From the Miami Herald:

One of the most exciting developments in China is the rising awareness at the grass-roots level that ordinary people have legal rights.

Chinese law has long been used as a tool to help the Communist Party control the people; call it rule by law, not rule of law. But the country’s staggering pace of growth has spawned all kinds of injustices, including a huge gap between rich and poor fueled by government corruption. The population is looking for redress.

A few years ago, ordinary Chinese would have suffered in silence, afraid to raise their voices. Today, many are taking their grievances to court.