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.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Xinjiang (新疆)

Uighur whistleblower: China is 'arresting people without any reason'
Deutsche Welle, February 18, 2020

Related:
China detains Uighurs for growing beards or visiting foreign websites, leak reveals
The Guardian, February 17, 2020

China Seeks to Divert Attention From Virus Mishandling With Dancing Xinjiang Minorities: Uyghur Exiles
Radio Free Asia, February 14, 2020

How China Tracked Detainees and Their Families
The New York Times, February 14, 2020

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Chinese Police Track Down Dissident Xu Zhiyong Using Facial Recognition
Radio Free Asia, February 18, 2020

Related:
China Detains Activist Who Accused Xi of Coronavirus Cover-Up
Radio France Internationale, February 14, 2020

Dr. Xu Zhiyong, a well-known human rights defender and advocate of the New Citizens Movement exiled in China, taken away by police in Guangzhou
Weiquanwang, February 16, 2020

Gansu Government’s Head-Shaving Publicity Stunt Backfires
Supchina, February 18, 2020

China asylum claims to Germany more than double
Deutsche Welle, February 16, 2020

Tibetan Nun Expelled From Buddhist Center Commits Suicide in Internment Camp
Radio Free Asia, February 14, 2020

Access to Information (信息公开)

China is paying a heavy price for coronavirus because of lack of free speech, says leading professor
South China Morning Post, February 18, 2020

As Wuhan’s desperate and sick beg for help, China shuts them down
The Guardian, February 17, 2020

Missing Chinese citizen journalists highlight risks of telling Wuhan’s story during coronavirus outbreak
South China Morning Post, February 15, 2020

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Dissident artist known as ‘China’s Banksy’ takes aim at Beijing – from Australia
The Washington Post, February 18, 2020

Government Accountability (政府问责)

To Tame Coronavirus, Mao-Style Social Control Blankets China
The New York Times, February 19, 2020

Related:
Talking Out of Both Sides of the Face Mask: Propaganda and Practice in the Age of Coronavirus
Human Rights in China, February 14, 2020

Facial recognition: Concerns over China's widespread surveillance
The New York Times, February 19, 2020

China reports 1,300 more coronavirus cases among medical workers
South China Morning Post, February 18, 2020

Related:
China's Doctors, Fighting the Coronavirus, Beg for Masks
Radio France Internationale, February 15, 2020

Coronavirus: vital to stop human-to-human spread in Wuhan, says China’s top expert as death toll hits 1,868
South China Morning Post, February 18, 2020

'Don't be kidnapped by China': Taiwan tells WHO in bid for separate virus tally
Reuters, February 18, 2020

广西网民订购4000只口罩 竟来自“武汉总工会”及“救援物资” (Guangxi netizens order 4,000 masks and “rescue materials” from Wuhan Federation of Trade Unions
Radio Free Asia, February 18, 2020

As Wuhan’s desperate and sick beg for help, China shuts them down
The Guardian, February 17, 2020

China sees fall in coronavirus deaths but WHO urges caution
Reuters, February 17, 2020

Scared and exposed: Rise in virus cases among China's medics
Al Jazeera, February 17, 2020

China's Leader, Under Fire, Says He Led Coronavirus Fight Early On
Reuters, February 16, 2020

Coronavirus: China enacts tighter restrictions in Hubei
BBC, February 16, 2020

Coronavirus: 70 more cases on Japan cruise ship as China infections pass 68,000
The Guardian, February 15, 2020

Nepal Border Agreement With China Sparks Fears Among Tibetans
Radio Free Asia, February 14, 2020

Li Wenliang’s death exposes the costs of China’s authoritarianism
The Economist, February 13, 2020

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

中国电信5G技术助力首次新冠肺炎远程超声诊疗实施 (China Telecom's 5G technology assists in the first remote ultrasound diagnosis and treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia)
Xinjingbao, February 18, 2020

China's facial-recognition giant says it can crack masked faces during the coronavirus
Quartz, February 18, 2020

Hong Kong armed gang steals toilet rolls as coronavirus panic-buying spreads
The Guardian, February 16, 2020

Hong Kong (香港)

Coronavirus: Hong Kong police on a roll as third suspect in toilet paper heist flushed out
South China Morning Post, February 18, 2020

Hong Kong Protesters Build Barricades, Set Fire to Railway Station Amid Anger Over Virus
Radio Free Asia, February 16, 2020

Commentary (评论)

In Coronavirus Fight, China Sidelines an Ally: Its Own People
The New York Times, February 18, 2020

Red Flag: Impacts of Coronavirus in China and the World
The Diplomat, February 18, 2020

The Li Wenliang Storm
China Media Project, February 18, 2020

China: Detention of activist shows unrelenting assault on freedom of expression
Amnesty International, February 17, 2020

Holding China’s trade unions to account
China Labour Bulletin, February 17, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has only heightened Hong Kong’s hostility towards Beijing
The Guardian, February 13, 2020