Chinese Law and Politics Blog

Party Policies on Culture Continue to Play Out

None of the recent developments such as the restrictions on TV programming, the real-name registration efforts for microblogs, the crackdown on illegal publications and pornography, or Hu Jintao’s article in Seeking Truth, came out of the blue. 

Rather, these are simply part of a comprehensive program set out in the Party plenum statement issued in October at the conclusion of the 6^th plenum of the 17^th Central Committee (which itself simply pulls together yet earlier policy strands).  The plenum statement sets up a comprehensive plan with regard to culture that is being pushed through the system.  (Note that culture doesn’t just mean food festivals – we’re talking history textbooks, Internet content, TV programs, etc).

Roadblocks to Filing a Case: Target Ratios in Chinese Courts

Interesting article from the Southern Weekend a few weeks back on the well-known phenomena of Chinese courts refusing to accept cases toward the end of the calendar year.

The underlying dynamics are relatively simple.  Chinese courts and judges are graded annually by their superiors on a number of targets, including reversed case ratios, numbers of cases successfully mediated, and the like.  One such target: closed case ratios – numbers of cases closed out in a particular calendar year, compared with the numbers of cases filed.  The higher the ratio, the better for the court and its judges in terms of salary bonuses and career promotions.  For precisely this reason, Chinese court presidents fall over themselves every year to announce that they have achieved 95, 99, or 100% closed case ratios.

Of course, the reality is much more complex.  Given time constraints, courts are much less likely to be able to resolve those cases that are filed towards the end of the year.  Absent any corrective measures, this will drag down court statistics and negatively affect salaries and careers. 

So how to resolve this?  Stop accepting cases.  Block parties from filing, particularly towards the end of the year.