What influence does the communist party have on the implementation of the rule of law in China?

The communist party in China has a massive influence within the country and with the implementation of the rule of law. With there being around 74 million members of the communist party they hold a large portion of basically everything. While watching the lecture I was very surprised at a lot of what was said. I cannot even contemplate what it would be like to live in a place where you are to hide your political views and fade into the crowd so as not to draw attention to yourself and potentially affect many aspects of all your families lives. In respects to the rule of law, there is not a consistent rule of law within China and without a rule of law it is very difficult to have justice. This is shown throughout China’s history. Although the government is not always consistent it is only a relatively new legal system and with any government corruption can be seen, even in our own Queensland government.  What I find really excellent is that the people within the communist party are in some circumstances standing up for what they believe in and if they think something isn’t fair it is becoming more likely that they will stand up and tell the party this.

Did any of the information presented by Professor Jerome Cohen shock or surprise you?  If so, what in particular?

There were many things that surprised me within Prof. Jerome Cohen’s lecture. As someone who has studied Chinese history in depth and studied politics while the events in Tibet were happening I felt I knew a lot about what happened. A whole new level of understanding was thrust upon me as I listened to the legal system and what was happening over in China. I have always known that there are many people who do not have political voices or legal avenues for disputes however this lecture was able to bring it all into perspective.

Have you read anything recently in the media concerning the Chinese Legal System?

I have read many an article about china and the Chinese government but not many on the actual legal system. When I was reading the articles put up on BB I could not believe that there are people in China that do not care about Tiananmen Square. Even as someone who was not even born when this occurred I will never forget the images that I have seen. I believe this is important history that should not be forgotten.

Many Thanks Sarah Jones (QUT)

1. What influence does the communist party have on the implementation of the rule of law in China?

China is probably considered as the most rapidly progressive nation in the world, in terms of business capabilities and how everything can be done on such large scales, rivals any fully developed nation in terms of production capabilities.  As such, laws in regard to business, international trade and commerce have to be brought into effect which has yet to be fully implemented for their workability in conjunction with each other.  With such rapid implementation of laws, it does reflect strongly on how far China has come in terms of laws and development, but there is potential for many things to go wrong.

Whilst China has adopted a civil legal system, its proper implementation is still deficient.  The communist party and strong communist ideologies remain a prevalent force in China, therefore, resulting in their influence to be dominant.  With communism retaining such a strong foothold in China, the rule of law cannot be properly implemented.  Communism exercises the notion of “ruling by law”, and without fundaments such as the complete independence of the heads of powers, corruption is more likely to arise.

It appears that Communism will always play a large part in China in the near and possible distant future, with such a strong foothold in all facets of the Chinese government and society, it is unlikely that this will not change quickly.

2. Did any of the information presented by Professor Jerome Cohen shock or surprise you? If so, what in particular?

There was information which was surprising, especially about education being in a near state of neglect and accessibility is very difficult.  In terms of contrasting the Asian nations which have implemented a new legal system (the adversarial system) China has been largely ineffective in implementing this whereas Taiwan has been successful thus far.  Censorship, propaganda and general overarching control over much of the media and the information which is communicated to the people remain at large throughout China.  Also while the legal system has been made to be more accommodating in terms of being able to access the law, actually being able to use it and properly access justice through the law is much more difficult in reality.

3. Have you read anything recently in the media concerning the Chinese Legal System (for example: China and the hosting of the Olympics, Anniversary of Tiananmen Square, Prosecution of Falun Gong members, the Stern Hu story) – what are your thoughts on these particular topics after listening to Professor Jerome Cohen’s lecture.

Whilst the Olympics is a prime example of China’s drastic change and improvement, it can come across as superficial, with promises to make so many more changes, in clear reflection of human rights, but it has yet to come to fruition.  To host the Olympics, would place them in a good stead in the international community would in effect mask up some of the underlying issues of human rights abrogation and defiance.

It appears China is heading for a much better future in the long run, but the change will not come very quickly nor will it be met openly and without opposition.

