Transitions are difficult for the current Chinese dynasty
The road to a rule of law in China is not a smooth one, especially when there are no precedents.Chinese Crackdown on Rights Lawyers Signals Effort to Deter Increasing Legal Challenges
"BEIJING, Aug. 18 — Chinese officials are stepping up a crackdown on defense lawyers in the latest sign that Communist Party leaders are determined to stamp out legal challenges to their authority.
"The Beijing police have detained Gao Zhisheng, one of the country’s most outspoken lawyers and dissidents, on suspicion of criminal activity, state media said Friday.
"Separately on Friday, court officials in Shandong Province held a closed criminal trial of Chen Guangcheng, a legal expert and advocate of peasants’ rights, which Mr. Chen’s defense lawyers condemned as heavy-handed political persecution.
"While the Chinese leadership is eager to create the impression that it is building an impartial legal system, the latest actions suggest that at least some powerful officials want to curtail the growing use of lawsuits to contest abuses of power, human rights violations, land seizures and official corruption.
"The ruling party has encouraged the idea that people have legal rights as a way of checking petty corruption, improving efficiency and channeling social grievances into the party-controlled judicial system...
"But a surge in social unrest in recent years, including protests by people frustrated that they are unable to exercise their constitutional rights, has alarmed local and national leaders..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:17 AM
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