Chinese courts must firmly resist the Western idea of judicial independence and other ideologies that threaten the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the country’s top judge was reported as saying by the official China News Service.
Courts in China are not independent and ultimately answer to the party leadership, although legal reforms unveiled in recent years have aimed to give judges more independence and rein in local officials’ influence over courts.
Authorities in Beijing said China requires a different kind of legal system from Western models, one in keeping with a system of “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” where reforms strengthen rather than weaken CCP leadership.
People’s Courts at all levels must disregard erroneous Western notions, including constitutional democracy and separation of powers, Chinese Supreme People’s Court Chief Justice Zhou Qiang (周強) told a meeting of the court on Saturday, the agency said.
Zhou’s comments sparked much critical public discussion, with online participants citing comments in a 2012 interview by China University of Political Science and Law professor Jiang Ping (江平) that only judicial independence could allow China to ensure a “just judiciary.”
However, searches for the article brought up no results on a popular Chinese microblogging site, by early afternoon yesterday.
In response to the discussion, the Supreme People’s Court posted four articles on its official Web site late on Saturday, expanding on Zhou’s statements and defending him against those who accused him of “driving against the tide of history.”
An article by the Court’s official publicity department took aim at those who “agitate” for judicial independence, saying they were using the people’s desire for social justice to further their own political ends.
Creating a legal system independent of the party “clearly violates the constitution,” which says administrative, trial and prosecution authorities are all subservient to China’s National People’s Congress, the court said.
Since taking office in March 2013, President Xi Jinping (習近平), who has a doctorate in law, has vowed to put “power within the cage of regulations” and called for judicial independence under the party.
Zhou’s comments on Saturday come after China’s anti-graft watchdog ruled out the possibility of a mechanism independent of the CCP to keep officials in check.
The CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection this month pledged to create a national supervisory commission and a corresponding national law, as part of efforts to reform the oversight system.
However, the reforms would stop short of placing power outside the party, commission officials said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number