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The Role of Law in Communist China*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Extract

Law is a social institution designed to help society operate in a harmonious and efficient manner. It fosters orderly relations among individuals and groups by formulating and enforcing some basic rules of conduct, providing mechanisms for the resolution of some major disagreements, and defining the structure and mode of government. The precise shape, content and manner of operation of this institution are determined by the resources, needs, problems, historical development and general conditions of the society in which it functions. As these factors differ from society to society, so also differ the attitudes towards law, the forms of legal systems and the specific legal norms and rules.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 1970

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References

1 See Benjamin, Schwartz, “On Attitudes Toward Law in China,” in Milton, Katz (ed.), Government Under Law and the Individual (Washington: American Council of Learned Societies, 1957)Google Scholar, reprinted in Cohen, Jerome A., The Criminal Process in the People's Republic of China, 1949–1963: An Introduction (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1968), for an enlightening description of the meanings and functions of fa and li.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2 For an interesting discussion of the “mythology of the American system of criminal justice,” see Pfeffer, Richard M., “Crime and Punishment: China and the United States,” World Politics (Princeton), No. 21 (October 1968), p. 152. See also Stanley Lubman, “Form and Function in the Chinese Criminal Process,” Columbia Law Review, No. 69 (April 1969), p. 535.Google Scholar

3 Some recent studies on how the American legal system actually operates are: Skolnick, Jerome H., Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society (New York: Wiley, 1966)Google Scholar; Reiss, Albert J., Studies in Crime and Law Enforcement in Major Metropolitan Areas (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967Google Scholar); Wayne, LaFave, “Police and Non-enforcement of the Law,” Wisconsin Law Review, 1962 (January–March), pp. 104, 179; Herman Goldstein, “Police Discretion Not to Invoke the Criminal Process: Low Visibility Decisions in the Administration of Justice,” Yale Law Journal, No. 69 (03 1960), p. 543; Kaplan, J., “Prosecutorial Discretion—A Comment,” Northwestern University Law Review, No. 66 (May–June 1965), p. 174; “Administration of Justice in the Wake of the Detroit Civil Disorders of July 1967,” Michigan Law Review, No. 66 (May 1968), p. 1544; “Prosecutor's Role in Plea Bargaining,” University of Chicago Law Review, No. 36 (Fall 1968), p. 50.Google Scholar

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5 See generally, Derk Bodde and Clarence Morris, Law in Imperial China: Exemplified by 190 Ch'ing Dynasty Cases (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967Google Scholar); T'ung-tsu Ch'ü, Local Government Under the Ch'ing (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1962Google Scholar); Sybille van der Sprenkel, Legal Institutions in Manchu China (London: Athlone Press, 1962).Google Scholar

6 See above, n. 1.Google Scholar

7 See generally, Townsend, James R., Political Participation in Communist China (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967). For a discussion of the relation of the mass line to legal work, see Stanley Lubman, “Mao and Mediation: Politics and Dispute Resolution in Communist China,” California Law Review, No. 55 (November 1967), p. 1284.Google Scholar

8 On land reform, see William, Hinton, Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village (New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1966Google Scholar); Ezra Vogel, “Land Reform in Kwangtung 1951–1953: Central Control and Localism,” The China Quarterly, No. 38 (April–June 1969), p. 27; Kuang-tung-sheng t'u-ti kai-ko wei-yüãn-hui (Kwangtung Province Land Reform Committee) (ed.), Kuang-tung-sheng t'u-ti kai-ko fa-kuei hui-pien (Kwangtung Province Land Reform Laws and Regulations Compendium) (Hsin hua shu tien, 1950). I feel that this period is characterized by special problems and unique circumstances, and should be treated separately. See Li, Victor H., reviews of Cohen, Criminal Process, and of Bodde and Morris, Law in Imperial China in Michigan Law Review, No. 67 (11 1968), pp. 179, 184.Google Scholar

9 Shao-chuan, Leng, Justice in Communist China: A Survey of the Judicial System of the Chinese People's Republic (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana Publications, 1967), pp. 126.Google Scholar

10 Blaustein, Albert P. (ed.), Fundamental Legal Documents of Communist China (South Hackensack, N.J.: Fred B. Rothman & Co., 1962), p. 41.Google Scholar

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12 Hsiao, Hung, “Can We let the Old Law Viewpoints Come Back to Life? Refute the Rightists' Derogation of Judicial Reform,” Kuang-ming jih-pao (KMJP), 6 October 1957; “Fan-tui chiu-fa kuan-tien; kai-tsao ho cheng-tun ssu-fa chi-kuan,” (“Oppose Old Law Viewpoints; Reform and Improve the Judicial Organs”), Chieh-fang jih-pao (CFJP), 21 August 1952; Li Kuang-lin and Li Chien-fei, “Su-ch'ing fan-jen-min ti chiu-fa kuan-tien” (“Eradicate the Anti-people Old Law Viewpoints”), Jen-min jih-pao (JMJP), 22 August 1952. See also, Ch'en Su-fang, Chung-kung ti ssu-fa kai-ko (The Judicial Reform of Communist China) (Hong Kong: Union Research Publishing House, 1953). A similar campaign was conducted within the public security. See, for example, “Kuang-k'ai fan-tui chiu ching-ch'a tso-feng yün-tung” (“Open the Campaign Against the Old Police Work Style”), Nan-fang jih-pao (NFJP), 1 October 1952.Google Scholar

