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, November 04, 2021

Taiwan (台湾)

欧洲议会代表团见蔡英文 北京警告不要发出错误信号(European Parliament delegation meets Tsai Ing-wen; Beijing warns against sending false signals)
Deutsche Welle, November 4, 2021

Access to Information (公众知情权)

法新社:中国对前领导人性丑闻进行网络封锁审查(Agence France-Presse: China censors information on former leader’s sex scandal)
Radio France Internationale, November 4, 2021

Related:
彭帅被删微博全文 (Full Text of Peng Shuai’s censored Weibo post)
Vision China Times, November 4, 2021

Excerpt (translation by HRIC):

"About three years ago, you, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, had retired. You contacted me through Dr. Liu of the Tianjin Tennis Center to ask me to play tennis in the Kangming Building in Beijing. After playing in the morning, you and your wife Kang Jie together took me to your home. Then I was taken into a room at your home, and, just like more than ten years ago in Tianjin, you want to have sex with me.

“I was very scared that afternoon. I didn't expect it to be like this. A person stood guard outside. No one could possibly believe that a wife would agree to this. . . . "

"It is true that I have no evidence; and it is impossible to preserve evidence. After that, you kept denying it. But it is a fact you liked me first; otherwise I wouldn't have been able to contact you. That afternoon, I didn't give my consent and kept crying . . . .

"You have said that you are not afraid. But I will tell the truth about you—even if it is like an egg hitting a rock, or a moth flying into the flame."

Access to Justice (司法公正)

异议人士王爱忠被囚逾五个月坚持无罪 妻子促政府放人(Five months in detention, dissident Wang Aizhong insists on innocence; wife urges his release)
Radio Free Asia, November 4, 2021

无国界记者敦促中国立即释放狱中生命堪忧公民记者张展(Reporters Without Borders urges China to immediately release citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, whose life hangs in the balance)
Voice of America, November 4, 2021

Related:
China: RSF urges for release of Covid-19 reporter who faces impending death
Reporters Without Borders, November 3, 2021

Government Accountability (政府问责)

China-EU relations: Lithuania says its rocky ties with Beijing are a ‘wake-up call’ for Europe
Reuters, November 4, 2021

Chinese People Think China Is Popular Overseas. Americans Disagree.
The Diplomat, November 4, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Aukus in sights as UN backs China on peaceful transfers of new security tech
South China Morning Post, November 4, 2021

China’s tech and finance crackdown is a challenge to western ideas that cuts across developing world
The Conversation, November 4, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong’s top court declares unlawful some aspects of ‘joint enterprise’ rule for rioting, illegal assembly cases in landmark judgment
South China Morning Post, November 4, 2021

Related:
HKSAR v. LO KIN MAN (盧建民)
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Judiciary, November 4, 2021

黎智英等3人涉去年六四集會案 法官裁定案件表證成立(Jimmy Lai, Gwyneth Ho, Chow Hang-tung to stand trial on charges of unauthorized 2020 June Fourth gathering)
Radio Television Hong Kong, November 4, 2021

民主派初選47人案|馮達浚高院申保釋被拒(Bail denied for Frankie Fung, one of the 47 pro-democracy figures charged under National Security Law)
Ming Pao, November 4, 2021

賢學思政、光城者涉串謀煽動顛覆案 朱慧盈續准保釋 另10人續還押(Only 1 o 11 Student Politicism and Returning Valiant members charged with conspiracy to incite subversion—Jessica Chu—is granted bail)
Ming Pao, November 4, 2021

Five members of pro-establishment New People’s Party to enter Hong Kong’s legislative race in Dec
Hong Kong Free Press, November 4, 2021

Who is a Hong Konger? The US government has one of the widest definitions
Quartz, November 4, 2021

Commentary (评论)

China: Release jailed Wuhan activist ‘close to death’ after hunger strike
Amnesty International, November 4, 2021

世界不应坐视报道疫情的张展陨命狱中(The world should not sit back and just watch Zhang Zhan, who reported the Covid-19 in Wuhan, died in prison)
Ciivil Rights & Livelihood Watch, November 2, 2021

Wednesday, November 03, 2021

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Fourteen activists withdraw bid to run in People's Congress district elections
Radio Free Asia, November 1, 2021

宁夏男子群发“狗头表情包”被指辱警 遭拘留九天 (Man in Ningxia detained for 9 days for “insulting” police with a dog sticker shared in chat app)
Radio Free Asia, November 3, 2021

Xinjiang (新疆)

LANGUAGE LEARNING APP EMPHASIZING LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY DELETES TIBETAN AND UYGHUR LANGUAGES
China Digital Times, November 2, 2021

Access to Information (公众知情权)

China’s highest profile #MeToo accusation shows the limits of blanket censorship
Quartz, November 3, 2021

Shutting Down Historical Debate, China Makes It a Crime to Mock Heroes
“侮辱诽谤英烈”入刑,中国神圣化中共版本历史

The New York Times, November 3, 2021

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

A Chinese Tennis Star Accuses a Former Top Leader of Sexual Assault
网球名将彭帅指控中国前副总理张高丽性侵

The New York Times, November 3, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Beijing orders fresh batch of apps, including some run by Tencent and Alibaba, to rectify violations as regulatory crackdown continues
South China Morning Post, November 3, 2021

Why Big Tech is leaving China
Protocol, November 3, 2021

Chair of TikTok owner ByteDance steps down as Beijing tightens grip
The Guardian, November 3, 2021

2022 Beijing Winter Olympics (2022北京冬奥)

不许拍摄不能采访? 驻华外国记者协会担忧冬奥会报道透明度 (No photos or interviews? FCCC is concerned about lack of transparency on Olympic-related reporting in China)
Voice of America, November 2, 2021

Related:
Statement on Olympic Coverage
Foreign Correspondents' Club of China, November 2, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong elections: Regina Ip confirms Legco bid, but veteran lawmaker coy on leadership aspirations
South China Morning Post, November 3, 2021

‘I have no shame in my heart’: Hong Kong activist Tony Chung pleads guilty to secession and money laundering
Hong Kong Free Press, November 3, 2021

Judge reveals reasoning for Hong Kong democrats’ bail decisions
Hong Kong Free Press, November 3, 2021

Firm of ex-contender in Hong Kong Legco polls sues officials over inaction in murder case leading to 2019 protests
South China Morning Post, November 3, 2021

Hong Kong press group ‘disappointed’ at Consumer Council’s decision to suspend reporting awards amid pressure
Hong Kong Free Press, November 3, 2021

香港為總部美國公司減少 學者料涉中美爭拗及國安法等(No. of Hong Kong-based U.S. companies at 18-year low; scholar says China-U.S. tension and national security law maybe reasons)
Radio Television Hong Kong, November 3, 2021

Commentary (评论)

Patriotism gone awry: China’s fragile ‘little pinks’ are on a dangerous Trump-like warpath
South China Morning Post, November 3, 2021