Source: ??? David Cowhig’s Translation Blog
The PRC Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) over the past year has been cracking down on local law enforcement and judicial practices aimed at harvesting money for local governments and individuals. Cash-starved local governments have increasingly been reaching out for potential victims in the business community.
This is one among many possible case studies of how Big Brother in Beijing is always trying, with mixed success, to ride herd on all the local Little (but locally Big) Brothers across the country in China’s highly decentralized district-managed totalitarian system. Liang Chenggang uses that term in his recent and forthcoming book. The book, China’s Institutional Genes ???? was published last year by Taiwan University Press and will be published in English in March 2025 from Cambridge University Press.
On December 16, 2024 PRC Premier Li Qiang discussed the increase in excessive fines imposed by local governments. According to a Caijing business journal report translated in full further below
According to data from the Ministry of Finance, non-tax revenues reached approximately 3.7 trillion yuan in the first 11 months of 2024, reflecting a 17% year-on-year increase. Notably, non-tax revenue growth in October and November was around 40%.
Earlier, in February 2024, the State Council issued the “Guiding Opinions on Further Standardizing and Supervising the Setting and Implementation of Fines” (hereinafter referred to as the “Guiding Opinions”). This was China’s first regulatory framework governing the establishment and enforcement of fines in administrative laws and regulations. The “Guiding Opinions” explicitly called for preventing fines imposed for revenue generation, fines replacing regulation, and profit-driven fines, stressing the need to strictly regulate fines and promote the rule of law, institutionalization, and standardization in law enforcement.
“Premier Li Qiang Emphasizes Strengthening Law Enforcement Supervision — Addressing Abnormal Increases in Penalty Revenues, Extensive Cross-Regional Enforcement, and Large Maximum Penalties” by Wang Lina ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Read more at
PRC Top Procuratorate: Fighting Profit-Driven Law Enforcement and Judicial Practices