13 For a description of the formal legal system, see Cohen, Criminal Process; Leng, Justice in Communist China, pp. 27178Google Scholar; Tao-tai, Hsia, Guide to Selected Legal Sources of Mainland China (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1967), pp. 176. See also three articles by George Ginsburgs and Arthur Stahnke,, “The Genesis of the People's Procuratorate in Communist China: 1949–1951,” “The People's Procuratorate in Communist China: The Period of Maturation: 1951–1954,” and “The People's Procuratorate in Communist China: The Institution in the Ascendant: 1954–1957,” in The China Quarterly, No. 20 (October–December 1964), p. 1, No. 24 (October–December 1965), p. 53, and No. 34 (April–June 1968), p. 82.Google Scholar

14 , Cohen, Criminal Process, pp. 106, 109, 110, 124.Google ScholarPubMed

15 Many of these laws are translated in Blaustein, Fundamental Legal Documents, and in Cohen, Criminal Process.Google ScholarPubMed

16 See Leng, Justice in Communist China, pp. 127146Google Scholar; Huang, Yüan (ed.), Wo-kuo jen-min lü-shih chih-tu (My Country's System of People's Lawyers) (Canton: Kuang-tung jen-min ch'u-pan-she, 1956).Google Scholar On the notarial offices, see Ch'üan-kuo hsü-to ch'eng-shih chan-k'ai kung-cheng kung-tso” (“Many Cities in the Entire Country Developing Notarial Work”), KMJP, 18 06 1955;Google ScholarKo ti chi-chi chan-k'ai kung-cheng kung-tso” (“Notarial Work Actively Developed in Many Places”), KMJP, 26 11 1956.Google Scholar

17 See, for example, “Hei-lung-chiang kao chi fa-yüan kung-tso pao-kao” (“Work Report of the Heilungkiang High-Level People's Court”), Hei-lung-chiang jih-pao, 27 09 1957Google Scholar. See also, “Pin-yang jen-min chien-ch'a-yüan chung-shih jen-min lai-fang kung-tso” (“The Pin-yang People's Procuracy Seriously Regards the Work of Receiving People's Visits”), Kuang-hsi jih-pao, 11 06 1957, which attributes the increase in complaints made to this procuracy to the fact that the masses are satisfied with its work.Google Scholar

18 For example, Ch'en, Fou, T'an-t'an shou fa (Discussions on Observing the Law) (Tientsin: Jen-min ch'u-pan-she, 1956).Google Scholar

19 “Speech by Comrade Tung Pi-wu,” Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1956), Vol. II, pp. 9496. See also the speeches by Teng Hsiao-p'ing and Chou En-lai at the same congress.Google Scholar

20 Chuang, Shih-minet al., “Cheng-ch'üeh ch'u-li jen-min nei-pu ti chiu-fen” (“Properly Handle the Disputes Among the People”), Cheng-fa yen-chiu (CFYC), No. 4 (1959).Google Scholar

21 Properly Launch the Judicial Reform Campaign,” KMJP, 27 08 1952; “Tsui kao jen-min fa-yüan tsai ‘san-fan’ hou chien-hua le hsü-to wen-tu shou-hsü” (“The Supreme People's Court Simplifies Many Secretariat Procedures After the ‘Three-Anti’ Campaign”), JMJP, 24 July 1952; “Ying-kai yen-su ti t'ai-tu lai hsieh p'an-chüeh-shu” (“A Serious Attitude Should Be Adopted When Writing a Judgement Document”), KMJP, 20 January 1957.Google Scholar

22 Chairman Mao says: “Administrative orders and the method of persuasion and education complement each other in resolving contradictions among the people. Even administrative regulations for the maintenance of public order must be accompanied by persuasion and education, for in many cases regulations alone will not work.” Mao Tse-tung, On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1966), pp. 89. Similarly, when the Security Administration Punishment Act (SAPA) was promulgated, Lo Jui-ch'ing, the Minister of Public Security, said in an accompanying speech: “It should be explained repeatedly that thoroughly putting into effect the SAPA adopted by our country, like putting into effect other laws and decrees or government administrative orders, requires passing through [a period of] thorough propaganda-education. If the reasons are not clearly explained to the people to obtain their adherence and support, and if it is not founded on the basis of self-awareness and voluntarism of the vast [number of] people, but rather, coercion is simply understood to mean crude oppression that does not require any educating, it will be completely incorrect, and it will definitely get nowhere.” Lo Jui-ch'ing, “Explanations of the Draft SAPA of the People's Republic of China,” in Cohen, Criminal Process, p. 203.Google Scholar

23 I, Sung, “Su-sung-shu hao-nan-hsieh!” (“How Difficult It Is to Write a Complaint!”), KMJP, 8 09 1956; “Properly Launch the Judicial Reform Campaign,” KMJP, 27 August 1952.Google Scholar

