How to reform China?
Joseph Kahn has once again written about China's legal system. This time he profiles two lawyers in the "rights defense movement," and tries to provide some context for the disagreements between the two. We might find this useful to consider as we attempt to classify the Chinese political regime.After his previous reporting about the role of courts, however, I suggest we reserve judgment on his analysis, and look for confirmation or contradiction from other sources.
- See
Rivals on a Legal Tightrope Seek to Widen Freedoms in China
"Li Jinsong and Li Jianqiang are Chinese trial lawyers who take on difficult political cases, tangle with the police and seek solace in the same religion, Christianity.
"But like many who devote themselves to expanding freedoms and the rule of law in China, the two spend as much time clashing over tactics and principles as they do challenging the ruling Communist Party.
"The two Mr. Lis are part of a momentous struggle over the rule of law in China. Young, well educated and idealistic, they and other members of the so-called weiquan, or rights defense, movement, aim to use the laws and courts that the Communist Party has put in place as part of its modernization drive to constrain the party’s power.
"The informal network of rights defenders may be the only visible force for political openness and change in China at a time when the surging economy and the country’s rapidly expanding global influence have otherwise strengthened party leaders... 18 years after the June 4, 1989, crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing, China quickly crushes any organized opposition...
"... rights defenders have had notable victories, mostly by calling attention to problems at the local level that more senior officials move to fix. They have exposed corruption, illegal land seizures and labor and environmental abuses that have prompted policy changes or at least made many Chinese more aware of the concept of human rights...
"They divide into camps on the fundamental question of whether to try to improve the current Communist Party-run system by supporting well-intentioned party leaders, or to seek an end to Communist rule. 'Some of us are waiting for a good emperor, some kind of Gorbachev, to come and fix the system,' Li Jianqiang said. 'Many of the rest of us think that is a waste of time. We need to be building a civilization outside the Communist Party.'
"That debate is a delicate one...
"China’s top leaders... have promised to conform to human rights norms and to run the country 'according to law.'
"The Communist Party often does not subject itself to the laws it enacts, prompting cynicism about its real intentions. But many rights defenders say they can help bring about meaningful change because the party and government bureaucracy is not monolithic.
"Top party leaders, according to this way of thinking, hope to use the legal system and the news media to check abuses of power at the local level, which they view as threats to their own popularity and longevity...
"Li Jianqiang calls it a 'peasant mentality' because farmers since feudal times have looked to the emperor, presumed to be benevolent, to solve problems they say are caused by venal local officials.
"He contends that President Hu, who once talked as though he wanted to expand constitutional rights and strengthen the legal system, has more recently done the reverse...
"Mr. Hu has clamped down on lawyers and journalists and tightened the party’s control over the courts...
"'The strategy of submitting petitions and using legal actions to draw the emperor’s attention is a proven failure,' Li Jianqiang said. 'It ends up encouraging rule by man, not rule of law.'..."
Labels: change, China, rule-of-law
posted by Ken Wedding @ 10:23 AM
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