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.

Friday, July 21, 2017

Special Feature: Liu Xiaobo (特辑:刘晓波)

We hope our expanded special feature on Liu Xiaobo—including news items, analyses of the significance of his life and work, international support for Liu Xia and calls for accountability, and commentaries—will be a useful information resource and help generate more effective action by the international community. Liu Xiaobo was a prominent Chinese public intellectual and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, recognized for “his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental rights in China.” He died of liver cancer on July 13, 2017 in Chinese custody.

News (新闻)

Surviving Tiananmen “Gentlemen” mum on Chinese Nobel laureate's death
Reuters, July 21, 2017
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-rights-gentlemen-idUSKBN1A60AQ

The death of Liu Xiaobo marks dark times for dissent in China
The Washington Post, July 21, 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/07/21/the-death-of-liu-xiaobo-marks-dark-times-for-dissent-in-china/

Related:
In China, despair for cause of democracy after Nobel laureate’s death
刘晓波之死熄灭了中国民主改革的希望
The New York Times, July 20, 2017
EN: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/world/asia/liu-xiaobo-nobel-peace-prize-china-democracy.html
CH: https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20170721/liu-xiaobo-nobel-peace-prize-china-democracy/zh-hant/

大连维权人士姜建军因海滩祭奠刘晓波被行政拘留10天 (Dalian human rights activist Jiang Jianjun placed in administrative detention for 10 days for Liu Xiaobo beach memorial)
Weiquanwang, July 20, 2017
http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2017/07/10.html

International Support for Liu Xia & Calls for Accountability (国际社会声援刘霞、要求问责)

Chairs Urge Ambassador Branstad to Invite Liu Xia to U.S. Embassy in Beijing
Congressional-Executive Commission on China, July 21, 2017
https://www.cecc.gov/media-center/press-releases/chairs-urge-ambassador-branstad-to-invite-liu-xia-to-us-embassy-in

UN rights chief expresses concern for Liu Xiaobo's widow
联合国人权高专对刘霞处境表示担忧
Voice of America, July 20, 2017
EN: https://www.voanews.com/a/united-nations-rights-chief-expresses-concern-liu-xiaobo-widow/3952743.html
CH: https://www.voachinese.com/a/liuxia-20170720/3952798.html

Liu Xia, a “Breaking Wave in a Vast Ocean”
Josh Rudolph, China Digital Times, July 19, 2017
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2017/07/liu-xia-breaking-wave-vast-ocean/

Commentary (评论)

Liu Xiaobo’s death
Jerome A. Cohen, Jerry’s Blog, July 21, 2017
http://www.jeromecohen.net/jerrys-blog/liu-xiaobos-death

打壓愛國者不會令中國偉大復興 (Suppressing patriot won’t give China a great rejuvenation)
Yuan Haiwen, Mingpao, July 21, 2017
https://news.mingpao.com/ins/instantnews/web_tc/article/20170721/s00022/1500598072283

劉曉波「比照」周恩來待遇 (A comparison between Liu Xiaobo and Zhou Enlai: both men’s ashes were scattered in the sea, but Liu will become the big wave that sweeps the shackles of the Chinese people and have them embrace the dawn of universal values)
Inmediahk, July 21, 2017
https://www.inmediahk.net/node/1050900

For Whom the Bell Tolls
胡平:丧钟为谁而鸣
Hu Ping, Human Rights in China, July 20, 2017
EN:http://www.hrichina.org/en/china-rights-forum/whom-bell-tolls
CH: http://www.hrichina.org/chs/zhong-guo-ren-quan-shuang-zhou-kan/hu-ping-sang-zhong-wei-shui-er-ming

Liu Xiaobo: Walking the path of Kang Youwei, spilling his blood like Tan Sitong
Wang Dan, China Change, July 20, 2017
https://chinachange.org/2017/07/20/liu-xiaobo-walking-the-path-of-kang-youwei-spilling-his-blood-like-tan-sitong/

The unanswered questions of Liu Xiaobo
Kerry Brown, East Asia Forum, July 20, 2017
http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/07/20/the-unanswered-questions-of-liu-xiaobo/

 
 
 
 

News (新闻)

Access to Justice (司法公正)

美国会议员出席法轮功集会 呼吁停止迫害 (U.S. House Rep attends Falun Gong gathering and calls Beijing to stop persecution)
Voice of America, July 21, 2017
https://www.voachinese.com/a/field-coverage-20170720/3952791.html

上海信访人吴玉芬4人被囚黑监狱近个月至今仍在囚 (Shanghai petitioners Wu Yufen and four others imprisoned in black jails for nearly a month, still being detained)
Weiquanwang, July 20, 2017
http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2017/07/4.html

Access to Information (信息公开)

Big data, big concerns
China Media Project, July 21, 2017
http://cmp.hku.hk/2017/07/20/big-data-big-concerns/

Beijing targets foreign firms in Internet crackdown
Associated Press, July 20, 2017
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2103458/beijing-targets-foreign-firms-internet-crackdown

Related:
中国强化网控出新招:外企VPN只能连海外总部 (China tightens information control as foreign companies are only allowed to use VPN to access their parent company websites overseas)
Voice of America, July 21, 2017
https://www.voachinese.com/a/china-tighten-information-control-20170720/3952794.html

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

北京宋庄观光园遭强拆 租户连日抗议爆冲突 (Beijing Song Zhuang Artist Village demolished, tenants protest for several days)
Radio Free Asia, July 20, 2017
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/xl2-07202017103904.html

呼伦贝尔牧民草场放牧与警冲突 鄂尔多斯四户牧民逾万亩草场被占 (Hulunbeier herdsmen clash with police over grazing lands, four herdsmen in Ordos City occupy over 10,000 mu [666 hectares] of grassland)
Radio Free Asia, July 20, 2017
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/ql2-07202017103738.html

徐州钢厂工人讨薪酿群体斗殴 当局封厂安装监控 (Steel factory workers demand wage in arrears and get beaten by boss, police seal the factory and pepper-spray sympathizers)
Radio Free Asia, July 20, 2017
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/yf1-07202017104107.html

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Where is China's corruption crackdown?
The Diplomat, July 21, 2017
http://thediplomat.com/2017/07/where-is-chinas-corruption-crackdown/

China’s former No. 2 securities regulator Yao Gang expelled from Communist Party after investigation
South China Morning Post, July 20, 2017
http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2103473/chinas-former-no-2-securities-regulator-yao-gang-expelled

China punishes officials over environmental violations in Qilian Mountains
Xinhua, July 20, 2017
http://english.sina.com/news/2017-07-21/detail-ifyihrwk1587562.shtml

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

Dodging Chinese police in Kashgar, a Silk Road oasis town
便衣警察「陪伴」我遊覽喀什
The New York Times, July 19, 2017
EN: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/world/asia/dodging-chinese-police-in-kashgar-a-silk-road-oasis-town.html
CH: https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20170720/dodging-chinese-police-in-kashgar-a-silk-road-oasis-town/zh-hant/

Hong Kong (香港)

Activist applies to oust 2 pro-Beijing lawmakers over problematic academic credentials
Hong Kong Free Press, July 20, 2017
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2017/07/20/activist-applies-oust-2-pro-beijing-lawmakers-problematic-academic-credentials/

China's banned books fade from Hong Kong
Channel News Asia, July 20, 2017
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/china-s-banned-books-fade-from-hong-kong-9049072