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, May 05, 2021

Xinjiang (新疆)

New Zealand slams China's treatment of Uyghurs, stops short of calling it genocide
Deutsche Welle, May 5, 2021

China Is Courting Middle Eastern Nations on Xinjiang
The Diplomat, May 5, 2021

Despite surveillance, Uyghurs around the world speak out online
The Christian Science Monitor, May 5, 2021

维吾尔人在纪录片里忏悔 家属喊冤 (Uyghurs “confess” in CGTN documentary; families cry foul)
Radio Free Asia, May 4, 2021

Access to Information (公众知情权)

In China, Writing About Pandemic, Cultural Heritage Can Get You Arrested
Voice of America, May 4, 2021

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Feminism in China dates to communist revolution but today activists feel squeezed by the state
South China Morning Post, May 5, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Big Tech’s regulatory challenges in China include closer scrutiny of taxes, but many see this as long overdue
South China Morning Post, May 5, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

Yuen Long mob attack victims drop civil case against Hong Kong police chief
Hong Kong Free Press, May 5, 2021

Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy appeals conviction over accessing public data for documentary
Hong Kong Free Press, May 5, 2021

2019 Hong Kong PolyU siege: 3 sought, 18 bailed on suspicion of helping protesters flee
Hong Kong Free Press, May 5, 2021

Related:
Hong Kong protests: four jailed for up to 56 months over National Day riot, judge says non-violent participants at scene share culpability
South China Morning Post, May 5, 2021

【12港人】郭子麟涉11.18暴動案 今遭加控管有攻擊性武器罪 月尾轉區院訊(Hong Kong 12 Case: Kwok Tsz-lun faces add’l charge of offensive weapon possession in November 18, 2019 protest)
inmedia.hk, May 5, 2021

Hong Kong national security law: ex-lawmaker in jail awaiting trial barred from attending father’s funeral, told he can watch online
South China Morning Post, May 5, 2021

陳皓桓:若民陣被取締 如何說明香港仍有結社自由(Civil Human Rights Front convener Figo Chan Ho-wun: If group is banned, how could we say Hong Kong still has freedom of assembly?)
Radio Television Hong Kong, May 5, 2021

National security law: University of Hong Kong student union hopefuls plan cautious approach to avoid flouting Beijing-decreed legislation
South China Morning Post, May 4, 2021

【清算學生會】 張崑陽、周永康等港大校友聯署 促台灣中研院撤張翔院士資格(In joint statement, HKU alumni, including activists-in-exile Sunny Cheung and Alex Chow, urge Taiwan’s Academia Sinica to rescind membership held by HKU president Zhang Xiang)
Stand News, May 5, 2021

Hong Kong Exiles Lobby For Political Asylum Seekers in Canada
Radio Free Asia, May 5, 2021

Commentary (评论)

Calls for ‘fake news’ laws need strict scrutiny to ensure public’s rights are preserved
South China Morning Post, May 5, 2021

Tuesday, May 04, 2021

Access to Information (公众知情权)

因报道疫情而身陷囹圄的公民记者张展荣获比利时自由大学言论自由奖 (Zhang Zhan, imprisoned citizen journalist who covered coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, is awarded Honorary Title for Freedom of Expression by Free University of Brussels-VUB)
Radio France Internationale, May 4, 2021

Government Accountability (政府问责)

EU efforts to ratify China investment deal on ice after sanctions
Agence France-Presse, May 4, 2021

EU trade chief says efforts to ratify China deal ‘suspended’
Politico, May 4, 2021

Related:
Intervention by Sharon Hom at Exchange of Views on “Comprehensive Agreement on Investment” (CAI) between EU and China Convened by the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights
Human Rights in China, February 25, 2021

“一带一路”背后中国劳工的血泪:强迫劳动 惨死他乡 (Chinese workers' ordeal behind the Belt and Road Initiative: Forced labor, miserable death away from home)
Radio Free Asia, May 3, 2021

