Archive for ‘Illegal practices’

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07/08/2012

* In China’s Power Nexus, a Tale of Redemption

WSJ: “Liu Minghui’s battle to clear his name and save his business, a fight that pitted him against some of the most powerful forces in China, began the day of his company’s Christmas party in 2010.China Gas

Mr. Liu was set to leave his 18th-floor office in Shenzhen to cross the nearby border to Hong Kong for the party when plainclothes Public Security Bureau officers arrested him on suspicion of stealing money from the company he ran and co-founded, China Gas Holdings Ltd.

The former managing director spent nearly the next year in a Chinese jail, during which time he was forced to leave his executive and board roles at the company while remaining a substantial shareholder. He emerged from detention in time to see one of the country’s biggest companies launch a hostile offer for China Gas, the first by a state-owned business against a privately controlled company.

Now Mr. Liu’s comeback is nearly complete. He has been exonerated in the embezzlement case and is poised to win his fight with state-owned energy giant China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, and its partner, ENN Energy Holdings Ltd. The bidding consortium on Monday extended the deadline for the US$2.15 billion offer until early September, saying the bid is still waiting regulatory approval. But with the stock trading at a 22% premium to the offer price of 3.50 Hong Kong dollars a share, the group seems unlikely to attract the shareholder support needed to take control.

…

The case highlights the harsh nature of business in China, where the legal system is opaque and the fate of companies can be decided in Beijing. It remains unclear why Mr. Liu was arrested and then cleared, why Sinopec bid for his company and why a surprising group of white knights came to Mr. Liu’s rescue.”

via In China’s Power Nexus, a Tale of Redemption; Sinpec, China Gas, Liu Menghui – WSJ.com.

In the same issue of WSJ.com, this article shows the positive (though still opaque) side of Chinese criminal justice and another the opposite: https://chindia-alert.org/2012/08/07/chinese-criminal-procedure-at-its-worst/

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07/08/2012

* Chinese Criminal Procedure at its Worst

WSJ: “On July 23rd in Guizhou province, lawyers obtained a partial victory for some  of the defendants accused of involvement in organized crime. Not all the accused were as fortunate, and the limited results came with the support of an intense Internet campaign to publicize gross violations of China’s Criminal Procedure Law by police and judges.

This case shows Chinese criminal procedure at its worst. It exposes extensive cooperation between police and court officials in violating Chinese procedural law to obtain convictions in a case brought during a nation-wide campaign with strong political overtones.  At the same time, it also provides a glimpse of the work of dedicated lawyers defending their clients and how they have begun to use the Internet to publicize the problems they encounter. The case is reported in great detail in a blog post on Tea Leaf Nation that is well worth reading and is the source of the following account of the events in this case to date.

In March 2010, Li Qinghong, a real-estate businessman, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for alleged involvement in organized crime  The case against Li and 16 others had begun in 2008 with a charge of gambling, but escalated in 2010 when a nation-wide “crackdown” campaign against organized crime was launched.  In this case, the Guizhou Provincial Coordination Office to Fight Organized Crime organized a meeting to mobilize police, prosecutors and courts to cooperate closely.

The case was remanded by the Guizhou Provincial Court for “lack of factual clarity,” and the Guiyang City District Court reprosecuted the case this year and increased the number of defendants to 57. The defendants’ lawyers took to the Internet to appeal for additional legal assistance, and were ultimately joined by lawyers from outside Guiyang Province. According to the CCP-led Global Times, a total of 88 lawyers formed a panel for the defense.

The defense lawyers say they regarded the case as a test of the entire criminal defense system, because it involved illegally obtained evidence, false testimony and the complicity of police and the courts in these procedural violations. At the trial more than 10 defendants testified to having been tortured, the police were not allowed to testify, and the court refused to exclude evidence that allegedly had been obtained illegally, according to the Tea Leaf Nation account. In addition, during the proceedings the court expelled four lawyers for their aggressive arguments on procedural violations.

The account goes on to say that court officers promised the defendants who were represented by lawyers from outside of Guizhou that they would receive lenient sentences if they fired those lawyers, which some did — only to reveal three weeks later that they had released their lawyers solely because of great pressure on them. Some of those defendants then rehired their lawyers.  After these events, one lawyer was quoted as saying “The criminal defense system in China is near its doomsday.”

