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, July 04, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

Requiem for the “living dead”: Ten years after 7-5
SupChina, July 3, 2019

Why is the UN ignoring China’s concentration camps and the fate of 2m people?
Independent, July 3, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

周永康儿媳公开发声后获准会见丈夫 (Zhou Yongkang’s daughter-in-law granted meeting with husband after vocal pushback)
Radio Free Asia, July 3, 2019

强化保障推进律师党建全规范 (Strengthen, safeguard, and promote comprehensive Party building for legal industry)
Legal Daily, July 3, 2019
HRIC Note: Currently, there are 977 Party organizations in the legal industry in Guangdong Province, encompassing 2,238 law firms and over 464 Party-building instructors. The Guangdong Department of Justice will receive regular working reports from Party officers in law firms, including an annual report. The Party officers will act as a “political core” and a gatekeeper for industry management, as well as recruitment and promotion of individuals.

Access to Information (信息公开)

As protests rock Hong Kong, Xi Jinping’s view of history shows he will dig in
The New York Times, July 3, 2019

China is ramping up its media abroad, and not just in Chinese
The Christian Science Monitor, July 3, 2019

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Environmental protest breaks out in China’s Wuhan city: Wuhan residents protested the construction of a waste-to-energy plant, repeating a pattern seen elsewhere in China in recent years
The Diplomat, July 4, 2019

China’s middle income claim causes uproar as Weibo users ask, “Why am I not that rich?”
South China Morning Post, July 3, 2019

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Taiwan bars retired top officials from “political events” backed by Beijing
South China Morning Post, July 3, 2019

流亡西藏政府指控中国当局在西藏也设拘留营 (There are camps in Tibet too, says Lobsang Sangay of exiled Central Tibetan Administration)
Radio France Internationale, July 3, 2019

Zdeněk Hřib: The Czech mayor who defied China
The Guardian, July 3, 2019

UK summons China ambassador in row over Hong Kong protests
The Guardian, July 3, 2019

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

苹果公司去年下半年应中国政府要求下架517款应用程序 (Apple says it took down 517 apps from its Chinese app store in the second half of 2018 at government request)
Voice of America, July 4, 2019

U.S. government staff told to treat Huawei as blacklisted
Reuters, July 3, 2019

Hong Kong (香港)

【逃犯條例】警拘12人最細14歲 「佔旺畫家」被捕 (12 arrested over clashes at LegCo, youngest is 14 years old)
Ming Pao, July 3, 2019

Related:
Hong Kong police arrest 8 on suspicion of releasing officers’ personal information online
Hong Kong Free Press, July 3, 2019

撐警集會多人遇襲  警:拘 5 男 1 女 涉襲擊、打架等 (Police arrest 6 in connection with assaults during pro-police rally on June 30)
The Stand News, July 3, 2019

北大教授張千帆 倡香港推行真正政改 「把屬於港人的政治權利還給他們」(Peking University law professor urges true political reform for Hong Kong: “Return to the Hong Kong people the rights that belong to them”)
The Stand News, July 3, 2019

Anger of the young at Hong Kong government now goes beyond the extradition bill, and targets the legitimacy of Carrie Lam’s administration
South China Morning Post, July 3, 2019

Related:
牧師絕食促撤例 籲體諒年輕人 (Pastor to commence hunger strike outside government offices, urging understanding for youngsters)
Ming Pao, July 4, 2019

Flag-waving Grandma Wong gives Hong Kong protesters lesson in endurance
Reuters, July 3, 2019

Hong Kong’s “death fighters”: Young protesters with nothing to lose
The Guardian, July 3, 2019

網民擬發動 7.7 九龍區遊行 赴高鐵站向自由行宣揚反送中 (July 7 protests planned outside high-speed rail station)
The Stand News, July 3, 2019

Commentary (评论)

【採訪手記】「希望有朝一日,我哋可以除低口罩相見」(Journalist’s notes: “I hope that one day, we can take off our masks and meet each other”)
The Stand News, July 4, 2019

It’s easy to play the blame game. It’s harder – but necessary – for Carrie Lam to restart dialogue and negotiate Hong Kong’s future
South China Morning Post, July 4, 2019

The disillusion and frustration of a new generation is fuelling Hong Kong’s protests
New Yorker, July 3, 2019

Bravery of Hong Kong shames the West
The Times UK, July 3, 2019

Hong Kong’s protesters are not “radicals”; they just want to be heard
The Washington Post, July 3, 2019