24 See generally, “Chung-yang jen-min cheng-fu cheng-wu-yüan kuan-yü ch'u-li jen-min lai-hsin ho chieh-chien jen-min kung-tso ti chüeh-ting” (“Decision of the Government Affairs Council of the Central People's Government Concerning the Work of Handling People's Letters and Receiving the People”), CFJP, 9 06 1951; “Pi chung-shih ch'u-li jen-min lai-hsin ti kung-tso” (“The Work of Handling People's Letters Must Be Regarded Seriously”), JMJP, 4 December 1955; “Kuo-wu-yüan kuan-yü chia-ch'iang ch'u-li jen-min lai-hsin ho chieh-tai jen-min lai-fang kung-tso ti chih-shih” (“Directive of the State Council Concerning the Strengthening of the Work of Handling People's Letters and Receiving People's Inquiries”), JMJP, 25 November 1957. See also below, n. 33.Google Scholar

25 During 1954, the NFJP conducted a campaign to have readers send in complaints to the newspaper. “Pan-yüeh tu-che lai-hsin ch'u-li ch'ing-k'uang” (“The Situation of Handling Letters From Readers During the Past Half Month”), NFJP, 5 August 1954, states that 2,158 letters were received in a two-week period. Even in the absence of such a campaign, all newspapers receive a steady stream of letters. On the work of the ministry of supervision, see Franz Schurmann, Ideology and Organization in Communist China (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1966), pp. 309364. Is the “control correspondent” discussed by Schurmann the same as the “procuratorial correspondent”? See, for example, “Ch'üan-kuo chien-ch'a t'ung-hsin-yüan tao chiu-wan ssu-ch'ien to ming; t'ung wei-fa fan-tsui fen-tzu tso tou-cheng ch'i-le hen-to tso-yung” (“The Number of Procuratorial Correspondents in the Country Reaches 94,000; Very Useful in the Struggle Against Illegal Elements”), JMJP, 5 September 1956.Google Scholar

26 For more detailed descriptions of the new cadres, see Li, book reviews, above, n. 9, p. 189; “Chuang-chia-jen tang fa-kuan” (“Peasants Become Judges”), KMJP, 4 March 1955; “Pen-shih i p'i you-hsiu t'iao-chieh wei-yüan pei hsüan fa ts'an-chia fa-yüan kung-tso” (“A Group of Superior Mediation Committee Members Selected to Enter Judicial Work in This City”), Fu-chien jih-pao, 26 November 1952. See also, “Ssu-fa-pu chih-ting p'ei-yang kan-pu, k'ai-chan fa-hsüeh yen-chiu kung-tso ti chi-hua” (“The Ministry of Justice Determines the Plan for Developing Cadres and Expanding Legal Research”), KMJP, 8 June 1956. The plan was that, through the use of correspondence courses, after 12 years 30 per cent. of the judicial cadres would have the equivalent of a “high-level” legal education, and the rest would have the equivalent of two years of legal training.Google Scholar

27 “Jen-min fa-yüan chi-chi ch'ing le chi-an; wu jih nei chieh-an wu-pai ssu-shih chien” (“The People's Court Actively Clears Up Accumulated Cases; 540 Cases Concluded Within Five Days”), JMJP, 22 05 1950Google Scholar; Pei-ching shih jen-min, fa-yüan (ed.), Kung-tso kai-k'uang.Google Scholar

28 Properly Launch the Judicial Reform Campaign,” KMJP, 27 08 1952.Google Scholar

30 Hsi-pei chin-hsing ssu-fa kai-ko” (“Northwest Carries Out Judicial Reform”), KMJP, 24 08 1952Google Scholar; Ta-tao tso-t'ang wen-an ti kuan-feng” (“Overthrow the Bureaucratic Attitude of Sitting in Court to Hear Cases”), Pei-ching jih-pao, 25 06 1958.Google Scholar

32 This conclusion is supported by interviews. See Li, Victor H., “The Use of Survey Interviewing in Research on Chinese Law,” in Cohen, Jerome A. (ed.), Contemporary Chinese Law: Research Problems and Perspectives (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970)Google Scholar. See also, Yüan, Kuang, “Jen-min fa-yüan ti jen-min chieh-tai-shih” (“The People's Reception Office of the People's Court”), JMJP, 2 12 1953Google Scholar; Ssu, Hsüan, “Jen-min fa-yüan jen-min chieh-tai-shih kung-tso chung ti chi-ko wen-t'i” (“Several Problems in the Work of the People's Reception Office of the People's Court”), JMJP, 21 07 1954Google Scholar. On people's reception” by other organs, see “Shih kung-an-chü ch'u-li jen-min lai hsin lai-fang kung-tso ti ching-yen” (“The Experiences of the City Public Security Bureau in Handling the Work of People's Letters and People's Inquiries”), Kuang-chou jih-pao, 29 11 1953Google Scholar; Kan-su-sheng tang cheng chi-kuan jen-chen tui-tai lai hsin lai-fang; ken-chu ch'ün-chung p'i-p'ing chien-i ch'ieh-shih kai-chin kung-tso” (“Party and Government Organs in Kansu Province Sincerely Accept Letters and Inquiries; Definitely Improve Their Work on the Bases of the Criticisms and Suggestions of the Masses”), JMJP, 9 01 1962. See also above, n. 24.Google Scholar

