On September 22, Chinese lawyer Xia Lin was found guilty of almost 10 million yuan in fraud, deprived of his political rights, fined 120,000 yuan and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Xia Lin and I met in 2010.
I planned to sue the Public Security Bureau in Sichuan for exercising violence; Xia accepted my offer to hire him as a lawyer and went with me to Sichuan. Despite our efforts, we were unable to file a lawsuit in the Sichuanese courts. The Public Security Bureau, the Sichuan People's Procuratorate, and the provincial courts all denied any physical abuse took place.… Seguir leyendo »
How much of a reformer is China’s new leader, Xi Jinping? The announcement in January that by year’s end China is going to stop using or even abolish “Re-education Through Labor” — the notorious system instituted in the mid-1950s and modeled on the Soviet gulag — could offer an important clue.
While the government has provided no details about what it intends to do, it is not likely that the re-education archipelago — an estimated 350 labor camps with about 160,000 inmates — will be closed anytime soon. Presumably the camps will continue to hold inmates sentenced for crimes like drug abuse, prostitution and minor offenses.… Seguir leyendo »
Since I arrived in the United States on May 19, people have asked me, “What do you want to do here?” I have come here to study temporarily, not to seek political asylum. And while I pursue my studies, I hope that the Chinese government and the Communist Party will conduct a thorough investigation of the lawless punishment inflicted on me and my family over the past seven years.
I asked for such an investigation while I was hospitalized in Beijing, after I had left the refuge of the United States Embassy and American officials negotiated my reunification with my family.… Seguir leyendo »
A peculiar feature of Chinese society is that a complaint process runs parallel to, but outside, the legal system.
Victims of corruption and injustice have no faith in the law, and yet they dream that an upright official will emerge to right their wrongs. Although a complaint mechanism is in place at all levels of Chinese government, petitioners seem to believe that the central authorities are less susceptible to corruption, and so make Beijing their destination. By some estimates, more than 10 million complaints are filed around the country each year, far more than are heard by the regular courts.
Law in China, at least on paper, is more firmly established than it once was, and some legal experts propose doing away with the grievance system.… Seguir leyendo »
Whenever a Western official criticizes China for its record on human rights, the reply comes back that China is a sovereign country and doesn’t respond to such finger-pointing. And that is bound to continue for a long time. There are real differences between different countries’ interests and values that cannot be wished away.
But there are also many areas where China and the United States face similar social problems and share fundamental interests. In grappling with those similar problems, each country’s laws are developing along paths that, although different in some ways, are strikingly similar in others. It is in those areas that the West can certainly begin a dialogue with China that includes political reform and human rights, and builds a common language for such discussions that does not seek to assign blame to either side.… Seguir leyendo »
Utilizamos cookies para el correcto funcionamiento de la página web y analíticas para estadísticas.ACEPTARPolítica de privacidad
