Chinese Law and Politics Blog

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.

Ministry of Civil Affairs Releases Timetable for 2008-2009 Village Elections

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA) has released a report on Chinese village committee (VC) elections conducted from 2005 to 2007, and a timetable for those to be held from 2008 to 2009, according to a January 1 report posted on the Chinese government's website.

Since the late 1980s, Chinese authorities have implemented limited electoral reforms that allow citizens to vote in village elections. But Party control over the electoral process remains significant. The MOCA report notes that Party members comprise 66.49 percent of elected VC members, and that 35 percent of VC chairman positions are held concurrently by the village Party secretary.

The MOCA report notes three external factors that interfered with the quality of the 2005-2007 elections: 1) family and clan influence, 2) a lack of voter enthusiasm, and 3) corruption and "illegal competitive electioneering behavior" on the part of candidates. 

What Do Chinese "Democratic Evaluation" Campaigns Look Like?

    Numerous local Chinese authorities have launched "democratic evaluation" (民主评议) campaigns in recent months. These are aimed at improving the accountability and transparency of local governance by using a degree of citizen participation, under tight Party controls, to evaluate the performance of local officials. (See below for the details of one such campaign, in Shanxi province.)

    Chinese authorities seek to use these measures as a means to address pervasive corruption and abuse in local Chinese governments. But the continued monopoly of local Party influence over these efforts, and the unwillingness of Chinese authorities to create truly independent institutions to monitor Party and government power, raises questions as to their likelihood of success.

The Anger Boils Over

For the past two months, local officials in the southwestern Chinese province of Guangxi have pursued a harsh campaign aimed at enforcing China's population planning laws.

In order to meet targets for allowable births, they forced pregnant women to have abortions. They threatened to demolish homes to make residents cough up fines demanded for excess children.

This month citizen anger boiled over. Thousands of angry rural residents took to the streets, smashing cars and sacking government offices.

The vicious nature of the Guangxi enforcement campaign is all the more striking because it directly conflicts with the orders of China's top leaders.

[click here for the full version of the May 29, 2007 International Herald Tribune editorial]

[click here for Sing Tao's May 30 Chinese translation of the IHT editorial]

Analysis: Henan Circular on Peaceful Construction

The Henan Provincial Party Committee and Government jointly issued a circular on April 26, 2006 that calls on provincial authorities to strengthen their controls over society and address a range of social problems during the period 2006 to 2010 as a means towards conducting "peaceful construction," establishing a "harmonious society," "improv[ing] the Party's ruling capacity," and "solidif[ying] the Party's position in power." Specific goals listed in the circular overlap with in the Opinion on Promoting the Construction of a New Socialist Countryside, issued by the Communist Party Central Committee (CPCC) and the State Council (SC) on December 31, 2005, and an earlier opinion issued by the general offices of the CPCC and the SC.

Translation: Henan Circular on Peaceful Construction

The following is a rough translation of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government Circular Regarding the Issuance of the "Program for Construction of a Peaceful Henan," issued  April 26, 2006.  (Translation done by Tom Stutsman)