Appealing For The Dismissal Of Zhou Qiang, Chief Judge of the Supreme Court Lawyers in Guangzhou and Beijing who have had their law licenses revoked signed an open appealing letter calling for the dismissal of Zhou Qiang, the chief judge of the Supreme Court. The letter states that Zhou Qiang made an extremely improper statement during the discussion sessions of the National Peoples Conference (NPC) and Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), where he participated in the Hunan Representative Delegation for reviewing reports of Supreme Court and Supreme Procuratorate, when he made an example of street vendor Xia Junfeng in Liaoning Province who killed City Management Officers. Zhou Qiang should resign and apologize for his criminal negligence and inaproppriate statements. The Appeal Letter to Dismiss Zhou Qiang from his position as President of Supreme Court says, Zhou Qiang stated that not giving the death penalty to persons such as Xia Junfeng would be very dangerous. He said: This is just like two persons who quarrel behind closed doors. Then one person is killed. If this is called justifiable defence, then the society will be in chaos. The letters authors say, Regarding the justifiable defence of Xia Junfengs case, the defence lawyers, the law community and the public all published their legal viewpoints regarding the justifiable defence, but the case judge completely ignored these viewpoints. This is caused by the stability-maintenance forceful way of thinking. The political needs and the stability-maintenance needs were used in the final weighing of the sentencing of Xia Junfeng with the death penalty. Using the excuse that the society in chaos is nonsense. To implement the rule of law and independent adjudication will not only avoid the society in chaos but also achieve a well-governed society. Guangzhou lawyer Liu Shihui, who had his lawyer license illegally revoked says: As a judge with professional morals, generally speaking, he could not give comments on a certain specific case. At the NPC, (he) gave that sort of statement, which shows his improper manners and chaotic logic. That means, as the Chief Judge, his politically charged statement was to meet the needs of stability-maintenance rather than legalities, and this is illegal. The appeal letter is opened to law community and the public for signature. The first batch of signatures has reached 88. Among the signatures are those from Guangzhou lawyers Liu Shihui, Tang Jinling and Wu Zhenqi who all had their law licenses illegally revoked, as well as Beijing lawyers Tang Jitian and Jiang Tianyong, and many Mainland scholars and citizens. The appeal letter points out, The words of the Chief Judge Zhou Qiang are extremely improper, hence Zhou Qiang must resign and confess for his illegal and inappropriate statements! Liu Shihui: So, whether he (Xia Junfeng) should be sentenced or not is a matter of verdict in terms of the criminal facts and if he has a justifiable defence or an unjustifiable defence. We think in view of his particular position, such a statement given by him is very inappropriate. So he has to take responsibility for his improper statement. Self-proclaimed human rights defender Chen Jianxiong from Hubei Province also signed his name on the letter. Chen Jianxiong: I can only say as the President of the Supreme Court, he should not speak like that. Once he made said such a statement, what do you regard people as? What do you regard laws as? This makes me angry! Member of the Zhejiang Committee of China Democracy Party Chen Shuqing also expressed his opinion in regards to what Zhou Qiang said. Chen Shuqing: When he (Zhou Qiang) took his position as the CCP head in Hunan Province, June 4 activist Li Wangyang committed suicide. This is a true case. The Hunan Authorities have always blocked the independent non-governmental media from investigating the case facts. Furthermore, during the entire process, some violent measures had been taken to restrict the personal freedoms of Li Wangyangs relatives and friends. The intention is of course to block their investigation and exposure. In addition, during the meeting with the Hunan Delegation of the NPC, when a representative from a hospital mentioned the Medical Dispute Profiteer (MDP) issue, Zhou Qiang also replied that this year the intensity of crackdown on MDP will be climbing. Commentator Xiong Yongli wrote: Whether Xia Junfeng should be punished with the death penalty, and whether an MDP should be punished should be decided by the laws. So should every punishment just follow the death penalty requirements or strict punishment? This is typical use of personal views as law and typical monocratic thinking. Chen Shuqing: Xia Junfeng also has unjustifiable defence issue and he should bear legal responsibility. But a judge with conscience should give Xia Junfeng a death sentence with reprieve or even a lighter punishment. (Zhou Qiang) does not want to defend the social justice and fairness, and he just wants to shield the one party, and shield the judicial system staff who suppress citizens. The simplest comparison case is Bo Xilais wife Gu Kailai who killed a person using toxicants. But because she is from a bigwig family, she was free of the death penalty. Because Xia Junfeng is an ordinary person, the privilege cannot be maintained if he had not been sentenced with death penalty. I think if such a person could not be dismissed from his position, then there is no justice and fairness in China. Xiong Yongli says the judicial system has already been degraded into a political appendage, thus bravery is needed to undertake a thorough and resolute reform rather than to continue to act as the knife-edge of the local security.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 14:49:33 +0000
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