33 Art. 2, “Act of the PRC for the Punishment of Counter-revolution,” in Cohen, Criminal Process, p. 300.Google Scholar

34 Art. 9 (8), SAPA, in ibid. p. 217. The imperial codes also used very specific and narrow statutory language. For example, “If a knavish fellow from outside (the capital), with a yellow banner planted upon his head, and accusations issuing from his mouth, rushes into a government office in order to exercise coercion upon the officials there …” cited in Bodde and Morris, Law in Imperial China, p. 68.Google Scholar

35 Art. 16, “Act of the PRC for the Punishment of Counter-revolution,” in Cohen, Criminal Process, p. 302Google Scholar. The use of analogy also has roots in traditional law. Analogy was allowed under the imperial code whenever there is no precisely applicable statute or sub-statute.” In such cases, the sentence together with an explanation of the case must be submitted to the emperor for review. , Bodde and , Morris, Law in Imperial China, pp. 117, 175178.Google Scholar

36 Art. 1 (1), “Decision of the State Council of the PRC Relating to Problems of Rehabilitation Through Labor,” in Cohen, Criminal Process, p. 249.Google Scholar

37 Art. 10 (3), “Act of the PRC for the Punishment of Counter-revolution,” in Ibid. p. 301.

38 On problems of granting discretionary power to local-level administrators, see Li, Victor H., “The Public Security Bureau of Hui-yang Hsien,” in Lewis, John W. (ed.), The City in Communist China (Stanford University Press, forthcoming).Google Scholar

39 See, for example, items 56, 90C, and 91, in Cohen, Criminal Process. See also Ibid. items 57, 71A, 78C and 89.

40 “Speech of Comrade Tung Pi-wu,” p. 95, above, n. 19.Google Scholar

41 Lo Jui-ch'ing, “Explanations,” above, n. 22.Google Scholar

42 See , Cohen, Criminal Process, pp. 97170; , Lubman, “Mao and Mediation,” pp. 13091325Google Scholar, above, n. 7; Henry, Lethbridge, China's Urban Communes (Hong Kong: Dragonfly Books, 1961)Google Scholar; Janet, Salaff, “The Urban Communes and Anti-city Experiment in Communist China,” The China Quarterly, No. 29 (01–03 1967), p. 82.Google Scholar

43 For a description of a study session, see Barnett, A. Doak, Communist China: The Early Years, 1949–55 (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1964), pp. 89103Google Scholar. See also, ibid. pp. 104–115; Allyn, Rickett and Adele, Rickett, Prisoners of Liberation (New York: Cameron Association, 1957)Google Scholar; Robert, Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (New York: Norton, 1961)Google Scholar; Harriet, Mills, “Thought Reform: Ideological Remoulding in China,” Atlantic Monthly (Boston), 12 1959.Google Scholar

44 For a detailed discussion of the work of the public security, see , Li, “The Public Security Bureau,” above, n. 38; Cohen, Criminal Process, pp. 104131Google ScholarPubMed, 200–295, 368–405; Kuo, Shou-hua (ed.), Kung-fei kung-an-chu chi yü jen-min ching-ch'a chih yen-chiu (Studies on the Public Security Organization and the People's Police of the Communist Bandits) (Taipei, 1957).Google Scholar

45 A fine article on the changing Chinese attitude towards codification is Arthur, Stahnke, “The Background and Evolution of Party Policy on the Drafting of Legal Codes in Communist China,” American Journal of Comparative Law (Ann Arbor), No. 15 (1957), p. 506.Google Scholar

46 Cf. the reaction of a sixth-century B.C. Confucian scholar on hearing that a rudimentary criminal code had been promulgated: “The ancient kings … did not make (general) laws of punishment, fearing lest it should give rise to a contentious spirit among the people … When the people know what the exact laws are, they do not stand in awe of their superiors. They also come to have a contentious spirit, and make their appeal to the express words, hoping peradventure to be successful … When once the people know the ground for contention, they will cast propriety away, and make their appeal to your descriptions. They will all be contending about a matter as small as the point of an awl or a knife. Disorderly litigations will multiply, and bribes will walk abroad.” “Tso Chuan,” in The Chinese Classics, James, Legge, trans., Vol. 5, p. 609.Google Scholar

47 See Roderick, MacFarquhar (ed.), The Hundred Flowers Campaign and the Chinese Intellectuals (1960), pp. 122124Google Scholar; “T'an-t'an yu-kuan chia-ch'iang fa-chih chi-ko jen-shih wen-t'i” (“Talks on the Understanding of Several Problems Concerning the Strengthening of the Rule of Law”), KMJP, 22 01 1957Google Scholar; “Tang-wai lü-shih ch'ang t'an tui ssu-fa pu-men ti i-chien” (“Non-Party Lawyers Have a Pleasant Discussion of Opinions About the Judicial Departments”), Kuei-lin jih-pao, 30 05 1957Google Scholar. See also, “Grave Struggle Still Exists on Political and Legal Front,” JMJP, 9 10 1957Google Scholar, in Survey of China Mainland Press (SCMP) (Hong Kong: U.S. Consulate General), No. 1636 (23 10 1957)Google Scholar; “Overcome the Two Deviations in Political and Legal Work,” JMJP, 14 10 1957Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 1638 (25 October 1957); “Political and Law Departments Must Be Thoroughly Reorganized,” JMJP, 20 12 1957Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 1687 (9 01 1958).Google Scholar

