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.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

Xinjiang ‘Pair Up’ Campaign Highlights Power Imbalance Between Chinese ‘Relatives,’ Uyghur Hosts
Radio Free Asia, November 19, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Four Tibetan Monks are Detained After Calling for Tibet’s Independence
Radio Free Asia, November 19, 2019

NPCSC Legislative Affairs Commissions Criticizes Hong Kong Court’s Mask Ban Ruling, Signals Possible NPCSC Intervention
NPC Observer, November 18, 2019

Access to Information (信息公开)

Senior CPC official stresses high-quality development of Chinese movies
Xinhua, November 20, 2019

How China Influences Media in Central and Eastern Europe
The Diplomat, November 19, 2019

Hong Kong: How Chinese media are reporting the crisis
Deutsche Welle, November 19, 2019

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Beijing officials deny permit for show of Chinese-American artist amid political tensions
The Art Newspaper, November 19, 2019

Government Accountability (政府问责)

U.S. Senate unanimously passes Hong Kong rights bill backing protesters
Reuters, November 20, 2019

11th China-US Political Party Leaders Dialogue opens in Beijing
China Internet Information Center, November 19, 2019

Some passenger trains between mainland China and HK suspended: Global Times
Reuters, November 19, 2019

Taiwan president alleges Chinese electoral interference
Associated Press, November 19, 2019

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

EU Poised to Send Warning to China on 5G
Bloomberg, November 19, 2019

Zuckerberg’s Anti-China Rhetoric Roils Facebook Employees
The Information, November 19, 2019

Hong Kong (香港)

Former U.K. Consulate Employee Says Chinese Secret Police Tortured Him
The Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2019

Related:
英領館職員稱內地被拘留遭虐待盤問 逼供出英助港示威情報 返港「被辭職」正尋庇護 (British consulate staff Simon Cheng seeks asylum, says he was tortured while detained in mainland for intelligence that UK was supporting Hong Kong's protests)
Ming Pao, November 20, 2019

稱警方怕影響部署 拒公開催淚彈成分 陳肇始:示威者縱火、擲汽油彈產生二噁英 (Department of Health says tear gas chemical ingredients should not be disclosed because it would "affect police deployment," claims carcinogenic dioxins came from fires started by protesters)
Stand News, November 20, 2019

Related:
清潔工硬食催淚彈二噁英 團體促改派專業人員執手尾 (Government's cleaners sent out to work without proper gear for tear gas toxins, labor rights groups urge Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to hire professionals)
Inmediahk.net, November 20, 2019

Hong Kong lawyers, democrats warn against Beijing intervention after court rules mask ban unconstitutional
Hong Kong Free Press, November 20, 2019

Related:
禁蒙面法被判違憲 民主派:律政司建議法庭暫緩執行裁決,容許法例續生效 (Department of Justice to apply to court to allow anti-mask law to remain in force pending appeal on ruling on its constitutionality)
Stand News, November 20, 2019

Hong Kong mask law: Beijing claim on ‘unconstitutional’ ruling could spell end of ‘one country, two systems’, legal heavyweights warn
South China Morning Post, November 20, 2019

Hardcore protesters holed up in Hong Kong PolyU campus for fourth day
Agence France-Presse, November 20, 2019

Related:
李家超:以暴動罪拘捕所有離開理大人士 檢控須研證據 (All personnel who leave besieged PolyU will be arrested for rioting, says Secretary for Justice)
Ming Pao, November 20, 2019

【圍困理大】李家超稱 900 人離開校園「自首」 中學校長指不符警承諾 感愕然 (Headmasters surprised that authorities said students who left PolyU "surrendered," urge clarification on deal that underage students will not be arrested)
Stand News, November 20, 2019

Hong Kong Protests: Over 1,000 Detained at a University, and a Warning From Beijing After a three-day standoff with the police, about 50 protesters remained on the campus of a besieged university
The New York Times, November 18, 2019

Hundreds of Protesters Released From Besieged Hong Kong University: ‘I Feel Lucky to Get Out’
Wall Street Journal, November 19, 2019

Related:
理工大遭封锁,香港学生抗议者父母走上“前线”
Parents of Besieged Hong Kong Protesters Come to the Front Lines
The New York Times, November 20, 2019

Taiwan schoolgirl at Hong Kong Polytechnic campus was ‘too scared to leave’
South China Morning Post, November 19, 2019

Hong Kong police drop ‘pride and care’ motto, now vow to serve with ‘honour, duty and loyalty’
Hong Kong Free Press, November 20, 2019

Albert Ho ambushed, beaten by men with 'canes'
Radio Television Hong Kong, November 19, 2019

Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong banned by Hong Kong court from travelling to London to receive human rights award from British parliament
South China Morning Post, November 19, 2019

Commentary (评论)

My beloved Hong Kong has become a war zone and daily life is full of anxiety
The Guardian, November 20, 2019

Hong Kong Was Never Built to Stand Up to China
The Nation, November 19, 2019

Hong Kong: ‘You either have the rule of law or you don’t’
Financial Times, November 19, 2019

External forces and black hands
China Media Project, November 19, 2019

What the Hong Kong protests can teach the world about enduring social movements
Quartz, November 19, 2019

Hong Kong has declared war against its young people
The Guardian, November 19, 2019

Hong Kong’s Silent Majority Can Speak at the Ballot Box
Foreign Policy, November 19, 2019