Teaching Comparative

The Long March to Rule of Law

This story emphasizes the point made by David Wolf that I quoted a few days ago in Rule of law or Rule by law.

A few months down the line (perhaps as your students are preparing for the AP exam), you might want to do a web search for developments in Wenzhou, Zhejiang or the Shangchen District Court in Hangzhou. It would be good to review the topic by revisiting a familiar case.

From Asia Times Online

The Long March to the rule of law

"A stubborn group of fish farmers in eastern China's Zhejiang province has struck a blow for both the environment and rule of law in the country, leaving analysts to speculate on the promising long-term implications of their case.

"The 82 farmers, who have been fighting for years to have authorities investigate the pollution of their fish ponds by the 2,000 factories operating in the municipality of Wenzhou, last week won a landmark ruling against provincial police in a local court. The farmers allege that between 2003 and 2004, pollution from factories in the Wenzhou industrial zone caused 170 million yuan (nearly US$21.8 million) in damages to more than 367 hectares of fish ponds.
"The Shangchen District Court in Hangzhou ordered Zhejiang police authorities to determine why the Wenzhou Public Security Bureau did not act on the farmers' complaints.

"While the ultimate resolution of the case is unknown, it has already made Chinese legal history in that a local court has ruled against a provincial authority. China's big problem with implementing reform - environmental and otherwise - has been that local and provincial officials have often acted in cahoots to subvert central-government edicts that they did not perceive to be in their economic interests.

"If in Wenzhou the factory owners are ultimately ordered to compensate the farmers for their loss, the case will stand out as an exception to that rule. It may also signal a new era of environmental awareness among ordinary citizens.

"Actually, the Shangchen ruling is just the latest legal victory for the farmers…

"The farmers' legal victory over SEPA compelled the agency to intervene, and their latest triumph should force provincial authorities to act. But the farmers are hardly home free.

"Questions remain: Will fines imposed on the factories provide adequate or merely token compensation for the farmers? And will these factories be required to build and maintain a sewage-treatment plant so that such wholesale pollution cannot occur again in the Wenzhou development zone?..."

posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:08 AM