?(Interview with Ian Johnson: As religious revival meets stringent governance, is China trying to fight a “battle over the soul”?)
The Initium, March 15, 2019