中美关系:布林肯谴责中国对外好斗、对内压制 警告军事冲突违背美中利益 (U.S. Sec’y of State Blinken condemns China for combative actions abroad, increased suppression at home; warns that military conflict is against U.S.-China interests)
British Broadcasting Corporation, May 3, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Chinese smart TVs are snooping on their owners
Protocol, May 3, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

Two more teachers banned from Hong Kong schools over links to ‘social turmoil’
Hong Kong Free Press, May 4, 2021

Related:
Hong Kong protests: students say lifetime ban on teacher over ‘biased’ materials unfair and disproportionate
South China Morning Post, May 3, 2021

Largest protest group in Hong Kong rejects police request for records and funding details in face of probe
Hong Kong Free Press, May 4, 2021

Related:
7.1遊行 8名民主派被控煽惑集結等罪 押後至7月再訊(Eight pro-democracy figures charged over an unauthorized anti-national security law protest in 2020)
inmedia.hk, May 4, 2021

New Data Show Hong Kong’s National Security Arrests Follow a Pattern
ChinaFile, May 4, 2021

Embattled Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK is still free to criticise government, Lam says, provided it is ‘objective, fair’
South China Morning Post, May 4, 2021

Related:
港台節目製作人員工會回應管理層刪片聲明:昔日節目是公共資源 是港人共同財產(RTHK Programme Staff Union's statement on management's decision to delete clips from YouTube & Facebook: Previous programmes are public resources and Hong Kong people's shared assets)
RTHK Programme Staff Union, May 3, 2021

【47人案】梁晃維辭任中西區區議員(Fergus Leung Fong-wai, one of the 47 pro-democracy figures arrested, resigns from Central and Western district councilor post)
Stand News, May 4, 2021

理大衝突涉助示威者離開 21人被控其中3人缺席提訊(21 charged over assisting protestors to leave at PolyU siege in 2019)
Radio Television Hong Kong, May 4, 2021

Beijing to oversee election body
The Standard, May 4, 2021

Legal experts launch advice website for Hongkongers amid growing number of arrests and charges
Hong Kong Free Press, May 4, 2021

Commentary (评论)

Why Martin Lee’s Arrest Is Such a Worrying Sign
The Diplomat, May 3, 2021

Monday, May 03, 2021

Xinjiang (新疆)

Beyond Xinjiang: Xi Jinping’s Ethnic Crackdown
The Diplomat, May 1, 2021

China steps up defence of Xinjiang policies and says sanctions are an ‘industry genocide’ designed to hurt business
South China Morning Post, April 30, 2021

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Press Freedom Day: Missing citizen journalists in China
Deutsche Welle, May 3, 2021

China pledges to improve conditions of delivery workers. Arrest of a labor activist suggests otherwise.
GlobalVoices, May 1, 2021

全国联署追查郭宏伟死亡真相 维权人士签名遭警方调查(Rights defenders launch country-wide joint appeals urging probe into Guo Hongwei's death; activist is investigated by police after signing)
Radio Free Asia, May 3, 2021

Access to Information (公众知情权)

Czechia: A Case Study of China’s Changing Overseas Propaganda Efforts
The Diplomat, April 30, 2021

世界新闻自由日30周年 无国界记者:中国是新闻和言论自由的最大敌人(Reporters Without Borders on 30th anniv. of World Press Freedom Day: China is the greatest enemy of freedom of press, speech)
Radio Free Asia, May 3, 2021

Counterterrorism (反恐)

Biden leaves China a Xinjiang terrorism problem with US exit from Afghanistan
South China Morning Post, May 1, 2021

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Communist Party of China social media account faces backlash in China after mocking India’s COVID deaths
The Hindu, May 3, 2021

Differences with China Over Human Rights Record 'Harder to Reconcile', New Zealand PM Says
Voice of America, May 3, 2021

国际科学家再次呼吁世卫组织进一步调查新冠病毒起源(WHO receives 3rd letter from int’l scientists, scholars urging further investigation into COVID-19 origin)
Voice of America, May 1, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

