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.

Monday, April 26, 2021

Xinjiang (新疆)

Xinjiang cotton: why it is so hard to find out the truth about forced labour claims
South China Morning Post, April 25, 2021

新疆10年 加拿大夫妇:那里像个巨大监狱(Canadian couple who left Xinjiang after a decade: It’s like a huge prison there)
Radio France Internationale, April 25, 2021

Taiwan (台湾)

Taiwan Security Officials Propose Ban on Chinese Flag
The Diplomat, April 24, 2021

Access to Information (公众知情权)

China Censors Chloé Zhao’s Oscar Win, but Fans Find Ways to Rejoice
The New York Times, April 26, 2021

Related:
奥斯卡最佳导演赵婷:从曾经的“中国骄傲”,到如今全网删帖(Oscar’s best director Chloé Zhao—once the "pride of China," now censored on Internet)
British Broadcasting Corporation, April 26, 2021

Women Are Battling China’s Angry Trolls. The Trolls Are Winning.
女权人士在中国互联网上遭遇封禁和攻击

The New York Times, April 26, 2021

美国笔会:中国文字狱层出不穷 是全球关押最多作家的国家(PEN America: Criminalizing expression, China is world’s top jailer of writers)
Voice of America, April 24, 2021

Related:
Freedom to Write Index 2020
PEN America, April 23, 2021

Access to Justice (司法公正)

China Reveals Charges Against Outspoken Business Sun Dawu
The New York Times, April 24, 2021

新疆维权人士姜志林狱中服刑 已失去说话能力(Jiang Zhilin, human rights activist imprisoned in Xinjiang, has lost ability to speak)
Radio Free Asia, April 26, 2021

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

New Chinese Decree Tells Religious Leaders to ‘Support the Communist Party’
Voice of America, April 24, 2021

Government Accountability (政府问责)

与中国有关谍案不断 又一俄科学家被判重刑(In continuing exposé of China-related espionage cases, another Russian scientist gets harsh sentence)
Voice of America, April 25, 2021

2020年中国基督徒惨遭迫害,从教堂到墓地 从生者到逝者(Persecution of Chinese Christians in 2020: From church to cemetery and the living to the dead)
Voice of America, April 24, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

UK's GCHQ spy chief says China could win control of the world's 'operating system'
Reuters, April 23, 2021

Related:
英情报高官:中国是特别威胁 西方或面临“清算时刻”(British intelligence official: China a special threat; the West may face "moment of reckoning")
Deutsche Welle, April 24, 2021

Director’s 2021 Vincent Briscoe Lecture
UK Government Communications Headquarters, April 23, 2021

Meituan becomes second Chinese tech giant to be hit with antitrust probe
Financial Times, April 26, 2021

Chinese regulators tighten grip on live-streaming e-commerce, intensifying scrutiny on tech
South China Morning Post, April 24, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong court rejects activist’s attempt to quash colonial-era sedition charges on constitutional grounds
South China Morning Post, April 26, 2021

Related:
Hong Kong protests: defendant accused of defacing Chinese flag and starting street fire ‘confessed to offences involuntarily’
South China Morning Post, April 26, 2021

Who defines ‘fake news’ in Hong Kong, and is a law needed? Calls for legislation spark fears of curbs on media, critics
South China Morning Post, April 24, 2021

Related:
‘Know your place’: Beijing accuses Hong Kong press club of being ‘external force’ interfering in China’s internal affairs
Hong Kong Free Press, April 26, 2021

Fear Grips Hong Kong’s Public Broadcaster
Voice of America, April 23, 2021

港台證實助理廣播處長周國豐 7 月 9 日離任 李百全上任後至少 5 管理層請辭(RTHK assistant director Brian Chow Kwok-fung resigns; at least five from management have quit since new head took office)
Stand News, April 26, 2021

Beijing attacks head of Hong Kong Bar Assoc. over ‘politicised’ comments on peaceful protest
Hong Kong Free Press, April 26, 2021

Watch what you say: Hong Kong civil servants become wary of office snitches jostling to prove loyalty
South China Morning Post, April 25, 2021

Uni activist flees amid arrest fears
The Standard, April 26, 2021

民陣被指涉違社團條例 警方要求交代收入來源等資料(Civil Human Rights Front accused of breaching Societies Ordinance; police demand income sources and related information)
Radio Television Hong Kong, April 26, 2021

【DSE】通識倒數三屆考試 卷一必答題無時事政治題 去年觸及新聞自由、國家安全兩難 (This year’s Liberal Studies exam steers clear of current affairs and politics; last year’s questions touched on press freedom and national security)
Stand News, April 26, 2021

Commentary (评论)

Changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system remain a hard sell
South China Morning Post, April 25, 2021

Beacon of press freedom must not be allowed to dim
South China Morning Post, April 25, 2021

From Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping
从毛泽东到习近平

The New York Times, April 26, 2021