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.

Friday, February 22, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

Rising Uyghur soccer player Erfan Hezim back with Chinese team after release from Xinjiang internment camp
South China Morning Post, February 22, 2019

Fears for Uyghur comedian missing amid crackdown on cultural figures
The Guardian, February 22, 2019

Energy executives abroad ensnared in China’s Xinjiang crackdown
Deutsche Presse-Agentur International, February 21, 2019

China spiriting Uyghur detainees away from Xinjiang to prisons in Inner Mongolia, Sichuan
Radio Free Asia, February 21, 2019

Wary of Xinjiang backlash, China invites waves of diplomats to visit
Reuters, February 21, 2019

Related:
挡不住舆论压力 中国再邀外交官访新疆再教育营 (China invites more diplomats to visit Xinjiang amidst mounting international pressure)
Deutsche Welle, February 22, 2019

澳大利亚籍维吾尔人求助其政府 称妻儿在新疆面临扣押危险 (Australian Uyghur seeks help from government, fearing wife’s imminent detention in Xinjiang and son’s safety)
BBC News, February 21, 2019

American firm, citing ethics code, won’t sell genetic sequencers in Xinjiang
Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2019

Related:
China uses DNA to track its people, with the help of American expertise
The New York Times, February 21, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Background: Wang Yi 王怡
Chinese Human Rights Defenders, February 22, 2019

最高检:切实防止案件“带病”批捕、起诉 (Supreme People’s Procuratorate urges early involvement of procuratorial organs in police investigation of major, sensitive cases)
Legal Daily, February 21, 2019

Access to Information (信息公开)

台湾陆生向中国国台办申诉 掀起箝制学术自由争议 (Mainland students at Taiwan universities report professors for “spreading ideology,” sparking academic freedom concerns)
BBC News, February 22, 2019

Economic woes hurt Chinese journalists as much as censorship does
The Economist, February 21, 2019

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

人权组织呼吁挽救藏语 释放政治犯扎西文色 (Human rights groups issue joint letter on Int’l Mother Language Day: Save the Tibetan language, release Tashi Wangchuk)
Voice of America, February 22, 2019

Related:
NGOs call for unconditional release of Tashi Wangchuk, Tibetan language advocate
Human Rights in China, February 21, 2019

China’s rights activists face torture, detention, “disappearance”: Report
Radio Free Asia, February 21, 2019

Why China is reactivating its “work-unit people”
Sixth Tone, February 21, 2019

CNN question “What do you think is the main reason behind the U.S. campaign against Huawei?” goes trending on Weibo
What’s On Weibo, February 21, 2019

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Taiwan gov’t approves draft same-sex marriage bill following referendum
Hong Kong Free Press, February 21, 2019

Related:
Taiwan: Draft law to allow same-sex marriage is a huge step forward for human rights
Amnesty International, February 21, 2019

High tech used to detect rogue police
Global Times, February 21, 2019

Guideline to enhance security on campuses
China News Service, February 21, 2019

卡舒吉案激怒美国,沙特转向亚洲和中国?
Amid trouble with the West, Saudi Arabia looks East
The New York Times, February 21, 2019

九部门:不得将限制生育作为录用女职工的条件 (Nine ministries issue notice banning gender discrimination during hiring process)
Xinhua, February 21, 2019

傅政华:司法行政机关要建立领导干部直接听取批评意见机制 (Minister of Justice Fu Zhenghua: Judicial administrative organs must establish system for leaders and cadres to directly listen to criticisms from the public)
The Paper, February 21, 2019

湖南3名省管党员领导干部被开除党籍 (Xie Jin, head of Tianxin District in Changsha punished by discipline committee for buying books from overseas “smearing Party and state leaders”)
People’s Daily, February 21, 2019

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

U.S. won’t partner with countries that use Huawei systems: Pompeo
Reuters, February 21, 2019

Hong Kong (香港)

China’s master-plan rings alarm bells in Hong Kong
The Economist, February 21, 2019

Related:
Greater Bay Area plan receives mixed reaction in Guangdong province, still work to do for Beijing
South China Morning Post, February 22, 2019

被列非法社團 民族黨上訴遭駁回 行會:或訴諸暴力實現港獨 (Gov’t rejects National Party’s appeal on ban, says “no reasonable guarantee” that violence will not be used in future)
The Stand News, February 21, 2019

