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.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Chinese city bans Christmas decorations in tilt at “clean-city” competition
Telegraph, December 18, 2018

China’s bizarre program to keep activists in check
New Yorker, December 17, 2018

Government Accountability (政府问责)

官方改革大事记:六四仍为“暴乱” (Official chronicle of China in the reform era still designates June Fourth as “riot”)
Radio Free Asia, December 18, 2018

This is what Xi Jinping says can help save China from “terrifying tidal waves and horrifying storms”
South China Morning Post, December 18, 2018

Related:
China’s leader says party must control “all tasks,” and Asian markets slump
The New York Times, December 18, 2018

Xi Jinping’s story of reform
China Media Project, December 18, 2018

No way to cut corners and avoid arrest of Huawei executive at U.S. request: Freeland
Montreal Gazette, December 17, 2018

Related:
“There’s a human cost to these political situations”: Chinese arrests all too familiar for past Canadian detainees
South China Morning Post, December 18, 2018

China publishes economic and political wish list for its relationship with the European Union
South China Morning Post, December 18, 2018

地下教会主教郭希锦被要求让出职位 (At Vatican’s request, bishop of Chinese house-church bishop forced to give up position)
Deutsche Welle, December 15, 2018

Related:
China urgently needs “politically reliable,” “religiously knowledgeable” bishops as 50% of Catholic dioceses face vacancies
Global Times December 18, 2018

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Top Henan tourist site waives ticket fees for Huawei users
TechNode, December 18, 2018

Baidu restructures to focus on AI and cloud computing
TechNode, December 18, 2018

Chinese province asks home-sharing platforms to hand over guest and host information to authorities
South China Morning Post, December 17, 2018

National Security & Counterterrorism (国家安全和反恐)

华为的国家安全风险:西方和盟国联合布防 (Huawei’s national security risk: The West and its allies mount a common defense)
BBC News, December 17, 2018

Related:
【全球抵制】捷克情報部門指華為中興有安全威脅 呼籲停用 (Czech Cyber and Information Security Agency warns against Huawei and ZTE security risks, urges local telecom companies to stay clear)
The Stand News, December 18, 2018

Huawei to spend U.S. $2 billion over 5 years in cybersecurity push
Reuters, December 18, 2018

Huawei’s new playbook in Washington: Drop PR and hire lawyers
Wall Street Journal, December 17, 2018

Hong Kong (香港)

樹仁學生會「斷莊」 校方收回辦事處及民主牆 學生斥收窄言論空間 (Hong Kong Shue Yan University takes back student union democracy wall, office space)
The Stand News, December 19, 2018

Justice Dep’t may give more detail on decision not to prosecute ex-Hong Kong leader CY Leung, says Acting Chief Exec.
Hong Kong Free Press, December 18, 2018

Hong Kong’s top court rejects activist Raphael Wong’s appeal against Umbrella Movement jail sentence
Hong Kong Free Press, December 18, 2018

Implement the Basic Law better, Xi Jinping tells Hong Kong and Macau
South China Morning Post, December 18, 2018

觀察員報告揭發警察違規監控集會 (Civil Rights Observer to file complaint against police unlawfully filming assemblies, targeting individuals)
Inmediahk.net, December 17, 2018

Commentary (评论)

Xi's scary interpretation of the last 40 years of Chinese history
The Diplomat, December 19, 2018

How Xi Jinping is being placed at the very centre of China’s story of reform
Hong Kong Free Press, December 18, 2018

The fate of Huawei foreshadows the fate of China
The Atlantic, December 18, 2018

China got rid of one of the most oppressive practices of the Mao era. Now it’s coming back.
The Washington Post, December 18, 2018

中国为何对国际批评越来越无动于衷
An emboldened China no longer cares what its critics think
The New York Times, December 17, 2018

扩大社会控制 2019中国人权情势堪忧 (As Chinese authorities expand control of society, China’s human rights situation for 2019 is concerning)
Deutsche Welle, December 16, 2018

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Xinjiang (新疆)

Locked away, forgotten: Muslim Uyghur wives of Pakistani men
Associated Press, December 17, 2018

Popular Uyghur singer and parents held in Xinjiang political re-education camp
Radio Free Asia, December 17, 2018

U.S. sportswear traced to factory in China's internment camps
Associated Press, December 17, 2018

Gansu removes 4 halal-linked standards to curb religious extremism
Global Times, December 17, 2018

Access to Information (信息公开)

Minitrue: Approved sources on 1989 spokesman’s death
China Digital Times, December 17, 2018

Related:
Former Chinese official Yuan Mu – who said “not one person died on Tiananmen” – dies at 90
Hong Kong Free Press, December 17, 2018

China launches crackdown on Twitter amid calls for protection of accounts
Radio Free Asia, December 17, 2018

How a red dot kept Chinese-Canadian readers from getting the full story on Huawei
The Star Vancouver, December 14, 2018

