It’s time for the 5 year party conference and amongst other bits of self congratulation the party seems to be convinced of its own propaganda on the rule of law.
Any regular reader of Legal Eye will be fully aware of what we think about the current state of the Chinese legal system so here’s somebody else’s opinion.
The Irish Times reports
“Building legal structures, I believe, will be further accelerated and pushed forward after the congress,” said Zhang Sujun, vice-president of the China Law Society and a deputy justice minister.
Mr Xi made frequent references to rule of law during his 3½-hour work report to open the gathering on Wednesday, during which he heralded a “new era” of Chinese power.
“Advancing law-based governance in all fields is a profound revolution in China’s governance,” he said.
One of the defining campaigns of his first five years in power has been cracking down on corruption by government officials
Typically, nearly all defendants are found guilty in China and it is very rare that anyone who appears in court is found innocent.
China has introduced a series of legal reforms during Mr Xi’s time in power, including the abolition of forced confessions and the use of torture to gather evidence.
Increased persecution
However, the Xi era has also seen increased persecution of human rights lawyers and civil society, and ever-tighter control of the media and the internet.
In July 2015, scores of lawyers who worked with rights activists were detained during the “709 crackdown” and held for months in some cases.
Beijing judge Song Yushui said more than 3,800 criminal defendants were found innocent because of insufficient evidence or unclear facts, proof of China’s determination to protect human rights.
