How can we make sense of human rights in China's authoritarian Party-State system? Eva Pils offers a nuanced account of this contentious area, examining human rights as a set of social practices. Drawing on a wide range of resources including years of interaction with Chinese human rights defenders, Pils discusses what gives rise to systematic human rights violations, what institutional avenues of protection are available, and how social practices of human rights defence have evolved. Three central areas are addressed: liberty and integrity of the person; freedom of thought and expression; and inequality and socio-economic rights. Pils argues that the Party-State system is inherently opposed to human rights principles in all these areas, and that – contributing to a global trend – it is becoming more repressive. Yet, despite authoritarianism's lengthening shadows, China’s human rights movement has so far proved resourceful and resilient. The trajectories discussed here will continue to shape the struggle for human rights in China and beyond its borders.
The Chinese Perspectives on Human Rights and Good Governance series reviews various aspects of human rights and good governance in China, including international human rights standards, specific substantive rights protection and rule of law, as well as constitutionalism, especially in the context of contemporary China. Its aim is to stimulate discussion on these and related topics, with a focus on international standards whenever these are applicable and relevant to China. In this first volume in the series, the contributors adopt different disciplinary approaches to look at China both in the context of its internal constraints and as a global player in the overall development of human rights. Where is China headed in the near future? Does Chinese culture stand in contradiction to human rights? Is the rule of law alien to Chinese society? Can China move ahead without political reforms? In this thought-provoking volume, leading Chinese and Western scholars offer analysis of these issues, also with reference to Chinese history and contemporary culture.
This volume challenges the conventional wisdom about judicial independence in China and its relationship to economic growth, rule of law, human rights protection, and democracy. The volume adopts an interdisciplinary approach that places China's judicial reforms and the struggle to enhance the professionalism, authority, and independence of the judiciary within a broader comparative and developmental framework. Contributors debate the merits of international best practices and their applicability to China; provide new theoretical perspectives and empirical studies; and discuss civil, criminal, and administrative cases in urban and rural courts. This volume contributes to several fields, including law and development and the promotion of rule of law and good governance, globalization studies, neo-institutionalism and studies of the judiciary, the emerging literature on judicial reforms in authoritarian regimes, Asian legal studies, and comparative law more generally.
This landmark volume deals with such essential questions as: What points of departure, or resources, can be identified in Chinese history and culture for what we call 'democracy'? What are, and have been, their potential for development in a modern China confronted with powerful Western influences? Are there any connections between imperial China’s strong legal tradition and the PRC’s current endeavour to restore the rule of law, in a context of legal globalization in which China itself is an important participant? How serious, or superficial, should the political opening which started in the 1980s be regarded, and the discourse on human rights currently heard in official circles? And finally, how relevant is Taiwan’s experiment with democratic institutions? In this rich and inspiring volume, foremost French scholars carefully clarify the process of political and legal change, convincingly showing that these questions cannot be answered without a proper understanding of centuries of Chinese juridical, philosophical, religious and political thought. Ouvrage publié avec le soutien du Centre national du livre/ Published with financial support by the Centre national du livre.
This Handbook gives a wide-ranging account of the theory and practice of human rights in China, viewed against international standards, and China’s international engagements around human rights. The Handbook is organised into the following sections: contested meanings; international dimensions; economic and social rights; civil and political rights; rights in/action and access to justice; political dimensions of human rights in Greater China; and new frontiers.
All states are challenged by the need to protect national security while maintaining the rule of law, but the issue is particularly complex in the China–Hong Kong context. This timely and important book explores how China conceives of its national security and the position of Hong Kong. It considers the risks of introducing national security legislation in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong's sources of resilience against encroachments on its rule of law that may come under the guise of national security. It points to what may be needed to maintain Hong Kong's rule of law once China's 50-year commitment to its autonomy ends in 2047. The contributors to this book include world-renowned scholars in comparative public law and national security law. The collection covers a variety of disciplines and jurisdictions, and both scholarly and practical perspectives to present a forward-looking analysis on the rule of law in Hong Kong. It illustrates how Hong Kong may succeed in resisting pressure to advance China's security interests through repressive law. Given China's growing international stature, the book's reflections on China's approach to security have much to tell us about its potential impact on the global political, security, and economic order.
Of all the issues presented by China’s ongoing economic and sociopolitical transformation, none may ultimately prove as consequential as the development of the Chinese legal system. Even as public demand for the rule of law grows, the Chinese Communist Party still interferes in legal affairs and continues in its harsh treatment of human rights lawyers and activists. Both the frequent occurrences of social unrest in recent years and the growing tension between China’s various interest groups underline the urgency of developing a sound and sustainable legal system. As one of China’s most influential law professors, He Weifang has been at the forefront of the country’s treacherous path toward justice and judicial independence for over a decade. Among his many remarkable endeavors was a successful petition in 2003 that abolished China’s controversial regulations permitting the internment and deportation of urban “vagrants,” bringing to an end two decades of legal discrimination against migrant workers. His bold remarks at the famous New Western Hills Symposium in 2006, including his assertion that “China’s party-state structure violates the PRC Constitution,” are considered a watershed moment in the century-long movement for a constitutional China. With In the Name of Justice, He presents his critical assessment of the state of Chinese legal reform. In addition to a selection of his academic writings, this unique book also includes many of He Weifang’s public speeches, media interviews, and open letters, providing additional insight into his dual roles as thinker and practitioner in the Chinese legal world. Among the topics covered are judicial independence, judicial review, legal education, capital punishment, and the legal protection of free speech and human rights. The volume also offers a historical review of the evolution of Chinese traditional legal thought, enhanced by cross-country comparisons. A proponent of reform rather than revolution, He believes only true constitutionalism can guarantee social justice and enduring stability for China. "He Weifang has argued for two decades that rule of law, however inconvenient at times to some of those who govern, must be embraced because it is ultimately the most reliable protector of the interests of the country, of the average citizen, and, in fact, even of those who govern."—from the Foreword by John L. Thornton, chairman, Brookings Institution Board of Trustees and Professor and Director of Global Leadership at Tsinghua University "What struck me—and shocked me as a foreign visitor—was not only that the entire discussion was explicitly critical of the Chinese Communist Party for its resistance to any meaningful judicial reform, but also that the atmosphere was calm, reasonable, and marked by a sense of humor and sophistication in the expression of ideas."—from the Introduction by Cheng Li, director of research and senior fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings
This book offers a unique insight into the role of human rights lawyers in Chinese law and politics. In her extensive account, Eva Pils shows how these practitioners are important as legal advocates for victims of injustice and how bureaucratic systems of control operate to subdue and marginalise them. The book also discusses how human rights lawyers and the social forces they work for and with challenge the system. In conditions where organised political opposition is prohibited, rights lawyers have begun to articulate and coordinate demands for legal and political change. Drawing on hundreds of anonymised conversations, the book analyses in detail human rights lawyers’ legal advocacy in the face of severe institutional limitations and their experiences of repression at the hands of the police and state security apparatus, along with the intellectual, political and moral resources lawyers draw upon to survive and resist. Key concerns include the interaction between the lawyers and their bureaucratic, professional and social environments and the forms and long term political impact of resistance. In addressing these issues, Pils offers a rare evaluative perspective on China’s legal and political system, and proposes new ways to assess domestic advocacy’s relationship with international human rights and rule of law promotion. This book will be of great interest and use to students and scholars of law, Chinese studies, socio-legal studies, political studies, international relations, and sociology. It is also of direct value to people working in the fields of human rights advocacy, law, politics, international relations, and journalism.
