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, May 02, 2019

June Fourth 30th Anniversary (“六四”三十周年)

【六四30周年】30 位記者拍片親述見聞 有記者憶槍聲激動痛哭 (“I am a journalist. This is my June Fourth story”: 30 journalists film videos recounting their memories of June Fourth)
The Stand News, May 1, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

How mass surveillance works in Xinjiang, China: “Reverse engineering” police app reveals profiling and monitoring strategies
Human Rights Watch, May 2, 2019

Related:
China’s algorithms of repression: Reverse engineering a Xinjiang police mass surveillance app
Human Rights Watch, May 1, 2019

US Sec. of State asks US business to think twice in China’s Xinjiang; compares crisis to 1930s Germany
Agence France-Presse, May 2, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

China hands death, suspended death sentences to Canadian, US citizens
Radio Free Asia, May 1, 2019

Related:
Chinese court sentences American Mark Swidan to death with two-year reprieve
Dui Hua, April 30, 2019

河南疫苗受害家长何方美 遭“寻滋罪”批捕 (Two months into detention, Henan vaccine scandal parent formally arrested for “picking quarrels”)
Radio Free Asia, May 1, 2019

中国司法里的“敏感”案件和党的领导 (A study of “sensitive” cases and CPC leadership in China’s judicial system)
BBC, May 1, 2019

广西律师陈家鸿被抓 书法惹祸?(Guangxi rights lawyer arrested over his calligraphy)
Radio Free Asia, April 30, 2019

Access to Information (信息公开)

Xi repeatedly urges China’s youth to follow the CCP
The Diplomat, May 2, 2019

Related:
President Xi's May Fourth speech to youth “distorts history, reality”: Analysts
Radio Free Asia, May 1, 2019

紀念五四100周年大會高規格舉行 6點寄語青年 習:不愛國很丟臉 (“It is very shameful to not be patriotic,” says Xi Jinping to China’s youth on anniversary of May Fourth Movement, stressing importance to to uphold Party rule)
Ming Pao, May 1, 2019

“失踪”班禅喇嘛生日 中国藏区监控升级 (Surveillance in Tibet intensifies on birthday of disappeared Panchen Lama)
Radio Free Asia, May 1, 2019

WeChat blocks petition backing woman accusing tech mogul of rape
Inkstone, April 30, 2019

Brill severs ties with Chinese publisher
Inside Higher Ed, April 29, 2019

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Six Marxist students vanish in China in the lead up to Labor Day
CNN, May 2, 2019

Taiwan rights groups call on Beijing to allow visits to jailed rights lawyer
Radio Free Asia, May 1, 2019
HRIC Note: Wang Quanzhang was sentenced in January, after three years of incommunicado detention.

Liu Xia rebuilds her career as an artist
The New Yorker, April 30, 2019

艾未未加拿大影展 呼吁关注中国人权 (Ai Weiwei premieres new film “The Rest” at film festival in Canada, calls for attention on human rights abuses in China)
Radio Free Asia, May 1, 2019

Uyghur Indiana University student fights to free father Ilham Tohti from imprisonment in China
Indiana Daily Student, April 30, 2019

This is the resistance to China’s influence in Canada, and this is their moment
The Star, April 30, 2019

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Beijing “loses all hope for Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen” as she rallies Washington
South China Morning Post, May 2, 2019

昔五四運動起點 今愛國教育「課室」 參觀北大紅樓展 團體:上級指示任務 (Birthplace of May Fourth movement, Peking University Red Building is now “patriotism” exhibition hall for mandatory visits by government officials)
Ming Pao, May 2, 2019

Pressure mounts for Canada to push back against China in largely one-sided feud
National Post, May 1, 2019

中國取消布拉格愛樂所有演出,挺台市長:可以去台灣 (China cancels Prague orchestra tour after mayor’s “pro-Taiwan” actions)
The News Lens, April 30, 2019

Related:
Prague mayor sending Philharmonic to Taiwan instead of China after Xi snub
Taiwan News, April 29, 2019

Qinghai passes rule to promote ethnic unity
Global Times, April 29, 2019

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

“Striding across the Pacific”: Huawei’s identity problem
The New York Times, May 1, 2019

China’s Tencent pitches vision of artificial intelligence ethics
Financial Times, May 1, 2019

Hong Kong (香港)

Hong Kong elites and celebrities come together in patriotic anthem video for People’s Republic of China’s 70th anniversary
South China Morning Post, May 2, 2019

近九成半受訪者同意香港應訂立基本居住標準 (Poll: 94% believe Hong Kong should establish standard on minimum living conditions)
Radio Television Hong Kong, May 2, 2019

Legco showdown looms as Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing camp tries to control extradition bill process with bid to unseat committee chairman
South China Morning Post, May 2, 2019

How a student’s column in a US college newspaper sparked a fiery debate over “Hongkonger identity”
Hong Kong Free Press, May 1, 2019

港大校友關注組發起聯署 力保戴耀廷教席 指現階段不適宜處理戴耀廷教席 (Hong Kong University alumni petition to preserve Benny Tai’s tenure)
The Stand News, April 30, 2019

