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I haven’t posted anything new because I haven’t really done anything worth posting. Field trips this week have focused on the Chinese legal system. Tuesday we went to the Supreme Peoples’ Court and met with judges for a question and answer session. The Supreme Peoples’ Court in China is very different from its counterpart in the United States. The judiciary in China is not a separate branch of government because China only has one branch of government. This gives the court less autonomy and the courts are more or less administrative bodies with the power to determine cases but no power of enforcement. There is a strong push for judicial reform in China to make the judiciary more independent and to institute a system of judicial review to determine the legitimacy of laws, but those changes are slow. China doesn’t have a “rule of law” system like the United States. They are ruled by culture and traditions and their people do not understand “rule of law” the way Americans do. I forgot my camera the day we went to the Supreme Peoples’ Court so I won’t be able to post pictures of the courthouse which opened only a couple of
Edgar Snow Memorial
Before the communist sympathist and journalst Edgar Snow went to China he was a journalst in KC (I believe at the print version of the Kansas City Post)years ago.
Today we went to watch a criminal trial. No picture taking was permitted. It is a very unfortunate system here for the defendant, who isn’t even permitted to retain an attorney until after his first interrogation (which may last up to 12 hours). There is no 5th Amendment right in China. The Prosecutor directs the investigation and is not required to share evidence with the defendant’s council until the day of the trial. The defendant has no power to investigate like the Prosecutor does. The defendant is often not represented by an attorney. They can bring a family member or friend to defend them. There is no testimony at trial - only the prosecutor reading statements with no challenge as to the validity or methods of investigation. It seems that the burden of proof is on the defendant to show that what the prosecutor says is not true. This makes sense to the Chinese because if a prosecutor brings a case and the defendant does establish his/her innocence then the prosecutor has to pay damages to the defendant. This gives the Chinese confidence in the prosecutor since there is a deterrent to bringing unfounded claims.
After
the trial we went to a restaurant to use the internet and eat lunch and then my friend Quyen and I walked around the scenic part of campus. I do have pictures of that to post and have also included a less picturesque view of my hotel on campus. Peking University is very prestigious and it is difficult to be admitted here. For those of you who are wondering how I am able to study at such a prestigious school, I am technically not a student at PKU - but taking UMKC credit classes at PKU facilities taught by PKU professors.
More will come this weekend. Most of my group is taking a 12 hour train ride to Xi’an. I opted not to do that, so I will be exploring Beijing. I’ll try to remember my camera.
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