Chinese Rule of Law: The Rhetoric and The Reality - China Real Time Report - WSJ

Stanley Lubman writes on the WSJ's China Real Time Report blog:

Two recent law-related events — a harsh conviction and a lofty statement by a leader — reflect basic tensions in Chinese law and governance that will likely continue to grow.

A dedicated Chinese democracy activist, Liu Xianbin, was sentenced on March 25th by a Beijing court to 10 years in prison for “slandering the Communist Party.” His conviction came just weeks after Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), presented a report at the legislature’s plenary session in early March in which he stated that China has attained the goal set in 1997 of establishing a “complete set of laws” — that is, “a socialist system of laws with Chinese characteristics.” Wu warned that China must “never waveron key fundamental issues of principle such as the fundamental system of the state.”...

Chinese Rule of Law: The Rhetoric and The Reality - China Real Time Report - WSJ