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In early August, Beijing held show trials of four legal activists—a disheartening turn for those optimistic about legal reform in China. What are the prospects for the development of the rule of law in China under Communist Party Secretary Xi Jinping? How do law and politics intersect in Chinese life? Has China’s legal system become more resilient, predictable, and/or
Beijings official line on U.S. government representatives boycotting the Winter Olympics is that China couldnt care less and American officials were never invited anyway.
How a public good became a tool of personal power.
In China, politics continues to control law. The current leadership has rejected many of the universal legal values that China accepted—at least in principle—under communist rule in some earlier eras. Today, for example, to talk freely about constitutional reform, even within the sheltered confines of universities and academic journals, is not a safe enterprise. And discussion of judicial independence from the Communist Party at the central level is a forbidden subject. Yet there is discreet, if passive, resistance. Legal professionals are not happy, but they dare not speak for fear of lo...
Lawyer Ren Quanniu (center), representing Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan who reported on Wuhan's COVID-19 outbreak and was placed in detention since May, arrives at the Shanghai Pudong New District People's Court where Zhang is set for trial in Shanghai on Dec. 28. Ren has since been disbarred. Leo Ramirez/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Leo Ramirez/AFP via Getty Images Lawyer Ren Quanniu (center), representing Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan who reported on Wuhan's COVID-19 outbreak and was placed in detention since Ma...