48 During land reform, a people's tribunal was set up “to try and punish, according to law … all such persons who resist or violate the provisions of the Agrarian Reform Law and decrees.” Art. 32, “Agrarian Reform Law,” in , Blaustein (ed.), Fundamental Legal Documents, p. 288Google ScholarPubMed. Separate courts were established during the Three-Anti and Five-Anti Campaigns. “Kuan-yü san-fan yün-tung chung ch'eng-li jen-min fa-t'ing ti kuei-ting” (“Regulations on the Setting up of People's Tribunals during the Three-Anti Campaign”), JMJP, 31 03 1952Google Scholar. See also section E, below, for a discussion of the tribunals established during the Cultural Revolution. In other campaigns, a variety of sanctions were also meted out without the involvement of the courts. See generally, , Cohen, Criminal Process, pp. 238295.Google ScholarPubMed

49 For example, Shen, Chun-ju, the first President of the Supreme Court, had extensive legal training and experience, but he was not a Party member or an influential member of the Government. The same is true for Shih Liang, the Minister of Justice from 1954 to 1959. Tung Pi-wu, the Chairman of the Political-Legal Affairs Committee in 1949 and later President of the Supreme Court, studied law in Japan in 1916, but thereafter was engaged primarily in Party work, and not legal work. Who's Who in Communist China (Hong Kong: Union Research Institute, 1966), pp. 498500, 508–510, 586–588. In contrast, many of the early leaders of the Soviet Union, including Lenin, were trained in law.Google Scholar

50 Van der, Sprenkel, Legal Institutions, pp. 80130; Wejen, Chang, “The Traditional Chinese Fear of Litigation: Its Causes and Effects” (unpublished). A strong challenge to this view is presented in David Buxbaum, “Some Aspects of Civil Procedure at the Trial Level during Ch'ing Times in Tanshui and Hsinchu from 1789–1885” (unpublished).Google Scholar

51 Very little work has been done in English on the Nationalist efforts at modernization and reform of the legal system. See, for example, Marinus, Meijer, The Introduction of Modern Criminal Law in China (Batavia: Koninklijke Drukkerij de Unie, 1950)Google Scholar; Mark van der, Valk, Conservatism in Modern Chinese Family Law (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1956)Google Scholar. See also Cheng, F. T., “A Sketch of the History, Philosophy, and Reform of Chinese Law,” in Studies in the Law of the Far East and Southeast Asia (Washington, D.C.: Washington Foreign Law Society, 1956), p. 19.Google Scholar

52 See , Li, “The Public Security Bureau,” above, n. 38. See also Ezra Vogel, “The Regularisation of Cadres,” The China Quarterly, No. 29 (01–03 1967), p. 36.Google ScholarPubMed

53 While it is difficult to obtain firm data in this area, interviews suggest that the neighbourhood officials elected in the early years were such higher status persons. See also Art. 4 (1), “Provisional Act of the CPR for the Organization of Security Defence Committees,” and Art. 5, “Provisional General Rules of the CPR for the Organization of People's Mediation Committees,” in Cohen, Criminal Process, pp. 115, 124, which describe the qualifications needed to become a neighbourhood official.Google Scholar

54 Chin-shih hsü-to t'ui-hsiu lao-kung-jen pei t'ui-hsüan ch'u lai ts'an-chia-le chieh-tao kung-tso” (“Many Retired Elderly Workers Are Elected to Take Part in Street Work in Tientsin”), T'ien-chin jih-pao, 10 07 1956Google Scholar. Another article in the same paper indicates that housewives make up as much as 90 per cent. of the total number of elected neighbourhood officials. “Chin-shih ko chieh p'u-pien chin-shing k'ai-hsüan chü-min wei-yüan-hui kung-tso” (“All Streets in Tientsin Carry Out the Work of Electing Residents Committees”), ibid. Similarly in Canton, “of the activists in street-level work, a majority are housewives and another substantial portion are unemployed persons.” The writer also complains that due to the low status of these persons, some cadres are not sufficiently respectful. Speech of Huang, Hsiu-chüan, “Chieh-tao kung-tso ti yao-ch'iu” (“The Requirements of Street-Level Work”), Kuang-chou jih-pao, 5 12 1956Google Scholar. On the acting of neighbourhood officials as busybodies, see I wei ‘yang-yang-kuan’ ti chü-min hsiao-tzu-chang” (“An ‘Involved in Everything’ Residents Small Group Chief”), Shang-hai hsin-min wan-pao, 29 10 1964; and , Lubman, “Mao and Mediation,” above, n. 8.Google Scholar

