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, July 29, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

China Cracks Down On Its Tech Giants. Sound Familiar?
Wired, July 29, 2021

Related:
China’s misguided crackdown on business
Financial Times, July 29, 2021

Is China Killing Its Golden Tech Goose?
Protocol, July 28, 2021

China’s Sputnik Moment?
Foreign Affairs, July 29, 2021

Invest in China, but Without Illusions
投资中国,但不要抱有幻想

The New York Times, July 29, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

National security law: scholars, legal experts warn ‘Liberate Hong Kong’ slogan ‘very risky’ in wake of secession conviction
South China Morning Post, July 29, 2021

Related:
High Court ruling involving Hong Kong protest slogan not binding in sedition case, judge says
South China Morning Post, July 29, 2021

【譚得志被控煽動】控方詳列街站言論 指曾喊「光時」171 次 辦「健康工作坊」無健康訊息(In ex-lawmaker Tam Tak-chi's sedition case, prosecution says he shouted "Liberate Hong Kong" slogan 171 times in public gatherings)
Stand News, July 29, 2021

Hong Kong national security law: High Court judges in first sentencing reject prosecution call to follow legal principles from mainland China
South China Morning Post, July 29, 2021

Related:
Lawyer for Hong Kong Protester Asks Court for Shorter Term
Associated Press, July 29, 2021

Two arrested over online calls for boycotts, threats against Hong Kong broadcaster TVB
Hong Kong Free Press, July 29, 2021

信報創辦人林行止宣布擱筆:在大環境仍有選擇自由之下作出的自由選擇(Hong Kong Economic Journal founder Lam Hang-chi ends his column: A free decision made when such decisions are still possible)
Stand News, July 29, 2021

Hong Kong’s biggest teachers’ union quits alliance behind annual Tiananmen Square vigil, citing ‘worsening situation’
South China Morning Post, July 29, 2021

Hong Kong protests: judiciary lifts rare ban imposed on judge barred from cases linked to 2019 unrest
South China Morning Post, July 29, 2021

英政府開放網上申請 「極度貧窮」BNO 人士可領政府資助(UK gov't opens application for subsidies for "extremely poor" BNO passport holders)
Stand News, July 29, 2021

Commentary (评论)

More clarity required following judgment in first Hong Kong security law trial
South China Morning Post, July 29, 2021

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Xinjiang (新疆)

Morocco authorities arrest Uyghur activist at China’s request
The Guardian, July 28, 2021

‘They Have My Sister’: As Uyghurs Speak Out, China Targets Their Families
海外维吾尔人发声之后:亲属成为中国当局打击对象

The New York Times, July 28, 2021

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Chinese businessman who challenged Beijing jailed for 18 years
Financial Times, July 28, 2021

Related:
孙大午法庭最后陈述 (Sun Dawu's final court statement)
Weiquanwang, July 28, 2021

Tibet (西藏)

China’s official Panchen Lama tells Tibetan Buddhists to stay away from separatist forces
South China Morning Post, July 28, 2021

Access to Information (公众知情权)

After the Floods, China Found a Target for Its Pain: Foreign Media
The New York Times, July 28, 2021

中国对外媒敌意攀升 专家:“对北京不利” (Experts on China's rising hostility toward foreign media: “It's bad for Beijing”)
Deutsche Welle, July 28, 2021

驻华外国记者协会谴责外国记者在郑州遭围攻及骚扰 (Foreign Correspondents' Club of China condemns harassment of reporters covering Henan floods)
Voice of America, July 28, 2021

Related:
FCCC Statement on Harassment of Reporters Covering Henan Floods
Foreign Correspondents' Club of China, July 27, 2021

Government Accountability (政府问责)

The Nation That Faced Down China
The Atlantic, July 28, 2021

More than 100 Nobel Prize winners accuse China of ‘bullying’ after effort to stop Dalai Lama and pro-Taiwan independence chemist from speaking at summit
South China Morning Post, July 28, 2021

河南洪灾受害者控诉官方“难辞其咎” 让人“自投罗网” (Victims of Henan floods: Officials must bear responsibility for letting people get trapped)
Radio Free Asia, July 27, 2021

I wouldn’t sign a China trade deal now: Tony Abbott
The Sydney Morning Herald, July 28, 2021

China Appears to Be Building New Silos for Nuclear Missiles, Researchers Say
The Wall Street Journal, July 27, 2021

After Years of Chinese Influence, U.S. Tries to Renew Ties in Southeast Asia
美国强化与东南亚关系,以抗衡中国影响力

The New York Times, July 28, 2021

不得挑戰中國制度 不得阻發展 不得侵犯主權 王毅晤舍曼提3底線 京:雙方談得很深很透 (Wang Yi raises 3 bottom lines in meeting with Sherman: Do not challenge China's system, interrupt China's development, or interfere with China's sovereignty; Zhao Lijian: It was an in-depth talk)
Ming Pao, July 28, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

China’s Big Tech crackdown: WeChat’s suspension of sign-ups adds to uncertainty
South China Morning Post, July 28, 2021

China takes aim at pop-up windows in further tech clampdown
Agence France-Presse, July 28, 2021

China’s era of Big Tech Overwork has ended
Protocol, July 28, 2021

Biden: If U.S. has 'real shooting war' it could be result of cyber attacks
Reuters, July 28, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

China’s top legislative body set to endorse anti-sanctions law for Hong Kong next month by inserting the provisions into city’s mini-constitution
South China Morning Post, July 28, 2021

Developing | Hong Kong appoints investigator to probe fraud allegations in the financial affairs of Apple Daily’s publisher Next Digital
South China Morning Post, July 28, 2021