Related:
Hong Kong’s ban on pro-independence National Party upheld, as gov’t rejects appeal
Hong Kong Free Press, February 21, 2019

本土派向國際申訴港府打壓廣東話 促終結「普教中」(Localists to raise international awareness of gov’t suppression of Cantonese, urge termination of Mandarin-medium teaching for Chinese language in schools)
Inmediahk.net, February 22, 2019

Singapore activist sentenced to jail after refusing to pay HK$11,600 fine for hosting Joshua Wong Skype talk
Hong Kong Free Press, February 21, 2019

“We dream of being free from violence & oppression”: Saudi sisters stuck in Hong Kong after fleeing kingdom
Hong Kong Free Press, February 21, 2019

【移交逃犯】台灣時代力量反對借修例 將台灣納中國一部份 (Taiwan’s New Power Party opposes Hong Kong’s amendment of fugitive law, rejects categorization of Taiwan as part of China)
Inmediahk.net, February 21, 2019

Related:
法政匯思就政府建議修訂引渡相關法例之聲明 (Statement of the Progressive Lawyers Group on the government’s proposal to amend extradition laws)
The Stand News, February 21, 2019

Commentary (评论)

The Guardian view on Britain and China: It’s complicated
The Guardian, February 21, 2019

After the responsible stakeholder, what? Debating America’s China strategy
Texas National Security Review, February 2019

Cross-straits relations in 2019
Fairbank Center Blog, February 19, 2019

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

British Muslims rally to the Uyghur cause
Bitter Winter, February 20, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

王峭岭:709李和平律师之子李泽远被株连不准办护照的情况通报 (Son of 709 lawyer Li Heping banned from applying for passport for third time)
Weiquanwang, February 21, 2019

Police reopen alleged rape case amid justifiable defense debate
Sixth Tone, February 20, 2019

李克强主持召开国务院常务会 要求制定涉企法规规章和规范性文件必须听取相关企业和行业协会商会意见 使政府决策更符合实际和民意等 (Premier Li Keqiang: Administrative regulations and normative documents involving enterprises must involve input from industry)
Central People’s Government, February 20, 2019

全国社会组织登记管理工作视频会议在京召开 (Ministry of Civil Affairs vows to “unswervingly guide social organizations to be grateful to the Party, listen to the Party, and follow the steps of the Party”)
Central People’s Government, February 19, 2019

Access to Information (信息公开)

本台寄政治書到台灣 有快遞公司拆件查驗 (SF Express says Taiwan culture department requires opening packages to examine books; department denies imposing such rules)
Radio Television Hong Kong, February 20, 2019

Manufacturing creativity and maintaining control
MERICS, February 14, 2019

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Defending rights in a “no rights zone”: Annual report on the situation of human rights defenders in China (2018)
Chinese Human Rights Defenders, February 21, 2019

Int’l Mother Language Day: Dear Xi Jinping, embrace cultural and linguistic diversity
Hong Kong Free Press, February 21, 2019

Public Security Bureau sub-bureaus open in Beijing, visits to foreign NGO offices in Jiangsu, and representative office training in Yunnan
China NGO Project, February 20, 2019

A Tibetan-Canadian student was attacked online after winning student council elections. She thinks Beijing is to blame.
Global Voices, February 20, 2019

Government Accountability (政府问责)

中纪委内设机构调整:扩充案件监督管理、案件审理等部门力量 (Structural adjustments in Central Commission for Discipline Inspection expand case management, adjudication powers)
The Paper, February 21, 2019

UK vulnerable to Chinese interference, report says
BBC, February 20, 2019

Related:
China–UK relations: Where to draw the border between influence and interference?
RUSI, February 20, 2019

教育部:全面推进共建“一带一路”教育行动 (Ministry of Education promotes “Belt and Road” education campaign; 60 Chinese schools operate education programs in 23 “Belt and Road” countries with 317 thousand students visiting China)
Central People’s Government, February 20, 2019

Former military chief of staff sentenced to life imprisonment
Xinhua, February 20, 2019

Facing an aggressive Beijing, Taiwan's president issues a warning to the world
CNN, February 20, 2019

Related:
Taiwan says no compromise on democracy after opposition’s China peace overture
Reuters, February 20, 2019

李锐葬礼上的哀悼与争议
In Beijing, a Communist funeral for an inconvenient critic
The New York Times, February 20, 2019

