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.

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

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong police broke with protocol on body cameras at protests, rights group says
South China Morning Post, December 16, 2018

Activists slam decision not to prosecute Leung
The Standard, December 17, 2018

Related:
Lawmaker threatens legal challenge against Hong Kong Dept. of Justice after it drops ex-leader CY Leung’s prosecution
Hong Kong Free Press, December 14, 2018

Trial ends for nine Umbrella Movement activists, judgment expected in April
Hong Kong Free Press, December 14, 2018

Chinese national anthem to play before Hong Kong lawmakers swear in to legislature under anti-abuse law
South China Morning Post, December 14, 2018

Commentary (评论)

Hong Kong must accept China with all its flaws to keep its privileges, says Christine Loh
Hong Kong Free Press, December 16, 2018

Disqualifying Eddie Chu from a minor office has major implications
Hong Kong Free Press, December 15, 2018

Friday, December 14, 2018

Xinjiang (新疆)

中国新疆拘留营:“扣留”维族人的“模糊准则” (Pakistanis tell stories of Chinese authorities forcibly removing and detaining their Xinjiang wives)
BBC News, December 14, 2018

倡导组织:中国监禁47名记者,半数是维吾尔人(Committee to Protect Journalists report: 47 journalists, half of whom are Uyghurs, imprisoned in China)
Voice of America Chinese, December 14, 2018

中国摄影师卢广在新疆喀什被捕
Acclaimed photographer arrested in far west China, wife says
The New York Times, December 14, 2018

Access to Justice (司法公正)

China approves request by jailed activist's wife to visit: Mainland Affairs Council
Focus Taiwan, December 13, 2018

Chinese pastor Wang Yi’s wife Jiang Rong accused of inciting subversion and held in unknown location after Christian crackdown
South China Morning Post, December 13, 2018

Related:
Repression of Christian church intensifies: Protestant pastor, dozens of congregants detained
Human Rights Watch, December 13, 2018

China’s “Banksy” and associate go on trial for defacing city walls with graffiti
South China Morning Post, December 13, 2018

Access to Information (信息公开)

Chinese police shut down “water army” of internet trolls paid U.S. $4.3 million to blitz websites and social media
South China Morning Post, December 13, 2018

Chinese major generals send message of peaceful rise, saying Beijing won’t be “hijacked by populism”
South China Morning Post, December 13, 2018

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Hard cell: Chinese vocational school’s clean-up campaign draws comparison with prison life
South China Morning Post, December 12, 2018

Dutch court rejects Chinese villagers claim to have their Buddha mummy returned
South China Morning Post, December 13, 2018