The defense lawyers took their efforts to the public via the Internet in addition to vigorous arguments in court. They say that at issue was “the last defense, a life-or-death moment for the rule of law and for criminal defense.” They obtained only a partial victory:  Although some defendants were found innocent, defendant Li Qinghong was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Li has appealed.

The defense lawyers ascribed their (partial) success to a massive use of microblogs, having posted more than 1,000 tweets, including extensive daily updates via Sina Weibo, during the 47-day trial.  They emphasized that their use of social media filled a vacuum created by traditional media’s lack of attention to the case. They are quoted in the blog post as saying that these efforts, in addition to raising netizens’ awareness of the issues at stake in their case, “balanced the voice of the official media,” and helped to protect the lawyers’ personal safety.”

via Chinese Criminal Procedure at its Worst – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

In the same issue of WSJ.com, this article shows the ‘worst of’ Chinese criminal justice and another more ‘positive’ case: https://chindia-alert.org/2012/08/07/wsj-in-chinas-power-nexus-a-tale-of-redemption/

See also: http://unintend-conseq.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/social-media-triggers-revolutions.html

Posted in China alert, Human rights, Illegal practices, Justice, Law suit, Politics, Rule of law, social media, Technology | 1 Comment »

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06/08/2012

* China arrests 1,900 in crackdown on fake drugs

BBC News: “Police in China have arrested more than 1,900 people in a crackdown on the manufacture and sale of fake medicine, authorities said.

The country-wide operation began on 25 July, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

Police seized products worth 1.16bn yuan ($182m; £117m).

These included millions of pills made to look like well-known brands used to treat diabetes, hypertension, skin problems and cancer, it said.

Despite the arrests, the problem of fake medicine was ”far from being rooted out”, authorities said.

Drug counterfeiting had become more ”elusive and deceptive” as ”criminals have come up with new methods” despite efforts to root out production and sale channels in recent years, they said.”

via BBC News – China arrests 1,900 in crackdown on fake drugs.

Posted in China alert, fake drugs, Illegal chemicals, Law enforcement | 1 Comment »

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05/08/2012

* China nabs 137 for organ traffick

China Daily: “Chinese police said Saturday that 137 suspects had been arrested in the latest crackdown on human organ trafficking, amid intense pressure on finding sufficient donors through official channels.

The operation was jointly conducted by 18 provincial police authorities in late July, who also rescued 127 organ suppliers, according to a statement from the Ministry of Public Security on Saturday.

Police said that the detained suspects illegally recruited suppliers over the Internet, facilitated the deals and made huge profits from the transactions, which had endangered the health of the suppliers and placed a heavy financial burden on the recipients.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that about 1.5 million Chinese need organ transplants, but only around 10,000 transplants are performed annually due to a lack of donors.

The huge gap has led to a thriving illegal market for human organs, though the government has repeatedly pledged to improve its regulations on organ transplants and increase organ supply.

In spring 2007, China’s central government issued its first national level regulations on human organ transplants, banning organizations and individuals from trading human organs in any form.”

via China nabs 137 for organ traffick |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.

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31/07/2012

This post supports my view that the Chinese authorities are trying very hard to listen to the people.

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Posted in China alert, Citizens's rights, corruption, Democracy, Food safety, Good news, Human rights, Illegal practices, Inequalities, Justice, Petitions, Politics, public protest, Reform, Rule of law | 3 Comments »

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13/07/2012

* Chinese couple paid for forced abortion

UPI: “A Chinese couple forced to abort their child at seven months in early June was paid an $11,200 settlement by the local government Wednesday.

Deng Jiyuan said the government agreed to pay $11,200 after already firing two officials, sanctioning five officials and issuing a former apology for forcing Deng’s wife, Feng Jianmei, to have an abortion when she was seven months pregnant, The New York Times reported.

Feng was forced to abort her second child because China limits families to one child per household. Deng could not afford to pay the fine for having a second child, so the government forced Feng to abort her child.

A picture of Feng next to the aborted fetus circulated through the Internet in China, prompting the government to respond.

“We want to return to our home and move on with our life, ” Deng said. “This was a tragedy but life has to continue.””

via Chinese couple paid for forced abortion – UPI.com.

$11,200 may not seem like much for a life. But note that this is the first publicly recorded compensation for such an act. It is the first step towards righting a historic wrong.

See also:

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27/06/2012

* China punishes officials over late-term abortion case

BBC News: “A Chinese official has been sacked and others punished over the case of a woman forced to have a late-term abortion, state-run media report.