Former top editors of Hong Kong’s now-defunct Apple Daily withdraw bail review
Hong Kong Free Press, July 28, 2021

National security law: protest slogan ‘Liberate Hong Kong’ can have multiple meanings, but is it ultimately a call for secession?
South China Morning Post, July 28, 2021

Related:
The End of Free Speech in Hong Kong
The Atlantic, July 28, 2021

Hong Kong’s first national security law verdict shows Beijing’s “red line” has become a red net
Quartz, July 28, 2021

【首宗國安法案】接受美媒訪問 梁頌恆:創作「光時」口號只為吸引眼球 無關分裂國家(In interview with the Atlantic, ex-lawmaker Baggio Leung in exile says "Liberate Hong Kong" slogan was created to catch eyeballs, unrelated to secession)
Stand News, July 28, 2021

區諾軒就818案刑期上訴 期間申請保釋外出被拒(Pro-democracy ex-lawmaker Au Lok Hin appeals sentence over August 2019 unlawful assembly, is denied bail)
Radio Television Hong Kong, July 28, 2021

「港人講地」母公司入稟控大紀元、自由亞洲電台誹謗(Parent company of pro-Beijing online media Speakout HK sues Epoch Times, Radio Free Asia for libel)
Ming Pao, July 28, 2021

How Hong Kong’s civil society ‘withered’ under Beijing’s national security purge
Agence France-Presse, July 28, 2021

Ex-Hospital Authority union chair Winnie Yu granted bail ahead of national security law trial
Hong Kong Free Press, July 28, 2021

Hong Kong police warnings of terrorist threat met with scepticism
Financial Times, July 28, 2021

Hong Kong Markets Battered as Foreign Investor Confidence Wavers
Radio Free Asia, July 28, 2021

2022 Beijing Winter Olympics (2022北京冬奥)

美议员施压五间美企 要求他们停止赞助北京冬奥 (U.S. Senators pressure corporations to stop sponsoring the Beijing Winter Olympics)
Deutsche Welle, July 28, 2021

杯葛北京冬奥 美跨国企业做得到吗? (Are U.S. transnational corporations capable of boycotting Beijing Winter Olympics?)
Radio Free Asia, July 27, 2021

Commentary (评论)

Commentary: Didi’s troubles with China should be everyone’s business
Channel News Asia, July 28, 2021

人禍性質大於天災的「鄭州水災」,暴露出習近平一人獨裁政權的失能和冷酷 (A greater manmade disaster than natural disaster: Henan floods expose Xi Jinping's incompetent and ruthless dictatorship)
Voicettank, July 28, 2021

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Xinjiang (新疆)

'They Have My Sister': As Uyghurs Speak Out, China Targets Their Families
The New York Times, July 27, 2021

Access to Information (公众知情权)

Press groups raise alarm over threats to foreign media in China
The Guardian, July 27, 2021

郑州不明身份者围攻记者 掩盖什么? (Unidentified persons block journalists in Zhengzhou—what are they trying to conceal?)
Radio France Internationale, July 26, 2021

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

郑州地铁720头七 网民呼吁回答疑问要求追责 (Netizens demand answers, accountability for the Zhengzhou metro tragedy)
Radio France Internationale, July 27, 2021

China’s #MeToo movement picks up again after Kris Wu scandal with two academics accused of sexual harassment
South China Morning Post, July 27, 2021

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Biden’s China Strategy Meets Resistance at the Negotiating Table
中美高官会谈激烈交锋,美国对华战略或难奏效

The New York Times, July 27, 2021

北京再拒溯源调查 可能成下次大流行最大受害者 (Beijing rejects WHO's COVID inquiry again, at risk of becoming the biggest victim of the next pandemic)
Voice of America, July 27, 2021

加拿大卑诗省取消和中国司法教育合作计划 (British Columbia cancels justice education program with China)
Radio Free Asia, July 26, 2021

Related:
Chinese police training in B.C. an espionage risk, critics say: Glacier Investigates
Business in Vancouver, July 25, 2021

Chinese nationalists are targeting their own athletes on social media.
中国奥运选手遭遇民族主义攻击引争议

The New York Times, July 27, 2021

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

以数据安全为名,中国启动对网企6个月专项整治 (In name of data security, China launches 6-month cleanup of Internet enterprises)
Voice of America, July 27, 2021

Tencent super app WeChat suspends new user registrations until early August for ‘security upgrade’
South China Morning Post, July 27, 2021

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong national security law: first person to stand trial found guilty of terrorism, inciting secession
South China Morning Post, July 27, 2021

Related:
Hong Kong: First national security law conviction is ‘beginning of the end’ for freedom of expression
Amnesty International, July 27, 2021

Organiser of Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigil fined HK$8,000 for operating June 4 museum without proper licence
South China Morning Post, July 27, 2021

Hong Kong national security police bar reporter who filmed police stabbing from leaving city, home searched
Hong Kong Free Press, July 27, 2021

鄧炳強稱必須盡快就基本法23條立法(Secretary for Security Chris Tang says speeding up Article 23 legislation is a must)
Radio Television Hong Kong, July 27, 2021

人大常委會下月開會 反制裁法料納港基本法附件三(In NPC Standing Committee meeting next month, anti-sanction law is expected to be included in Basic Law Annex III)
Ming Pao, July 27, 2021

院校來年紛推國安教育 理大一年級本科生必修 嶺大共同核心課程含國安(Universities are including national security education as core or mandatory subject)
Stand News, July 27, 2021

Hong Kong education: exodus of students could worsen, educators warn
South China Morning Post, July 26, 2021