China recruits professional firefighters for the first time. 99.9% of them are required to be men
SupChina, February 20, 2019

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

东南亚各国是否选择华为?5G网络成政治问题 (Whether Southeast Asian countries choose Huawei for 5G? has become a political question)
Voice of America, February 21, 2019

英国网络安全主管称华为风险可控
UK cyber security chief says Huawei risk can be managed
Financial Times, February 21, 2019

Related:
Huawei hasn't yet fixed its security vulnerabilities, says UK’s NCSC overseers
The Register, February 20, 2019

Huawei founder says he would defy Chinese law on intelligence gathering
CBS, February 20, 2019

Related:
Why low profile Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has grabbed the microphone to defend telecoms giant
South China Morning Post, February 21, 2019

Hong Kong (香港)

團體發表聯合聲明反對修訂逃犯條例 憂法治變得更脆弱 (Joint civil society statement opposing extradition law amendments raises rule of law concerns)
Radio Television Hong Kong, February 20, 2019

Related:
陳文敏:修移交例 已簽國或重新檢視協議 (Legal Scholar Johannes Chan: Foreign countries might re-evaluate existing extradition agreements in light of proposed amendments)
Ming Pao, February 20, 2019

Mixed reactions in Hong Kong as Beijing sets out strategic integration plan for southern China “Bay Area”
Hong Kong Free Press, February 19, 2019

Related:
【大灣區】朱凱廸批港人必定是被規劃 「無渠道決定內容,立法會都唔得」(Legislators slam Hong Kong’s development in Greater Bay Area plan: No channel for public participation, including through LegCo)
Inmediahk.net, February 20, 2019

China’s Silicon Valley blueprint has plenty of holes
Bloomberg, February 19, 2019

Hong Kong activist Edward Leung fends off riot allegations over Mong Kok unrest as lawyer accuses authorities of bias
South China Morning Post, February 20, 2019

Commentary (评论)

Distrust of Beijing is at the heart of Hongkongers’ opposition to extraditing fugitives to the mainland
South China Morning Post, February 21, 2019

Global assault on NGOs reaches crisis point as new laws curb vital human rights work
Amnesty International, February 21, 2019

傘運關鍵詞書寫筆記(一):假如雨傘是失敗的,為何有必要重啓記憶?(Umbrella Movement keywords: If the movement is a failure, why revisit it?)
The Initium, February 20, 2019

China will likely corner the 5G market—and the U.S. has no plan
Wired, February 20, 2019

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

How an exposed Chinese database gave a glimpse of real-time monitoring in Xinjiang
Associated Press, February 20, 2019

Uyghurs in America aim to keep language alive
Voice of America, February 20, 2019

从老党员到分裂分子,维吾尔学者恐以“煽颠罪”被判刑 (Former CPC member branded “separatist”: A Uyghur scholar faces charges of inciting subversion of state power for “spreading Islamic and Arab culture through academic channels”)
Voice of America, February 20, 2019

This Australian baby boy has spent his whole life trapped in China’s police state. Now his dad wants him out
Buzzfeed News, February 19, 2019

“Man returns to his native Xinjiang and disappears” — a story too common for the headlines
Global Voices, February 19, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Chinese Good Samaritan questioned over assault appeals to social media for justice
South China Morning Post, February 19, 2019

身份信息遭冒用 “被法人”现象频发 (Identity theft victim wrongly listed as judgment defaulter and facing travel ban finds it procedurally difficult to prove innocence and clear name)
Legal Daily, February 18, 2019

Access to Information (信息公开)

《柏林,我爱你》删除艾未未执导片段
Dissident artist Ai Weiwei is cut from film; producer cites “fear of China”
The New York Times, February 20, 2019

“The Wandering Earth” seen as propaganda coup for China's ideologists
Radio Free Asia, February 19, 2019

“It’s hopeless but you persist”: An interview with Jiang Xue
New York Review of Books, February 19, 2019

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

求助外交官 成都基督徒遭传唤 (Christians in Chengdu threatened, interrogated for meeting with German diplomat)
Radio Free Asia, February 19, 2019

旅美中国民主党华盛顿快闪行动 (China Democracy Party activists hold flash-mob in Washington)
Radio Free Asia, February 19, 2019

Some NGOs able to continue longer-term temporary activities for a second year
China NGO Project, February 19, 2019