55 See Li, “The Public Security Bureau,” above, n. 38.Google Scholar

56 Part of the 1955–56 drive to publicize the work of lawyers consisted of trying to convince the masses that the “new people's lawyers” were good men, entirely unlike the “old” lawyers. Liu Wen-tao, “The Nature and Functions of People's Lawyers Work,” KMJP, 11 09 1956Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 1391. See also above, n. 50.Google Scholar

57 On the position of the Soviet Union towards the withering away of the state and of law, see Ivo Lapenna, State and Law: Soviet and Yugoslav Theory (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964).Google Scholar

58 For a more thorough discussion of this problem, see Cohen, Jerome A., “The Chinese Communist Party and ‘Judicial Independence’: 1949–1959,” Harvard Law Review, No. 82 (03 1969), p. 967.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

59 Liu, Tse-chün, “Realizations from My Adjudication Work,” CFYC, No. 1 (1959), pp. 4851Google Scholar, in , Cohen, Criminal Process, pp. 461463, 476–478, 488–489, 500–503.Google ScholarPubMed

60 Ts'ui, Ch'eng-hsüan, “How We Defended the Safety of Hsing-fu People's Commune,” CFYC, No. 6 (1958), p. 62Google Scholar, in , Cohen, Criminal Process, p. 505.Google ScholarPubMed

61 , Li, “The Public Security Bureau,” above, n. 38Google Scholar; Cohen, “Judicial Independence,” above, n. 58Google Scholar; Barnett, A. Doak (with a contribution by Ezra Vogel), Cadres, Bureaucracy, and Political Power in Communist China (New York: Columbia University Press, 1967), pp. 192193, 235–241;Google Scholar“Kuang-chou cheng-fa pu-men shih-yen hsieh-tso pan-an” (“The Canton Political-legal Organs Experiment with Co-operative Work in Handling Cases”), NFJP, 30 03 1958. This last article describes how work teams are formed out of representatives from the public security, the procuracy and the court, and how major decisions are made jointly by the three chiefs of these organs.Google Scholar

62 , Cohen, Criminal Process, pp. 200237.Google ScholarPubMed

63 Ibid. pp. 238–274.

64 Ibid. pp. 275–285. For a discussion of the manner in which these overlapping administrative sanctions were applied, see Li, book reviews, above, n. 8.Google Scholar

65 While the procuracy had similar duties, I do not think it did very much. For a description of the procuracy in Hui-yang hsien, see Li, “The Public Security Bureau,” above, n. 38.Google Scholar

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68 Trade with China: A Practical Guide (Hong Kong: Ta kung pao, 1962)Google Scholar; Gene, Hsiao, “Communist China's Foreign Trade Contracts and Means of Settling Disputes, Vanderbilt Law Review (Nashville), No. 22 (04 1969), p. 503Google Scholar; Li, Victor H., “Legal Aspects of Trade with Communist China,” Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, No. 3 (1964), p. 57Google Scholar; Gabriele, Crespi-Reghizzi, “Legal Aspects of Trade with China: The Italian Experience,” Harvard International Law Journal, No. 9 (Winter 1968), p. 85.Google Scholar

69 Early regulations determined the amount of rent and required real property to be registered. “Pei-ching-shih jen-min cheng-fu ling, Pei-ching ssu-you fang-wu chu-jen chan-hsing kuei-tse” (“Orders of the Peking City People's Government, Temporary Regulations Concerning the Rental of Privately Owned Houses”), JMJP, 14 10 1950Google Scholar: Pei-ching-shih jen-min cheng-fu kung-pu: ch'eng-ch'ü fang-ti ch'an-ch'uan teng-chi chan-hsing kuei-ting” (“Peking People's Government Announces: Temporary Regulations Concerning the Registration of Real Property in the City and Suburbs”), JMJP, 30 04 1950Google Scholar. At this time, a substantial portion of the work of the courts in urban areas involved housing disputes. See, Ching-shih jen-min fa-yüan tse-mo ch'u-li fang-wu chiu-fen” (“How the Peking People's Court Handles Housing Disputes”), JMJP, 26 03 1950, in which 41 per cent. of the total cases handled by the court involved disputes over the ownership or possession of real property, or the payment of rent. The Housing Control Bureaux took over the handling of such cases after they were established in the early 1950s.Google Scholar

70 Arts. 5–12, “Trade Union Law,” in , Blaustein (ed.), Fundamental Legal Documents, pp. 471474Google ScholarPubMed; and “Provisional Rules of Procedure for Settling Labour Disputes,” ibid. pp. 501–506, provide that the Labour Bureau acts as mediator or arbitrator for all labour disputes arising in publicly owned, privately owned, or co-operatively owned enterprises. See also, Paul, Harper, “The Party and the Unions in Communist China,” The China Quarterly, No. 37 (01–03 1969), p. 84.Google Scholar

71 Provisional Measures Governing the Conclusion of Agreements and Contracts by Organs, State Enterprises, and Co-operatives,” Chung-hua jen-min cheng-fu fa-ling hui-pien, Vol. 2 (27 09 1950), p. 532.Google Scholar

