China Rule Of Law Rising?
Wu Zhong, China Editor for Asia Times, just did a story, entitled, "A step toward the rule of law," based on a recent high profile Chinese land requisition case. The case involves "12 farmers in a village in Zhejiang province who won their lawsuit against the provincial government and the governor over the acquisition of their farmland."
Wu Zhong sees the substantial official Chinese press coverage of this case as Beijing wanting "to deliver a message through its propaganda machine to people that unfair land requisitions can be dealt with by the rule of law, instead of through violently confrontational ways."
I agree.
The case arose from a December 2003 edict telling farmers in Changting village in Fenghua city of Zhejiang province that the village's 180 hectares of land would be requisitioned for construction. The farmers were told to go to the village committee for compensation as soon as possible.
One of the villagers, Zhang Zhaoliang, viewed his 30,000 yuan compensation (about $3,800) as inadequate and sought more from the village's party chief. Negotiations failed so Zhang sued the Fenghua municipal land and resources bureau. The trial revealed the land requisition had not been handled according to law:
In court, the bureau was forced to testify that the land requisition had not been formally approved by higher authorities, and what had been going on was mere "preliminary" preparation works.
It showed an urbanization plan of the Fenghua city government according to which the whole of Changting village was planned for renovation. Such an ambitious plan needed the green light from the State Council, China's cabinet, according to the central government's regulations.
The Fenghua court then ruled that the land requisition was illegal in that the approval procedure was not complete. But it did not order the requisition to stop. At that time, it was a popular malpractice in land requisition among local officials that they would take land away from farmers first before they sought necessary approval from higher authorities.
Zhang appealed and lost in a second trial in Fenghua court so he appealed again, this time to the Ningbo Municipal People's Court (Fenghua is under the jurisdiction of Ningbo). The Ningbo court would not accept his appeal and by this time the Fenghua government had already secured approval of the land requisition by the Ningbo municipal government and Zhenjiang provincial government.
Despite this, Zhang and another "dozen or so fellow villagers sued the Zhejiang provincial government and the governor as its representative in the Zhejiang Provincial High Court. By that time, the property developer had already begun construction work."
The Zhejiang High Court ruled for Zhang and his fellow farmers, holding that the provincial government had acted illegally in granting the land requisition without prior approval by the State Council. The Chinese press began covering this decision:
"Ordinary peasants win lawsuit against provincial government" made headlines in local newspapers. The national media also began to cover it extensively.
Though the China media is using this case to encourage people to deal with unfair land requisitions though the rule of law, the fact that the lawsuit took so long and that so many questions remain unresolved makes it a less than ideal incentive for court action:
Will the local officials violating the law be punished, and how? Will Zhang and his fellow villagers be compensated for their losses during these years? Will the government consider providing legal aid to the poor who want to sue the government?
Nonetheless, "Zhang's victory must be seen as a big step forward in the rule of law. The wide coverage of the case by the media is likely to encourage more farmers to follow suit. If Beijing could take measures to facilitate such lawsuits, it certainly would help reduce massive protests against unfair land requisition to make society look more "'harmonious.'"
Comments (22)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endJenn - April 23, 2007 8:06 AM
I definitely agree with you that this is a way for them to have more control (using law instead of riots) over the grievances that a lot of people have.
But it does sometimes seem like the time, questions, hurdles and so on make this route still very difficult, especially for people with little to no resources. And makes me feel like that the probability of your case being heard and being decided in your favor is about as likely as winning the lottery.
It will only get better though, right?
whh - April 23, 2007 9:00 AM
The pace of China toward rule of law from rule of people is very slow and it might take forever, nonetheless, something is happening.
Phil - April 23, 2007 9:26 AM
This does sound like good news.
But there's something I've been wondering for a while now. The "big narrative" that everyone (particularly the Beijing government, but also some British newspapers) is talking up in China right now seems to be this: the Beijing government is doing its best to regulate and control this unruly country, but local officials, bent on profit, are disobeying it and messing things up.
This case seems to be a slightly miniaturized version, where the Zhejiang High Court is high enough to get real justice.
Now, it's possible that this is true. It might be that the top echelons of the government and Party are more professional and less corrupt than the lower levels. But I'm not sure I believe it yet.
It's a bit beyond the scope of this post, and I apologise for that. But I wonder if CLB has any views on this - or anyone else?
Alexi - April 23, 2007 12:53 PM
RiGHT on !! I am from a small farm village myself( usa,deep south alabama ) I know the labor & work involved .We as a working people we should not have to deal with the "big govt" takein our land. As we saw the horrible hurricane " Katrina "land cLAIM .tHAT WAS A GOV'T SNATCH ,The USA gov't blew those levys & flooded those people & I hope they fight for their land every inch,New Orleans People need support ,when I was evacuated,They told us not to go home,& I wasn't allowed to go ,all kinds of secrets they will come out ,I know its very hard ,dealin with the "big man" I'm fightin now on this whole Katrina crap.