A relative said the couple were being harassed, with banners apparently calling them traitors in Shaanxi

An investigation showed that officials “used crude means” to persuade Feng Jianmei to agree to the abortion, Xinhua news agency reports.

Ms Feng’s pregnancy was terminated at seven months because she had violated the one-child policy law.

Photos of her with the foetus caused widespread condemnation online.

China’s one-child family planning policy aims to control the country’s population, which now stands at around 1.3bn. Rights groups say the law has meant women being coerced into abortions, which Beijing denies.

Ms Feng’s case has come to symbolise the extreme measures some officials take in order to meet population targets, reports the BBC’s Martin Patience in Beijing.

Officials punished

Officials in China’s north-west province of Shaanxi were punished for having “violated the laws of central and local government on family planning”, Xinhua reports.

The head of the family planning bureau in Zhenping county, Jiang Nenghai, had been sacked. Another family planning official had also been given “administrative demerits”, Xinhua said.

Other officials in connection with the case had also been punished, Xinhua said, without elaborating further.

“According to the investigation, while persuading Feng to receive the abortion, some staff of the township government used crude means to violate her intentions,” Xinhua says.

“There was also no legal basis for the township government’s demand that Feng and her family pay a deposit of 40,000 yuan [$6,300] for a certificate allowing her to have her second child,” it added.

Ms Feng will be given compensation, Xinhua adds, without providing the details.”

via BBC News – China punishes officials over late-term abortion case.

See also: Listening and responding to the people

Posted in China alert, Good news, Illegal practices, One-child policy, Rule of law, Social & cultural | 3 Comments »

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26/06/2012

My very own sentiments.

See also: Chinese challenges

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18/06/2012

* China publishes books on officials’ morality

Xinhua: “A book series expounding the moral issues of officials, the first-ever publication on the topic in China, was released for sale Monday in Beijing as part of government-backed efforts to promote integrity among civil servants.

The four-book series embodies the results of research conducted by experts with the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences at the request of Beijing authorities two years ago, according to a report published by the Beijing Daily.

The books record the development of theories about officials’ morality through Chinese history and provide case studies, as well as highlight the importance of raising officials’ moral standards in modern society, an official with the Beijing Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was quoted as saying in the report.

The major difference between good and bad officials simply lies in whether they perform duties with a conscience, says the prologue of the series.

Nowadays, the CPC, as the ruling party, must value virtues of officials and it is a general trend for officials to abide by professional ethics, according to a passage in one of the books.

The book also points out a moral official in modern China should always serve the people as well as be loyal, pragmatic, fair-minded and incorruptible, while always improving oneself.

The series will serve as anti-graft reading material for all Communist Party cadres in Beijing, according to the report.”

via China publishes books on officials’ morality – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

Let’s hope the cadres take this book as seriously as their forebears took Mao’s Red Book.

Posted in China alert, corruption, Good news, Illegal practices, Rule of law | 2 Comments »

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16/06/2012

* China to Investigate Death of Labor Activist

NY Times: “Chinese officials, bending to public pressure, have announced an investigation into the death of a veteran labor activist whose body was found hanging from a hospital window this month, days after he gave a series of interviews in which he vowed to continue fighting to end the Communist Party’s monopoly on power.

The dissident, Li Wangyang, who was convicted of organizing protests during the pro-democracy movement of 1989, had only recently emerged from prison. Friends and relatives have questioned how Mr. Li could have taken his own life because he was disabled from the beatings and other mistreatment he suffered during his 21 years behind bars.

Mr. Li, 62, was blind, nearly deaf and had difficulty walking unassisted.

According to the state-run Hong Kong China News Agency, public security officials in Hunan Province, where Mr. Li died, promised an investigation by a “team of experienced criminal investigation experts.” According to the agency, a police spokesman acknowledged that public pressure had prompted the announcement on Thursday.

Earlier this week, local officials in Shaoyang, the city where Mr. Li died, changed the cause of death to “accidental” from “suicide.”

Human rights advocates raised doubts after his death became public, but the suspicions began to spread more widely in the past week after family members and friends of Mr. Li disappeared or were warned by the police not to speak to the news media.”

via China to Investigate Death of Labor Activist – NYTimes.com.

Yet another case of the Chinese authorities bending to public opinion.  See also:

Posted in China alert, Dissident, Freedom, Good news, Human rights, Illegal practices, Justice, Politics, Rule of law | Leave a Comment »

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