Criminal Justice
June 30, 2017
(Washington)— U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), the chair and cochair respectively of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), held a hearing this week looking at the Chinese government crackdown on human rights lawyers and legal advocates.
CECC Commissioners Say Transparency About 1989 Events a “Vital Concern” for Those Seeking More Productive U.S.-China Relations
June 1, 2017
(Washington, DC)—A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to lift restrictions on public discussion of the Tiananmen protests and their violent suppression and to release individuals detained for commemorating the June 4 anniversary and human rights lawyers detained in the “709” crackdown.
Lei Yang, an environmental scientist and Beijing resident, died in police custody in May 2016. His death sparked a national uproar over police brutality and abuse of power and highlighted widespread distrust of law enforcement, particularly from China’s emerging class of young professionals. Shortly after Lei’s death, President Xi Jinping convened a “leading small group” meeting which announced plans for stricter police supervision and the need to solve existing law enforcement problems, a reference which state media linked to Lei Yang’s death. Nevertheless, in December 2016, the Beijing procuratorate declined to press criminal charges despite finding that the police officers involved used excessive force and caused Lei’s death. To stem public interest in the case, authorities censored online advocacy efforts and harassed individuals pressing publicly for greater police accountability.
Crackdown On Human Rights Lawyers 'Inconsistent' With China's Desire To Be Viewed As A Responsible Global Stakeholder Say Chairs
May 11, 2017
On April 14, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) will convene a hearing to examine China’s systemic use of torture and maltreatment in the criminal justice system. Torture experts have concluded that the lack of a definition of torture in China’s legal code is highly problematic. There are also well-documented cases of the frequent use of “tiger chairs” during interrogation and other forms of torture to coerce confessions from criminal defendants and political prisoners alike; reports of deaths in custody and the lack of adequate medical treatment in detention; and the abuse and mistreatment in detention of individuals from China’s ethnic minorities, including Tibetans and Uyghurs.
As President Obama prepares to host Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24-25, 2015, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) will hold a hearing to examine the critical human rights and rule of law issues that deserve frank and robust discussions during the planned state visit.
The following Chinese text was retrieved on November 18, 2016, from the Chengde Anti-Corruption Public Website.
Refer to this page for a prior version of the PRC Criminal Law, amended on February 25, 2011, and effective on May 1, 2011 (English translation available).
The following Chinese text was retrieved on November 30, 2016, from Xinhua Net.
On November 1, 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress repealed the PRC State Security Law, effective on February 22, 1993, through the enactment of the PRC Anti-Espionage Law.