China’s Central Bank Works with Ant, Tencent to Develop Digital Currency
Voice of America, May 2, 2021

China’s regulator names 33 apps including Baidu, Sogou, iFlytek, Tencent for unauthorised data collection
South China Morning Post, May 1, 2021

China makes ‘world’s largest satellite image database’ to train AI better
South China Morning Post, April 30, 2021

China’s Big Tech legal teams are unbeatable on their home courts, literally
Protocol, April 30, 2021

国资委启动专项行动 提升在线监管能力水平(State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission launches special program to raise online supervision capabilities)
Xinhua News, May 2, 2021

中国再度上榜美国知识产权“黑名单”(China gets on U.S. intellectual property blacklist again)
Voice of America, May 1, 2021

Related:
2021 Special 301 Report
Office of the United States Trade Representative, April 30, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

National security law blamed as Hong Kong press freedom slumps to all-time low in journalists’ survey
South China Morning Post, May 3, 2021

Related:
Hong Kong Press Freedom Index for journalists hits record low; HKSAR blamed as Hong Kong’s press freedom plunges to worst record
香港新聞自由指數業界評分再創新低 特區政府被視為元兇
Hong Kong Journalists Association, May 3, 2021

RTHK plan to delete content spurs online push
The Standard, May 3, 2021

Interview: Hong Kong’s ‘fragile’ freedoms had never taken root, says journalist Bao Choy following conviction over documentary
Hong Kong Free Press, May 3, 2021

港台工會獲確認電視部員工利君雅不獲續約(RTHK will not renew contract of Nabela Qoser, journalist who posed tough questions to gov’t officials during 2019 protests)
Radio Television Hong Kong, May 3, 2021

National security law: with members behind bars or facing jail, Hong Kong June 4 vigil organisers weigh uncertain future
South China Morning Post, May 3, 2021

Related:
Hong Kong activists clean Pillar of Shame in first Tiananmen commemoration event since national security law imposed
South China Morning Post, May 3, 2021

陳志全退黨及辭去主席 人民力量:尊重及理解並已接納(Ex-lawmaker Raymond Chan Chi-chuen quits People Power and as party chair)
Radio Television Hong Kong, May 2, 2021

林卓廷辭任民主黨副主席(Ex-lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting steps down as Democratic Party's vice-chairperson)
Radio Television Hong Kong, May 3, 2021

Former Hong Kong lawmaker Raymond Chan announces he is quitting politics
South China Morning Post, May 2, 2021

李軒朗facebook發文:已身處海外 繼續信守民主本土理念(Disqualified district councilor Timothy Lee Hin Long has left Hong Kong)
Ming Pao, May 3, 2021

香港大學學生會就校方聲明之回應(Hong Kong University Students' Union responds to statement of University authorities)
inmedia.hk, May 1, 2021

Related:
香港大學學生會就校方聲明之回應 | Response from the Hong Kong University Students’ Union regarding the Statement of the University
The Hong Kong University Students' Union, May 1, 2021

港大封殺學生會 候選內閣「薪燧」表明繼續參選:有燈就有人 (“Defiance,” HKU students union’s proposed cabinet, will continue to run by-election)
Stand News, May 1, 2021

Hong Kong protests: student accused of rioting at Chinese University tells court he went there to attend his sister’s graduation ceremony
South China Morning Post, May 3, 2021

Related:
Hong Kong protests: youth pleads guilty to rioting, admits he was part of group that attacked police officer in Mong Kok last year
South China Morning Post, May 3, 2021

Electoral overhaul: Hong Kong Legco to have second debate on reform bill on May 26
South China Morning Post, May 3, 2021

Hong Kong labour unions lead campaign against amendments to immigration bill
South China Morning Post, May 1, 2021

Elderly targeted in security law scams
The Standard, May 3, 2021

Commentary (评论)

Killing Hong Kong’s Free Press Will Harm Its Economy
Foreign Policy, May 3, 2021

Beijing’s double speak: Why China owes the United Nations more than mere lip service
Hong Kong Free Press, May 2, 2021