Ivan Ingram

I never actually realised how sheltered Australia was in regards to these sorts of international issues.  I had always had some idea of what was going on in China but I had never known the true extent of it. 

Ir appears that everyone else has beaten me too the actual power the communist party has over the laws on China, however I would like to mention that I think that although on paper the party appears a good idea, the way that it has actually been implemented has not been at all effective.  After doing some research it appears that the main aim of the party is too implement laws that the people as a whole want (this is from the Chinese Embassy website, so a little bias).  I think that what has happened is that those with all of the power are acting as the people, without taking into consideration what is best for China as a whole. 

I have read a couple of articles about the anniversary of Tiananmen Square in the last couple of months but I think that the fact that the Chinese Government was censoring internet activity to prevent people from talking about horror that occured on that day 20 years ago.  I think it is terrible that the government feel the need to prevent the Chinese people from sharing their experiences and remember their loved ones who died trying to make China  a better place.

Whether the voices of individual Chinese people (as is increasingly been seen in on-line blogs and petitions) will affect the power of the Communist Party and the just implementation of legislation and the Constitution.

I think that certainly the the views expressed by Chinese people through on-line blogs and petitions will increasingly have an impact upon the the Communist party in China. However I think that this will only take place in a significant way if and when the Communist party relaxes it's control over Chinese access to the internet. The Chinese specific version of Google is an example of the communist party still preferring government control over freedom of speech. Perhaps this will change if China as China seeks the greater acceptance by the Western world as a strong and legitimate super power. 

How does the Chinese communist party influence the rule of law?

I think the rule of law in China is still almost entirely dictated by the Communist party. I found the distinction in the video between 'law' as a series of rules, and the 'rule of law' as being the government below the law to be very interesting. I think in China the Communist party is still either entirely above the law, or at the very least capable of sidestepping the law. Again perhaps this will change if China increasingly has a vested interest in accepting more and more international norms.

What surprised me when I watched the video:

To be honest, I was surprised at the progress that China has been making in recent years. When Professor Cohen made reference to a judiciary that was capable of making announcements about how it was going to apply the rule of law (specifically with regards to enforcement of judgments) I found that to be an indication by the Communist party that it saw value in having (or at least seeing to have) a judiciary that was autonomous to a degree. It seems to me that the steps that China is making may be small, but that they are all important steps to a real 'rule of law'.

1. What influences does the communist party have on the implementation of the rule of law in China?
It seems to be that whilst on face value, China has an adversarial legal system, it is too weak to be able to implement and enforce it. They have the right ideas for how their system should be they just can't actually implement these ideas, for example defence counsel now has the right to cross-examine witnesses, however, witnesses don't appear in court and there is no way of making them turn up. I think that the communist party needs to give more power and support to the legal system, to help them to be able to enforce judgements. The party is in the position to make the system work to its own needs, rather than the needs of the people of China. This follows on with the implementation of the rule of law. The court cannot decide matters relating to the constitution (eg human rights etc), thus it could be argued that without the separation between the government and the judiciary the rule of law is not implemented at all.

It should be noted though that within the party itself, ideas of 'due process' are being implemented with members of the party being given a fair hearing. These are good signs that this kind of process may be able to be implemented in a broader sense.

2. Did any of the information shock/surprise you?
I found it shocking that China has been able to develop the ideas and the basis of their legal system in just 30 years. In such a short time too, they have established 625 law schools. This seems a good sign, that they have been able to develop the basis and ideas by which they want their legal system to follow, the problem occurs when they want to enforce and implement it. Whilst it seems that there are a lot of lawyers in China, people are also given access to legal resources through books in bookshops which allow them to represent themselves in court.

I was also shocked how far apart the ideas of the legal system and the actual practice are. For example, the idea stemming from the adversarial system is that police must appear before a judge to be able to gain approval to detain someone, yet in actual practice police can put someone away for 3 to 4 years without seeking any judicial approval.