Parade of suspects before public trial sparks anger online
Print Edition
A MASS public arrest and sentencing in central China’s Hunan Province sparked controversy among observers, who argued whether or not the move was effective in reducing crime.
The trial, held last Friday in Huarong County, in Hunan’s Yueyang City, saw 15 warrants for arrest announced and eight sentences delivered in the presence of nearly 1,000 “ordinary people,” local authorities said.
Photos online showed suspects and convicts being taken to the scene by truck. They each had a plate around their necks giving their names and the crimes they had allegedly committed.
An official with the committee of political and legislative affairs in Huarong said the move was “aimed to reduce crimes, encourage people to abide by law and create a safe and stable social environment.”
This is not the first time public arrests and sentencing were made in Huarong. At least four other such meetings have been held since 2009.
Some Internet users applauded the practice.
“We should bring corrupt officials ... hang plates around their necks and parade them through the streets,” one person said.
Others disagreed, saying it was against the rule of law.
“This is entirely the ‘rule of man’ mentality,” said Internet user Wu Xueren.
“A society with the rule of law should protect the basic rights of the criminals, as well as the ordinary people.”
“It is possible that some suspects may be found innocent,” said Yin Fuqiang, a lawyer in Beijing.
“Even if they are guilty, their right of reputation and privacy should not be infringed.”
Public sentencing and parading criminals through the streets has a long history in China. Criminals in the old days were carried in a wooden wagon through the streets to their place of execution.
During the “cultural revolution (1966-76),” “counterrevolutionists” were paraded and denounced publicly.
China banned such action in 1988.
A China Youth Daily editorial yesterday said: “it is curious that such ancient rituals are still performed today.”
“It has been 36 years since the opening up of China, but this serves as a negative example to the rule of law.”
The rule of law was made the country’s basic approach to crime in 1997 at the 15th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which ended yesterday, made rule of law its central theme for the first time in the Party’s history.
The meeting called for the creation of a system serving “the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics” and the construction of a country under “the socialist rule of law.”
The country will enhance the protection of human rights in judicial procedures, said a document issued by the meeting.
“The mindset of Chinese people doesn’t change easily, and we have a long way to go to achieve the rule of law,” said an Internet user.
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