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.

Friday, January 31, 2020

Access to Justice (司法公正)

6,000+ Members of The Church of Almighty God Arrested in 2019 in China
Bitter Winter, January 31, 2020

Access to Information (信息公开)

You Can Now Go to Jail in China for Criticizing Beijing’s Coronavirus Response
Vice, January 31, 2020

Related:
China’s top court says it was a mistake to quell early “rumors” about the Wuhan virus
Quartz, January 30, 2020

Minitrue: Delete “Disciplined Doctor Now In Isolation Ward”
China Digital Times, January 30, 2020

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Coronavirus in Wuhan: Residents shout ‘stay strong’ from windows
The Conversation, January 30, 2020

Government Accountability (政府问责)

China locked down 50 million people and has to keep them fed
Washington Post, January 31, 2020

Related:
Group Raises Human Rights Concerns as China Struggles to Control Epidemic
Radio Free Asia, January 30, 2020

抓武汉人像抓反革命,“文革式”疫情阻击战弥漫着人性的泯灭 (Cries of inhumanity and discrimination in "Cultural Revolution style" outbreak control)
Voice of America, January 31, 2020

Coronavirus Anger Boils Over in China and Doctors Plead for Supplies
The New York Times, January 30, 2020

Related:
Coronavirus Wuhan diary: Living alone in a city gone quiet
BBC, January 30, 2020

疾控官員期刊發論文 稱上月中已人傳人 (New paper published in medical journal says human-to-human transmission occured as early as December 2019)
Ming Pao, January 31, 2020

Wuhan coronavirus: Improvised barricades across China as online shaming spreads
Hong Kong Free Press, January 30, 2020

For Taiwan, the Wuhan coronavirus is also a diplomatic battle
Global Voices, January 30, 2020

UPDATE 1-China sacks senior city health official unable to answer basic questions
Reuters, January 30, 2020

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Censorship claims emerge as TikTok gets political in India
BBC, January 31, 2020

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong protests: armed gang launches vicious attack on group outside Yuen Long MTR station
South China Morning Post, January 31, 2020

逾6700醫管局員工允下周罷工 佔整體約一成 工會促全面封關 (Over 6,700, 10% of total medical workers in Hong Kong, promise to start strike next Monday if government refuses to fully close border)
Inmediahk.net, January 31, 2020

Anthem bill won't be stalled
The Standard, January 31, 2020

Coronavirus: Hongkongers’ online orders for masks cancelled as overseas suppliers report shortages
South China Morning Post, January 31, 2020

Related:
Hongkongers take no chances with deadly coronavirus – in pictures
The Guardian, January 31, 2020

Hong Kong to boost face mask stocks with prison labour
Channel NewsAsia, January 30, 2020

China coronavirus: Hubei residents found in Hong Kong hotels, but security chiefs say they are powerless to isolate or deport them
South China Morning Post, January 30, 2020

Commentary (评论)

How the coronavirus crisis is exposing the ills of the China model
South China Morning Post, January 31, 2020

Xi Jinping wants to be both feared and loved by China’s people: The coronavirus may change that
The Economist, January 30, 2020