Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Rule of which law?

China continues moves against activists, barring 2 lawyers from leaving country

China - increasingly open, modern and economically powerful - wants to be seen as a country that abides by the rule of law, with an independent judiciary.

The official state-run news agency reported Tuesday that China's State Council - the equivalent of the cabinet - had issued new guidelines ordering officials to adhere to the rule of law…

According to China's constitution, people can be arrested only on orders of a public prosecutor or court, and arrests must be made public…

But while officials publicly extol the rule of law, the police and security forces continue to act under their own rules. The security apparatus detains people it considers "troublemakers," restricting them to their homes, or, in the worst cases, causing them to disappear for weeks or months into "black jails," as secret detention centers are known.

Under Chinese law, people suspected of a crime can be held for a maximum of 37 days, during which time the public prosecutor must issue a warrant. But the reality is often far different.

One lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, has been missing since April… Ding Zilin, whose son died in the 1989 crackdown at Tiananmen Square and who has become an activist for relatives of Tiananmen victims, has disappeared along with her husband and is thought to be in a black jail...

Placing dissidents and others under house arrest - also known here as "soft detention" - is common in China, particularly during big events such as the 2008 Summer Olympics or major meetings of the Communist Party…

China has reacted furiously to the Nobel committee's announcement that Liu Xiaobo would receive the peace prize. Liu was sentenced in December to 11 years in prison for trying to overthrow the system, after his calls for more democracy, in an online petition…

Several Chinese activists and foreign human rights observers pointed to what they called a central irony of the Chinese government's position. Chinese officials have sharply criticized the Nobel committee's decision because, they say, Liu is a convicted criminal and the award shows "disrespect" for China's judiciary and legal system. At the same time, they said, by placing dissidents under house arrest, or blocking them at the airport from traveling, officials are violating the very rule of law they criticize others for disrespecting…

Premier Wen Jiabao, in an interview aired last month with CNN and in Time magazine, talked about the importance of China adhering to the rule of law.

"All political parties, organizations and all people should abide by the constitution and laws without any exception," Wen said. "They must all act in accordance with the constitution and laws. I see that as a defining feature of modern political system development."