Rule of Law in China
It's a good thing I read more than one source. It's a good thing other people refer me to valuable sources. Michael Harvey tells me about good things in the Boston Globe. Dan Harris at China Law Blog [China's Courts From The Top Down] and the historian who writes Jottings from the Granite Studio both referred me to a New York Times article that I'd missed.[Don't let me miss something you see that looks good! Send me ideas or add them as comments to these entries.]
You might not be ready to teach about the Chinese system yet, but save a copy of this one. It will help your students understand one brand of Chinese political thought. But, they might have to work at understanding -- perhaps by writing about it. That wouldn't be a bad thing.
Chinese Official Warns Against Independence of Courts
"'Enemy forces' are seeking to use China’s legal system to Westernize and divide the country, and the Communist Party must fend them off by maintaining its dominance over lawyers, judges and prosecutors, China’s top law and order official said in a detailed speech whose text was published Friday.
"The official, Luo Gan, who is a member of the governing nine-man Politburo Standing Committee, said in an address published in the state-run magazine Seeking Truth that judicial officials had the responsibility to 'prevent infiltration that might threaten national security.'"Mr. Luo said that China is now part of the global community and that it must consider 'international factors' when making judicial decisions. But he drew a sharp line between such interests and allowing greater leeway for lawyers, judges and prosecutors to make decisions independently as they do in the West...
"In practice, prosecutors and judges answer to Political-Legal Committees run by the Communist Party. Verdicts in cases that involve delicate issues are decided by ranking party officials, often including Mr. Luo himself, Chinese legal experts say.
"He said many people in China’s more mobile and better educated society slipped through what he referred to as the 'management net,' mainly work units that once acted as the party’s political eyes and ears. Officials need to restore more control over such people, he said.
"'There can’t be any free people who are outside the management net,' he said. In particular, he said, organizations that provide telecommunications and Internet services must take 'full responsibility' for preventing the spread of harmful information..."
Xinhua, the Chinese news agency, emphasized different things in Luo's speech.
Fairness, justice urged to calm social conflicts
"Luo Gan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, stressed... that frequent criminal cases, civil lawsuits, mass incidents and other bylaw infractions in China are indicators of profound social change...
"The public has gained new awareness of democracy and the rule of law and so has higher expectations for judicial fairness and effectiveness..."
The historian who helped bring this article to my attention in Lao Gan on the judiciary: "The correct political stand is where the party stands" has a few comments -- including a couple historical observations -- that will help explain things.
"...one of the biggest challenges facing the central government is enforcement of existing statutes, especially those on the environment and those that, in theory at least, should curtail predatory behavior on the part of local officials and business interests...
"The CCP faces a similar dilemma. Solving China's gravest threats--corruption, pollution, economic inequality, predatory development patterns--requires the increased accountability of local, provincial and central officials. But to make officials accountable to stakeholders is dependent on the kinds of reforms that leaves the CCP vulnerable to attacks on its legitimacy and authority. A court in which a farmer can sue a corporation for damages due to a polluting factory is also one in which a farmer might try to sue the local CCP bigwig who approved the factory."
He adds that a colleague told him that "Luo Gan is an old guy who has lived through the GPCR and 1989 and whose sole interest is in preserving the CCP's grip on power in order to prevent 'chaos.'"
Labels: China, rule-of-law
posted by Ken Wedding @ 9:24 PM
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