Commentary (评论)

1919 to 2019: A century of youth protest and ideological conflict around May 4
SupChina, May 1, 2019

The true cost of signing up with Huawei: There is nothing hysterical in doubting the wisdom of intimate contact with the CCP
Financial Times, April 30, 2019

Huawei crisis offers chance to recast Canada-China relations
iPolitics, May 1, 2019

With lives at stake, Canada’s misguided vision of China demands a careful reboot
Globe and Mail, April 30, 2019

Wednesday, May 01, 2019

June Fourth 30th Anniversary (“六四”三十周年)

30 years ago: Leaders meet with students
China Digital Times, April 30, 2019

China’s Xi looks to stoke nationalism as Tiananmen anniversary approaches
Washington Post, April 30, 2019

Related:
China's Xi appeals to youth patriotism on centenary of student protests
Reuters, April 30, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

“Truth hidden in the dark”: Chinese international student responses to Xinjiang
SupChina, May 1, 2019

China’s Xinjiang an “enormous risk” for US business, Pompeo warns
South China Morning Post, May 1, 2019

China frees “lost” Uighur wives but at a price, families say
Channel NewsAsia, April 30, 2019

UN chief Antonio Guterres raised “situation in Xinjiang” in talks with Xi Jinping
South China Morning Post, April 30, 2019

Related:
China defends Xinjiang crackdown after UN chief raises issue
Channel NewsAsia, April 30, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Three Tibetans are detained for calling for Panchen Lama's release
Radio Free Asia, April 30, 2019

Labor editors “at risk of torture”, dozens of labor activists behind bars
Radio Free Asia, April 30, 2019

Access to Information (信息公开)

Chinese media warn WeChat group admins: “You can be arrested for what happens in your group chat”
What’s On Weibo, May 1

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Liu Xia’s unsettling photos of dolls reveal the emotional toll of loving a Chinese dissident
Quartzy, May 1, 2019

Freed lawyer Tang Jingling vows to continue fight for human rights, democracy in China
South China Morning Post, April 30, 2019

Related:
“China's Gandhi” gets out of jail, fellow rights lawyer watched by police
Radio Free Asia, April 30, 2019

China’s workers’ movement will continue despite crackdown on labour activists
China Labour Bulletin, April 30, 2019

Chinese nursing students protest after discovering that the degrees they worked on for years are fake
The Telegraph, April 30, 2019

Rally held at Chinese embassy in Seoul for seven North Korean defectors detained in Shenyang
Radio Free Asia, April 30, 2019

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Professional Supervisory Unit list updated for 2019
ChinaFile, April 30, 2019

China sentences second Canadian to death
BBC, April 30, 2019

Related:
Second Canadian sentenced to death for drug charges
China Digital Times, April 30, 2019

Canada demands clemency for drug trafficker sentenced to death by court in Guangdong
South China Morning Post, May 1, 2019

Chinese subsidies for Foxconn and Want Want spark outcry in Taiwan
Nikkei Asian Review, April 30, 2019

US accuses China of enabling corruption and undermining national sovereignty in Latin America
South China Morning Post, April 30, 2019

China, U.S. make researchers' travel more difficult
Voice of America, May 1, 2019

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

WeChat’s Censors Are Not #HereForJingyao: Public Accounts Supporting Woman Accusing Richard Liu Of Rape Are Shut Down
SupChina, April 30, 2019

Vodafone found hidden backdoors in Huawei equipment
Bloomberg, April 30, 2019

Related:
Huawei says alleged router “backdoor” is standard network tool
The Guardian, April 30, 2019

Czech President Milos Zeman says West’s allegations of espionage against Huawei are not supported by evidence
South China Morning Post, April 30, 2019

The people with power at Tencent
The Information, April 29, 2019

Hong Kong (香港)

The “Occupy Central 9” Cases: Rule of Law or Rule by Law in Hong Kong?
JURIST – Academic Commentary, April 30, 2019

‘Fed up, angry and about to explode’: Hong Kong May Day marchers call for improved labour rights and higher minimum wage
South China Morning Post, May 1, 2019

The battle over Hong Kong’s controversial small-house policy is not finished
South China Morning Post, May 1, 2019

Extradition law in Hong Kong: Chief Executive Carrie Lam refuses to meet pro-democracy camp over controversial bill, saying practical suggestions should be made in the legislature
South China Morning Post, April 30, 2019

Commentary (评论)

How the ‘Committee of 100’ is doing Beijing’s bidding in the US
Hong Kong Free Press, May 1, 2019

Taiwan’s topsy-turvy cross-strait politics
The Diplomat, May 1, 2019

Chinese muscle stifles criticism of treatment of the Uighurs
Financial Times, May 1, 2019

Is China dispensing with “hurt feelings”?
China Media Project, April 30, 2019

Chinese students also victims of unethical admissions practices
SupChina, April 30, 2019

China could win from tech cold war
Bloomberg, April 29, 2019