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, April 20, 2021

Xinjiang (新疆)

Labor pushes Morrison government to clarify whether it views Xinjiang human rights abuses as genocide
The Guardian, April 19, 2021

China’s treatment of Uighurs is ‘crimes against humanity’: Report
Al Jazeera, April 19, 2021

Related:
"Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots"
Human Rights Watch, April 19, 2021

Taiwan (台湾)

Taiwan seizes chance to host foreign reporters kicked out of China
Financial Times, April 20, 2021

Taiwanese men who attacked Hong Kong bookseller get longer jail terms after appeal
South China Morning Post, April 20, 2021

Tibet (西藏)

A Prison Called Tibet
Foreign Affairs, May/June 2021

Access to Justice (司法公正)

The Chinese government must cooperate with investigation into the suspicious death of activist Guo Hongwei
Chinese Human Rights Defenders, April 20, 2021

Access to Information (公众知情权)

Oppression of journalists in China ‘may have been factor in Covid pandemic’
The Guardian, April 20, 2021

2021全球新闻自由指数 中国倒数第四 (China ranks 4th from bottom in Reporters Without Borders' 2021 World Press Freedom Index)
Deutsche Welle, April 20, 2021

Related:
2021 World Press Freedom Index
Reporters Without Borders, April 20, 2021

China censors ex-premier Wen Jiabao's article ahead of Communist Party anniversary
Reuters, April 20, 2021

Government Accountability (政府问责)

‘Stop bossing others’: Xi Jinping’s not-so veiled rebuke to the US
Sydney Morning Herald, April 20, 2021

China’s Belt and Road Initiative faces increased political risk in participating countries, report warns
South China Morning Post, April 20, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

China and Artificial Intelligence
The Diplomat, April 19, 2021

Tencent pledges 50b yuan toward public initiatives
Reuters, April 20, 2021

Huawei denies spying accusation in the Netherlands
BBC News, April 19, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong pro-Beijing lawmakers challenge ‘unfair’ rule which curtails their power if they lose election
Hong Kong Free Press, April 20, 2021

Related:
Hong Kong pro-democracy district councillor steps down, abandons legal bid to overturn his disqualification
Hong Kong Free Press, April 20, 2021

譚凱邦和袁浩倫辭去區議員職務(Tam Hoi-pong, one of the 47 pro-democracy detainees, resigns from his district councilor post; another district councilor, Yuen Ho-lun, refuses to take oath and resigns)
Radio Television Hong Kong, April 20, 2021

【初選47人案】李嘉達辭任觀塘區議員 區會主席稱感難過:佢唔應該咁被對待(Li Ka-tat, one of the 47 pro-democracy detainees, resigns from his district councilor post)
inmediahk.net, April 19, 2021

Hong Kong protests: woman in doxxing case jailed for three years, becomes first person in two decades sentenced using colonial-era sedition law
South China Morning Post, April 20, 2021

Related:
Hong Kong protests: High Court rejects union’s bid to intervene in legal challenge by former city leader CY Leung to identify teachers guilty of misconduct
South China Morning Post, April 20, 2021

Hong Kong protests: prosecutors urge court to proceed with trial of student in her absence, after she fled city following arrest, but judge questions fairness
South China Morning Post, April 20, 2021

【11.12 中大衝突】四學生被控暴動 控方:憑裝束、身處現場、逃跑 肯定親身參與暴動(Four students charged with rioting over siege of Chinese University in 2019)
Stand News, April 20, 2021

Hong Kong security law cited as ‘grave threat’ in new Reporters Without Borders 2021 Press Freedom Index report
Hong Kong Free Press, April 20, 2021

Related:
2021 World Press Freedom Index: Hong Kong
Reporters Without Borders, April 20, 2021

Hong Kong press freedom curbs ‘will speed up,’ warns journalist group chair as state-run press attacks Apple Daily
Hong Kong Free Press, April 20, 2021

‘He has not bowed’: Jimmy Lai and Hong Kong’s future
The Christian Science Monitor, April 19, 2021

Beijing won total control over Hong Kong. Now, the ‘brainwashing’ begins.
The Washington Post, April 20, 2021

Commentary (评论)

China: Totalitarianism’s Long Shadow
Journal of Democracy, April 2021