WE as a working class of people some how we need a easyer way for protection ,regulation , with : rich folks ,aristicratic brats ,dictators ,crazy folks in charge ,psycho Political powers fighting themselves at our exspense & our forefathers & mothers hard earned land . Theres gotta be a way ! Stay strong my fellow humans in China .Power to the People !
nanheyangrouchuan - April 23, 2007 7:43 PM
Zhejiang is a highly developed province in comparison to the others. Progess, but don't read too much into it.
Anonymous - April 23, 2007 10:44 PM
Dan,
Article in the latest FEER that says just the opposite--the rule of law "maybe" moving back as ideology gains more and more of a foothold after 30 years of separation from economic issues.
"The Rise of the New Left" in the April issue notes specifically that the property law that was just passed was tabled 6 times and the final version still gives the State and the socialist constitution the last say. The constitution, indeed socialism in general, are built on the idea that there is no private ownership of property and this premise is gaining ground as society becomes more economically stratified.
Nothing conclusive but maybe a nice balance to the current euphoria over "real" property rights.
To check it out online you'll need a subscription and a specialized reader--really a pain. Just buy the paper copy in HK.
Duncan - April 24, 2007 4:23 AM
What might really get township and provincial officials to sit up and notice would be if this sort of court judgement were to go down on their records. Imagine how much response you'd get if they got a black mark for a verdict like this in the way that their promotion prospects can be hit by a big "mass incident"...
Actually scratch that. If they got that sort of criticism, they'd just pay more attention to making sure the court never got to the stage of issuing such a verdict. The cynic in me thinks that the very fact that courts are able to rule against governments suggests how little these verdicts actually count for. Still, things can change.
Shamao'er - April 24, 2007 8:56 PM
I work in a position assisting mostly foreign companies with responding to investigations and inquiries by certain Chinese government bodies. Unfortunately, what I experience and see my clients experience on a daily basis has not improved in the 5 years I have been involved. Many new regulations are passed but each one contains a vague provision(s) that will allow business to continue as usual. Anecdotal stories I hear are even worse than what I have experienced myself and continue right through a new one yesterday.
China Law Blog - April 25, 2007 8:06 PM
Jenn --
I don't know. This is still pretty much the situation in the United States and here precedent is far more important than in China. The hope though that as landowners win more of these, the government will start backing down more quickly and more often.
China Law Blog - April 25, 2007 8:12 PM
whh --
I agree it is slow but I think that is to be expected and maybe it is even not such a bad thing. Just so long as it keeps moving.
China Law Blog - April 25, 2007 8:24 PM
Alexi --
To a certain extent all legal systems favor the government and the elites. It's just a matter of degrees. I suspect there is no solution to this.
China Law Blog - April 25, 2007 8:25 PM
nh --
Progress will typically start in the more developed regions. Of course. Certainly true in the US as well. I have never said things are moving fast, just that they are moving.
China Law Blog - April 25, 2007 8:29 PM
Duncan --
I 98.6% agree with you. I do think these verdicts mean something to the parties involved and I do think they mean something to the rule of law. I don't think they are a terribly big deal to Beijing, beyond it's normal desire to keep a lid on things.
China Law Blog - April 25, 2007 8:29 PM
Anon --
Would love to read the FEER article but no subscription and a long way from HK right now. I will say that co-blogger Steve has been poring over the new property law and will be speaking on it in SFO in early May and then will be publishing a bunch of posts on it here. His take on it is that it is pretty amazing in terms of moving China towards a capitalistic system with property rights.
China Law Blog - April 25, 2007 8:35 PM
Shamao'er --
Thanks for checking in. I would love to hear more about what you are doing and what you are finding. I sense what you are saying about Chinese companies is probably for the most part true, but we are not finding that to be the case for foreign companies, particularly in the more developed parts of China.
Ed - April 26, 2007 3:45 PM
China will develop it's own rule of law.
nanheyangrouchuan - April 27, 2007 7:17 AM
CLB:
The application and enforcement of this law, like any other, will be the key indicator. Beijing passes lots of laws and either does not enforce them or cadres use enforcement to help allies and punish the weak and adversaries. And I point to China's vast array of pollution and labor laws as examples.
China Law Blog - April 29, 2007 9:06 PM
Ed --
Are you saying China will eventually develop a rule by law or are you saying China will develop its own, pecularily Chinese system?
China Law Blog - April 29, 2007 9:11 PM
nh --
I do not disagree, but the question is whether things are getting better and I believe they are. Slowly.
rcnayager - April 30, 2007 12:08 AM
rule of law in China? that would mean accepting the inherent conflict in this concept, namely that the idea of an objective legal system is diametrically opposed to the subjective, individual values of the liberal state and the legal system it sporned - the rule of law.
The non-enforcement of laws in China is a fundamental problem that using umbrella tropes such as the rule of law will not solve. It requires the political will to foster a change in social attitudes and with the backing of a robust legal system. The Western liberal democratic model is not necessarily the ideal system for China.
China Law Blog - April 30, 2007 6:57 AM
rcnayager --
To the extent I understand what you are saying, I generally agree.
rcnayager - April 30, 2007 6:49 PM
Sorry been reading too much Derrida and Rousseau of late to make much sense to myself let alone others.