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, February 05, 2020

Access to Justice (司法公正)

A county in China is offering people $140 to tell on neighbors who have visited Wuhan, and another is threatening the death penalty to anyone deliberately spreading the coronavirus
Business Insider, February 5, 2020

疫灾加滥权 中国律师为“造谣者”发声 (Human rights lawyer in Beijing speaks up for "rumor spreaders" during Wuhan virus outbreak)
Radio Free Asia, February 4, 2020

Access to Information (信息公开)

China Clamps Down on Independent Reporting of Epidemic as Cases, Deaths Keep Rising
Radio Free Asia, February 3, 2020

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Coronavirus: Bans on travellers from the mainland a risky ‘overreaction’, China’s UN envoy in Geneva tells WHO
South China Morning Post, February 5, 2020

A Chinese doctor was one of the first to warn about coronavirus. He got detained — and infected.
Washington Post, February 4, 2020

Coronavirus Crisis Shows China’s Governance Failure
The New York Times, February 4, 2020

Related:
驱逐、围堵、举报:数百万武汉人经历了什么?
China, Desperate to Stop Coronavirus, Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor
The New York Times, February 4, 2020

Wuhan medic: 'Many more infections than official numbers show'
Deutsche Welle, February 4, 2020

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Huawei promises ‘made in Europe’ 5G, as it announces plans for new manufacturing bases
South China Morning Post, February 5, 2020

China Marshals Its Surveillance Powers Against Coronavirus
The Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2020

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong police arrest mall security guard for allegedly spreading virus rumours
Hong Kong Free Press, February 5, 2020

Coronavirus: why won’t Carrie Lam shut Hong Kong’s border with mainland China?
South China Morning Post, February 5, 2020

Related:
天水圍居民上街促封深圳灣 警發逾10催淚彈 (Tin Shui Wai citizens conduct temperature checks for cross-border arrivals in bus station, urge full border closure; police fire tear gas)
Ming Pao, February 5, 2020

【武漢肺炎】何栢良:留意下階段或現商場傳播 香港仍有救籲全面封關 政府不可無常識 ("Hong Kong can still be saved," says academic as he urges full border closure; warns of outbreak through malls and calls on Hong Kong government to use common sense)
Stand News, February 5, 2020

台灣向港澳發黃色旅遊警示 籲如非必要不要前往(Taiwan issues travel warning on Hong Kong and Macau)
Now News, February 5, 2020

【罷工第三天】醫護到政總遞請願信促封關 林鄭未現身 醫管局:緊急服務受嚴重影響 (Medical strike enters third day, workers rally outside gov't headquarters to submit appeal, but Carrie Lam refuses to meet)
Stand News, February 5, 2020

Related:
Coronavirus: Hong Kong medics escalate strike to demand a full shutdown of Chinese border
Hong Kong Free Press, February 4, 2020

Hong Kong’s Striking Health Workers Pose New Threat to Beijing
Bloomberg, February 3, 2020

Commentary (评论)

China’s Global Human-Rights Whitewash
Project Syndicate, February 5, 2020

China’s dreams of world leadership are fading as its belt and road projects start to sour
South China Morning Post, February 5, 2020

許章潤〈憤怒的人民已不再恐懼〉(Xu Zhangrun: The angry people are no longer afraid)
Citizen News, February 5, 2020

Coronavirus: how health and politics have always been inextricably linked in China
The Conversation, February 4, 2020

How the coronavirus crisis has brewed a ‘revolt of the professionals’ in China
South China Morning Post, February 5, 2020

Stuck in Central China on Coronavirus Lockdown
The New York Review of Books, February 4, 2020

U.N. Chief Faces Internal Criticism Over Human Rights
Foreign Policy, February 4, 2020