In the Washington Post, James Feinerman writes about the progress, or lack thereof, in the development of rule of law in China over the past thirty years of reform:
For several years now, however, there has been considerable backtracking. Setbacks in the rule of law have occurred in many areas. Most significant has been the systematic intimidation and prosecution of the few Chinese lawyers willing to represent unpopular clients in politically sensitive cases. Defense lawyers have been “warned,” placed under house arrest or imprisoned on trumped-up charges. Some have even been beaten and severely injured as warnings to others.
[…] Today in China, tens of thousands of incidents ranging from isolated protests to widespread riots requiring police and paramilitary intervention occur annually. These stem from the failure of the legal system to address unauthorized land seizures, illnesses and deaths caused by contaminated products, and environmental disasters that result from China’s rapid, unregulated industrialization and that affect millions of citizens. Absent opportunities for redress in the country’s tightly controlled lower-level courts, few peaceful alternatives to violent disturbances exist for airing grievances.
