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.

Thursday, January 06, 2022

Xinjiang (新疆)

Uyghurs in Turkey file legal complaint against Chinese camps
Uyghur Times, January 4, 2022

Related:
新疆:土耳其一律师团在伊斯坦布尔状告习近平等112中国官员 (Xinjiang: Turkish lawyers sue 112 Chinese officials, including Xi Jinping, in Istanbul court)
Radio France Internationale, January 5, 2022

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Holiday repression signals dire year for human rights in China in 2022
Chinese Human Rights Defenders, January 6, 2022

Access to Information (公众知情权)

Xi'an authorities ban 'negative' lockdown posts, photos or video on social media
Radio Free Asia, January 5, 2022

Related:
LOCKDOWN VOICES: PAIN, HUNGER, AND A JOURNALIST DETERMINED TO SPEAK THE TRUTH IN XI’AN
China Digital Times, January 5, 2022

“绝望至极后希望生” 中国人权律师在暗夜中坚持 (From despair to hope—Chinese human rights lawyers persist in dark times)
Radio Free Asia, January 6, 2022

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

西安封城激起的民愤在中国蔓延(Mass outrage aroused by closure of Xi'an is spreading in China)
The Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2022

獨立記者的西安版「方方日記」:所有人都低估了封城將帶來的災難 (Independent journalist’s report on Xi’an: Everyone underestimated the disaster that would result from lockdown)
The New Lens, January 6, 2022

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Beijing’s New Year's resolutions for tech
Protocol, January 5, 2022

As Beijing Takes Control, Chinese Tech Companies Lose Jobs and Hope
企业裁员、就业市场降温:监管重创中国互联网行业

The New York Times, January 6, 2022

2022 Beijing Winter Olympics (2022北京冬奥)

2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: Answers to Some Big Questions
关于北京冬奥会的重要疑问以及回答

The New York Times, January 6, 2022

人权组织批国际奥委会不愿就新疆强迫劳动问题进行对话(Human rights organization slams IOC for ignoring dialogue request on forced labor in Xinjiang)
Voice of America, January 6, 2022

Hong Kong (香港)

《立場》案後至少六家網媒停運或終止新聞工作 (After Stand News, at least six online media outlets have suspended operations or terminated news reporting)
inmedia.hk, January 6, 2022

Work as usual, then tears as Hong Kong’s Citizen News bids farewell
Hong Kong Free Press, January 6, 2022

《明報》觀點版新增編按:絕無意圖煽動憎恨 (Ming Pao adds editor’s note on opinion page: No intention to incite hatred)
inmedia.hk, January 6, 2022

香港學生正蜂擁至加拿大留學 (Hong Kong students are flocking to study in Canada)
inmedia.hk, January 6, 2022

Top Beijing official in Hong Kong lays out 5 expectations for new lawmakers in unprecedented meeting
South China Morning Post, January 5, 2022

Commentary (评论)

Crimes Ordinance Sedition versus Hong Kong’s National Security Law: different legal tools, same outcome?
The China Collection, January 6, 2022

Excerpt:
The use of the sedition provision is also part of a larger strategy by the government to diversify its national security toolkit: the Stand News arrests show that the government wants to move away from using the heavy artillery of the NSL in all cases, and instead wants to use different legal and criminal tools for different circumstances.

This diversification of the national security toolkit will be a key part of the government’s strategy in 2022: Chief Executive Carrie Lam has made clear that Basic Law Article 23 national security legislation will be a key priority for the new year. Once that legislation is completed, the government will have an entire new set of national security laws that can be used to threaten, intimidate, or jail its political opponents. It can save the NSL itself for only the most high-priority targets.