72 Important Labour Laws and Regulations of the People's Republic of China (enlarged edition) (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1961)Google ScholarPubMed; Labour Protection Bureau (ed.), Labour Protection in New China (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1960)Google Scholar. On the medical system, see “Wei-sheng-pu kuan-yü kai-chin hua-ch'ü i-liao fu-wu kung-tso ti chih-shih” (“Directive of the Ministry of Health Concerning the Improvement of the District Medical Service Work”), Chung-hua jen-min kung-ho-kuo fa-kuei hui-pien (FKHP), Vol. 5 (13 05 1957), p. 351Google Scholar; “Wei-sheng-pu kuan-yü chia-ch'iang chi-ts'eng wei-sheng tzu chi ling-tao ti chih-shih” (“Directive of the Ministry of Health Concerning the Strengthening of the Leadership of the Basic-Level Public Health Organs”), ibid. Vol. 6 (7 August 1957), p. 540.

73 Art. 29 of the SAPA provides: “If a violation of security administration creates loss or injury, the violator shall pay compensation or assume the medical expenses,” in , Cohen, Criminal Process, p. 205.Google Scholar

74 Li, “The Public Security Bureau,” above, n. 38.Google Scholar

75 , Cohen, Criminal Process, pp. 107108, 205–237, 249–250.Google ScholarPubMed

76 Ibid. pp. 360–362.

77 See generally, Pfeffer, Richard M., “The Institution of Contracts in the Chinese People's Republic,” The China Quarterly, No. 14 (04–06 1963)Google Scholar, p. 153, and No. 15 (July–September 1963), p. 115; Pfeffer, Richard M., “Contracts in China Revisited, With a Focus on Agriculture 1949–1963,” The China Quarterly, No. 28 (10–12 1966)CrossRefGoogle Scholar, p. 106; Hsiao, Gene, “The Role of Economic Contracts in Communist China,” California Law Review, No. 53 (1965), p. 1029CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also, Sung, Chi-shan, “A Brief Discussion of the Nature and Function of Economic Contracts in Industry,” Ching-chi yen-chiu, No. 2 (02 1965)Google Scholar, p. 38, in Joint Publications Research Service (JPRS) (Washington), No. 31,033, p. 57.Google Scholar

78 Chung-kung chung-yang, kuo-wu-yüan kuan-yü yen-ko shih-hsing chi-pen chien-she ch'eng-hsü, yen-ko shih-hsing ching-chi ho-t'ung ti t'ung-chih” (A Communiqué of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council Concerning the Strict Implementation of Basic Level Construction Procedures and the Strict Implementation of Economic Contracts”), FKHP, Vol. 13 (01 1962–December 1963)Google Scholar, p. 62, trans. in Whitmore, Gray and Li, Victor H., Communist Law Materials, Vol. III, p. 833 (unpublished).Google Scholar

79 Report on an Investigation into the Facts of the Persecution of the Aug. 1 Combat Corps,” Kang pa-i, 15 10 1967, in SCMP, No. 4096 (10 January 1968), p. 1.Google Scholar

80 See “Resolutely Defending the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, Checking the Evil Wind of Fighting, Smashing and Looting,” Pei-ching kung-jen, 17 05 1967Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 3966 (23 June 1967), p. 13; Brief Introduction to the Three Big Factions in Shenyang,” Liao-lien chan-pao, 6 09 1967Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4091 (13 January 1968), p. 7; US Agents Sentenced in Peking,” New China News Agency (NCNA) (Peking), 27 09 1967, in SCMP, No. 4031 (29 09 1967), p. 18.Google Scholar

81 Chairman Mao and Central Committee Leaders on Public Security Organs, Procuratorates and Law Courts,” Fan P'eng Lo hei-hsien, No. 2 (07 1968)Google Scholar, in Survey of China Mainland Magazines (SCMM) (Hong Kong: U.S. Consulate General), No. 625 (3 09 1968), p. 15.Google Scholar

82 Ibid. p. 16.

84 Chairman Mao's Latest Instructions,” Wen-ko t'ung-hsin, No. 1 (October 6, 1967), in SCMP, No. 4060 (15 November 1967), p. 1. Emphasis added.Google Scholar

85 Experience of Heilungkiang Red Rebels in Seizing Power,” NCNA, 10 02 1967, in SCMP, No. 3880 (15 02 1967), p. 1.Google Scholar

