Engaging China Responsibly

For years, my respect for the Chinese people caused me to mute criticism of their governments, rationalizing the position by telling myself that at least the more recent ones were not like that of Mao Tse-tung, under which, for example, an estimated 35-45 million citizens starved to death during his “Great Leap Forward” (1958-62).

When it was noted that the grinding poverty of hundreds of millions of families in the ’50s, ’60′s and ’70′s is now gone because of the export market economy launched by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, I was one of many friends of China too willing to overlook the bad governance, environmental nightmares, party-state violence, growing social inequalities, widespread nepotism and corruption, which have generally worsened since Deng’s period ended in the 1990s.

The Death of Little Wang Yueyue

In this context, permit me to speak first to the recent death of two-year-old Wang Yueyue after a chilling series of incidents in Guangdong’s Foshan market. As much of the world now knows, Yueyue died in hospital after being run over by two hit-and-run drivers. Eighteen persons were filmed walking past her without stopping to help.

Mark Mackinnon, the Beijing bureau chief for the Globe and Mail, has made important points about the tragedy:

“Several of the passersby have since been tracked down by Chinese media and questioned about their behavior… Why didn’t they intervene? The word ‘fear’ keeps coming up. ‘I was scared,’ a woman named Lin--infamous for walking by Yueyue with her own 5-year-old daughter--said. ‘If someone (else) was helping at that time, I would have done the same.’

“Indifference isn’t the answer. The Chinese I’ve met are anything but indifferent… The legal system here is unpredictable and unfair to those without money and political connections. Getting involved can often get you in trouble.

“The most oft-cited case is that of Peng Yu, a Nanjing man who stopped to help a (woman) who fell and broke her hip… Faced with sky-high medical costs, the 65-year-old turned on the ‘Good Samaritan’ and alleged that he had caused her to fall… (The) court accepted (her) claims, finding it ‘at odds with reason’ that Peng helped her out of the goodness of his heart. He was ordered to pay $6,000 towards (her) medical bill. Mr. Peng’s case is (well) known, and there are many others like it.

“(When) I was a guest on a BBC World Radio program (discussing) Yueyue’s case, (a) caller from the Czech Republic reminded listeners that there was nothing uniquely Chinese about the reaction of the 18 passersby… anyone who had grown up in an authoritarian state could understand what was going through their minds.”

Trials in China a Mere Theater

It is difficult for outsiders to understand that trials in China are mere theaters. Clive Ansley of Canada practiced law in Shanghai for 13 years, handling about 300 cases in their courts, before returning to British Columbia. His article in the March 2007 B.C. trial lawyers’ publication, The Verdict, explains the reality of what happens:

“There is a current saying amongst Chinese lawyers and judges who truly believe in the Rule of Law, and this saying, familiar throughout all legal circles in China, vividly illustrates the futility of Canadian attempts to ‘assist China in improving its legal system’ by training judges. It is: ‘Those who hear the case do not make the judgment; those who make the judgment have not heard the case.’ … Nothing which has transpired in the ‘courtroom’ has any impact on the ‘judgment.’”

Jerome Cohen, an expert on Chinese law at New York University law school, notes that until the government of China both signs and ratifies the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, its people will lack basic freedoms.

Other abuses of the legal system are illustrated by such practices as charging lawyers with “inducing perjury” from clients. Confessions through torture are very common.

The final straw for Clive Ansley came when an edict went from the Supreme Court to China’s judges that said, “When you have a dispute between a Chinese party and a foreign party, you must ensure that your judgment reflects the national interest.” Ansley returned to Canada because he knew this meant that verdicts in favor of foreigners had thus become impossible in virtually all cases.

“Grace” Li, a former district court judge in China, spoke earlier this year at the University of San Diego. Despite her position, she was sent to a labor camp for three years and four months without any species of hearing for being a Falun Gong practitioner.

Li explained: “In China, corruption is common in the judicial system… Through practicing Falun Dafa … I was perhaps the only judge that refused bribes and was known as a fair and just judge… In April 2002, I went to Tiananmen Square and I pleaded with the government to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners… I was taken to the police station (and) punched … my nose was bleeding… In order to force me to give up my beliefs, they deprived me of sleep for three days and three nights.”

Li was fired as a judge because she would not sign a statement denouncing Falun Gong. Authorities forced her husband to divorce her. She now lives in California as a refugee.

Next…Falun Gong