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

China's pre-Christmas church crackdown raises alarm
BBC, December 18, 2018

Shenzhen offers Hunan workers pneumoconiosis compensation deal
China Labour Bulletin, December 17, 2018

Four Chinese activists shave heads to protest “persecution” of husbands
Reuters, December 17, 2018

Chinese distiller Yanghe Brewery agrees to raise factory workers’ pay after protest
South China Morning Post, December 17, 2018

Related:
Striking brewery workers clash with police in Jiangsu
Radio Free Asia, December 17, 2018

Government Accountability (政府问责)

China marks 40th anniversary of economic opening up
Al Jazeera, December 18, 2018

Related:
China’s reform, opening-up serve world’s common development
Sina English, December 18, 2018

Xi challenged over direction of China’s economic reforms
Financial Times, December 17, 2018

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Twitter warns of “unusual activity” from China and Saudi Arabia
BCC, December 18, 2018

Google’s secret China project “effectively ended” after internal confrontation
The Intercept, December 18, 2018

Related:
Amnesty welcomes reports of an end to Dragonfly
Amnesty International, December 17, 2018

What do Chinese internet users think of Google's “Dragonfly” project?
Global Voices, December 17, 2018

Czech Republic warns against using Huawei, ZTE products
Associated Press, December 17, 2018

National Security & Counterterrorism (国家安全和反恐)

Report: China driving use of armed drones in Middle East
Associated Press, December 17, 2018

Hong Kong (香港)

Green group slams Hong Kong’s air quality goals, saying they are too conservative and “a numbers game”
South China Morning Post, December 18, 2018

Lawmaker Claudia Mo and coalition to contest latest requirement added to Hong Kong’s national anthem bill
Hong Kong Free Press, December 17, 2018

Beijing has pledged to protect rights of four Hongkongers jailed for life in the Philippines on drug charges, city’s security chief John Lee says
South China Morning Post, December 17, 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping praises “courageous” Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam
South China Morning Post, December 17, 2018

Related:
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang praises Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam for city’s “new progress,” including push for innovation and tackling of livelihood issues
South China Morning Post, December 17, 2018

Commentary (评论)

China is holding two Canadians as hostages. It’s not even denying it.
Washington Post, December 18, 2018

China’s crisis of overconfidence
The Diplomat, December 18, 2018

China’s Khashoggi can still be saved
Foreign Policy, December 17, 2018

Monday, December 17, 2018

Xinjiang (新疆)

China’s detention camps for Muslims turn to forced labor
The New York Times, December 16, 2018

Forget Xinjiang’s re-education camps, China’s still a draw for Muslim tourists
South China Morning Post, December 16, 2018

How McKinsey has helped raise the stature of authoritarian governments
The New York Times, December 15, 2018

Prominent Uyghur Muslim cleric believed dead after nearly 30 years in Xinjiang prison
Radio Free Asia, December 14, 2018

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Young Tibetans self-immolate in protest
China Digital Times, December 14, 2018

12-year-old in China kills his mother, then returns to school, igniting an outcry
The New York Times, December 14, 2018

Access to Information (信息公开)

China sparks suspicion as it holds release of statistics
Nikkei Asian Review, December 14, 2018

China warns Tibetans not to be taken in ahead of Dalai Lama anniversary
Channel NewsAsia, December 14, 2018

Live-streaming offers possible solution to education inequality in China
SupChina, December 13, 2018

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

The price of progress in China: “We traded our lives for development”
Reuters, December 16, 2018

Chinese workers at Apple supplier Foxconn stage street protest over unpaid bonuses
South China Morning Post, December 16, 2018

China shuts leading underground Christian church, third this winter
South China Morning Post, December 16, 2018

Dissident Chinese poet, Liu Xiaobo supporter dies in Hong Kong
Radio Free Asia, December 14, 2018

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Germany targeting China in new rules about foreign takeovers, media report says
South China Morning Post, December 16, 2018

The U.S. fears China could strangle its only permanent military base in Africa – and a port in Djibouti could be the weapon
Washington Post, December 15, 2018

Mike Pompeo says China should free two Canadians held after Huawei executive’s arrest
The Guardian, December 15, 2018

Related:
China says Canada’s Huawei arrest has “aroused public anger”
Bloomberg, December 14, 2018

Canada’s ambassador to China meets with second detained Canadian
Agence France-Presse, December 17, 2018

“Crushing victory”: What’s next for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s war on corruption?
South China Morning Post, December 14, 2018

Related:
China’s Xi declares an “overwhelming victory” over graft: state media
Reuters, December 15, 2018

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

China’s ZTE taps Joe Lieberman for Washington damage control
Politico, December 15, 2018

Apple says it will update software in response to China iPhone ruling that could ban its handsets
South China Morning Post, December 14, 2018

China behind Marriott hotel breach, may be preparing for more hacks
TechSpot, December 12, 2018

Related:
Marriott data breach is traced to Chinese hackers as U.S. readies crackdown on Beijing
The New York Times, December 11, 2018