86 See, for example, “Consolidate the Victory of the Struggle Launched by Revolutionaries to Seize Power,” JMJP, 13 02 1967Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 3999 (28 February 1967), p. 1; Down With Chiang Hua,” Wen-ko t'ung-hsin, No. 16 (07 1968)Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4230 (1 August 1968), p. 1. See also, Another Criminal Proof of ‘Canton Repudiate T'ao Joint Committee's’ Attempt to Seize Power From the Army,” San chün lien wei chan-pao, No. 10 (13 09 1968)Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4275 (10 October 1968), p. 1. Hsieh Fu-chih estimated that fully 80 per cent. of the hsien-level public security organs supported the conservatives. Comrade Hsieh Fu-chih's Important Speech,” Chiu P'eng Lo chan-pao, No. 3 (02 1968)Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4139 (15 03 1968), p. 5.Google Scholar I am puzzled by how Hsieh, who has been Minister of Public Security since 1959, was able to blame all the wrongdoings within his department on his predecessor Lo Jui-ch'ing and on P'eng Chen. Hsieh suggested that the higher-level public security officials, including himself, were estranged from the lower-level cadres, and did not know what was happening. Ibid. Chou En-lai tried to excuse Hsieh by saying: “Although Comrade Hsieh Fu-chih is a very good minister, yet because he went there late and because he is a man of discipline in work, he did not think it fit to change the original personnel without good reasons. Because of this, the influence of P'eng Chen and Lo Jui-ch'ing was still very great.” “Chairman Mao and Central Committee Leaders,” above, n. 81, p. 16. Nevertheless, it seems to me that if the public security was so rotten, the man in charge should bear much of the blame.

87 Completely Smash the Feudal, Capitalist and Revisionist Legal System,” Fan P'eng Lo hei-hsien, No. 2 (07 1968)Google Scholar, in SCMM. No. 625 (3 September 1968), p. 23; Down with P'eng Chen, the Sworn Enemy of Proletarian Dictatorship,” JMJP, 15 10 1967Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4051 (31 10 1967), p. 1.Google Scholar

88 Suppression of the Masses Is Bourgeois Dictatorship,” Wen hui pao, 5 06 1968Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4210 (3 07 1968), p. 1.Google Scholar

89 Ibid. p. 4. See also, Ts'ui, Minet al., “Overthrow the Rule of the Bourgeois ‘Scholar Tyrants,’” JMJP, 6 06 1966Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 3722 (21 06 1966), p. 12, in which Peking Law School's emphasis on professional proficiency rather than Chairman Mao's thought was criticized.Google Scholar

90 “Completely Smash the Feudal, Capitalist and Revisionist Legal Systems,” p. 25, above, n. 87.Google Scholar

94 In Praise of ‘Lawlessness,’” JMJP, 31 01 1967, in SCMP, No. 3879 (14 February 1967), p. 13.Google Scholar

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96 See, for example, “PLA's Great Role in Seizure of Power in Shansi Reviewed,” NCNA, 28 02 1967, in SCMP, No. 3891 (3 03 1967), p. 11.Google Scholar

97 Important Speeches by Central Leaders on March 15” (Chinese source unknown), in SCMP, No. 4181 (20 05 1968), p. 1Google Scholar; Important Speeches by Central Leaders on 18 March.” Red Guard tabloid dated 13 April 1968, and produced by the “Red Rebel Corps” of Yingte Middle School, Kwangtung, in SCMP, No. 4182 (21 05 1968), p. 1.Google Scholar

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100 The Premier's Speech,” Hung-ch'i t'ung-hsin, No. 1 (Mid–06 1968)Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4212 (8 07 1968), p. 1;Google Scholar. Accusations by Victimized Passengers of No. 606 Special Train,” Liu-ling-liu tz'u t'e-pieh lieh-ch'e shih-chien chuan-k'an (12 07 1968] in SCMP, No. 4230 (1 August 1968), p. 12.Google Scholar

101 Premier Chou's Talk with Five Representatives of Proletariat Revolutionary Rebels of Canton,” Kuang-yin hung-ch'i, 29 10 1967Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4091 (3 01 1968), p. 1Google Scholar. A related item appears in SCMM, No. 611 (22 01 1968), p. 12.Google ScholarPubMed

102 In the “six articles on the public security” (kung-an liu t'iao), the term “according to law” appears five times. “Certain Regulations Concerning the Strengthening of Public Security Work in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution,” Kuan-yü ch'ing-li chieh-chi tui-wu tzu-liao chuan-chi (07 1968)Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4235 (9 08 1968), p. 1Google Scholar. See also, Public Notice No. 1 of Tsinghai Provincial Revolutionary Committee,” NCNA, 12 08 1967, in SCMP, No. 4008 (24 08 1967)Google Scholar, p. 1; Message from Party Central Committee and Other Central Organs to Revolutionary Masses and PLA Commanders and Fighters in Wuhan,” Chung-ta hung-ch'i, in SCMP, No. 4041 (26 10 1967)Google Scholar, p. 8; Check This Gust of Evil Wind,” Ching-kang-shan, No. 47 (16 05 1967)Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4078 (12 12 1967), p. 15.Google Scholar

103 See, for example, “Opinions Concerning Cleaning Up of Teachers' Ranks,” Tung-fang-hung tien-hsün, No. 2 (07 1968)Google Scholar, in SCMP, No. 4227 (29 07 1968), p. 4.Google Scholar

104 On the court continuing to function, see, for example, “Current News,” Kung-jen chan-pao, 1 12 1967Google ScholarPubMed, in SCMP, No. 4122 (20 02 1968)Google Scholar, p. 6. On non-judicial organs adjudicating cases, see, for example, A Serious Statement,” Hsüeh-an chuan-k'an (8 12 1967)Google ScholarPubMed, in SCMP, No. 4117 (13 02 1968), p. 1.Google Scholar