A Brief Introduction to China

General Information

China is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by the Pacific in the east. The third largest country in the world, next to Canada and Russia, it has an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, or one-fifteenth of the world's landmass. It begins from the confluence of the Heilong and Wusuli Rivers (135 degrees and 5 minutes east longitude) in the east to the Pamirs west of Wuqia County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (73 degrees and 40 minutes east longitude) in the west, with about 5,200 kilometers apart. In the north, it starts from the midstream of the Heilong River north of Mohe (53 degrees and 31 minutes north latitude) and stretches south to the southernmost island Zengmu'ansha in the South China Sea (4 degrees and 15 minutes north latitude), with about 5,500 kilometers in between.

The Chinese border stretches over 22,000 kilometers on land and its coastline extends well over 18,000 kilometers, washed by the waters of the Bohai Sea, the Huanghai, the East China and the South China Seas. The Bohai Sea is China’s only inland sea.

There are 6,536 islands larger than 500 square meters, the largest being Taiwan, with a total area of about 36,000 square kilometers, and the second, Hainan. The South China Sea Islands are the southernmost island group of China.

Map is from the CIA World Factbook

History

             The Dynasties

Prehistoric and Ancient History (1.7 million years ago-476 B.C.)

China's earliest primitive human discovered so far is known as "Yuanmou Man," a fossil anthropoid unearthed in Yuanmou in Yunnan Province who lived approximately 1.7 million years ago. The better-known "Peking Man," discovered in the Zhoukoudian area in the suburbs of Beijing, lived about 600,000 years ago. Peking Man was able to walk upright, make and use simple tools, and make fire. By the start of the Neolithic Age in China about 10,000 years ago, people were cultivating rice and millet with farming tools, something revealed by relics found in the ruins of Hemudu in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, and Banpo, near Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. The Hemudu site, about 7,000 years old, was one of the earliest New Stone Age locations along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Archaeologists have unearthed in the area of Hemudu piles of rice grains, husks, stalks and leaves — and other indications of abundant rice cultivation. The rice grown at Hemudu was long-grained non-glutinous rice, and is the earliest example of artificially cultivated rice that has been found in China to date. The relics are also the oldest rice found so far in Asia.

The Xia Dynasty started in 2070 B.C. The center of Xia was the western section of modern Henan Province and the southern section of modern Shanxi Province with a sphere of influence that reached the northern and southern areas of the Yellow River. It was in this period that the slave society began to appear. The Xia Dynasty was overthrown by Shang. The Western Zhou (1046-771 B.C.) Dynasty saw further development of slave society. This era was followed by the Spring and Autumn (770-476 B.C.) and Warring States (475-221 B.C.) periods when silk production advanced and steel production started. This era also produced the philosophers Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius and Mo Zi, as well as the military scientist Sun Wu, author of the Art of War.

Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.)

In 221 B.C., Ying Zheng, ruler of the State of Qin and a man of great talent and bold vision, ended the 250-odd years of rivalry among the independent principalities during the Warring States Period, and established the first centralized, unified, multi-ethnic feudal state in Chinese history — the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.). He called himself Qin Shi Huang or "First Emperor of Qin." He standardized the written script, weights and measures, and currencies, and established the system of prefectures and counties. The sovereigns of the next 2,000-odd years followed the feudal governmental structure established by him. He mobilized more than 300,000 people over a period of a dozen years to build the Great Wall, which stretches for 5,000 km in northern China. Qin Shi Huang had the work on his enormous mausoleum started early in his reign. When they were unearthed in 1974 in Xi'an, the terracotta warriors of the "underground army" of some 8,000 vivid, life-sized pottery figures, horses and chariots guarding the mausoleum at the Qin Shi Huang tomb site amazed the world.

Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220)

Liu Bang established the powerful Han Dynasty in 206 B.C. During the Han Dynasty, agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached 50 million. During the most prosperous period of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wudi (140-87 B.C.) expanded from the Central Plains to the Western Regions (present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia). Emperor Wudi dispatched Zhang Qian twice as his envoy to the Western Regions, and in the process pioneered the route known as the "Silk Road" from Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), through Xinjiang and Central Asia, and on to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. China's silk goods were traded to the West along the Silk Road. As contacts between the East and West increased, Buddhism spread to China in the first century. In 105, an official named Cai Lun invented a technique for making fine paper, leading to a revolution in communications and learning.

Tang Dynasty (618-907)

After the Han Dynasty came the Three Kingdoms Period (220-265), the Jin Dynasty (265-420), the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589) and the Sui Dynasty (581-618). Then came the Tang Dynasty, established by Li Yuan in 618 with its capital at Chang'an (Xi'an). Agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished; technologies for textile manufacturing and dyeing, pottery and porcelain production, smelting and shipbuilding were further developed. Woodblock printings of dictionaries and almanacs and Buddhist scriptures were in circulation. The Grand Canal also helped the flow of merchandise. Chang'an became a cultural and international trade center and — along with Luoyang, Yangzhou, and Guangzhou — a major commercial center. During the Tang Dynasty cultural relations were established with many countries, including Japan, Korea, India, Persia and Arabia. By the 660s, China's influence had firmly taken root in the Tarim basin and Ili River valley in today's Xijiang in the West, even extending to many city-states in Central Asia.

Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (960-1911)

Following the Tang Dynasty came a period of almost continual warfare known as the Five Dynasties and Ten States. In 960, Zhao Kuangyin, a general of the State of Later Zhou, established the Song Dynasty (960-1279), known in history as the Northern Song Dynasty. When the Song Dynasty moved its capital to the south, it became known in history as the Southern Song Dynasty. China in the Song Dynasty was in the forefront of the world in astronomy, science and technology. Bi Sheng invented movable type printing in the 1040s, ushering in a major revolution in the history of printing.

In 1206, Genghis Khan established the Mongolian Khanate. In 1271, Kublai, a grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered the Central Plains, founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and made Dadu (today's Beijing) the capital. Kublai ended the centuries-long situation in which many independent regimes existed side by side by forming a united country that brought Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan under its sway. During the Song-Yuan period, the "four great inventions" in science and technology of the Chinese people in ancient times — papermaking, printing, the compass and gunpowder — were further developed, and spread abroad.

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Nanjing, reigning as Emperor Taizu. When his son and successor Zhu Di (1360-1424) ascended the throne, he built and expanded the palaces, temples, city walls and moats in Beijing. In 1421, he officially moved the capital to Beijing. During his reign, he dispatched a eunuch named Zheng He to lead a fleet of many ships to make seven far-ranging voyages. Passing the Southeast Asian countries, the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf and Maldives Islands, Zheng He explored as far as Somalia and Kenya on the eastern coast of Africa. These were the largest-scale and longest voyages in the world before the age of Columbus.

The Manchus of northeast China established the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in 1644. The best known of the Qing Dynasty emperors, Kangxi (r. 1661-1722) restored the central empire's rule over Taiwan, and resisted invasions by tsarist Russia. To reinforce the administration of Tibet, he also formulated the rules and regulations on the confirmation of the Tibetan local leaders by the Central Government. He effectively administered over 11 million sq km of Chinese territory.

Modern Period (1840-1919)

During the early 19th century, the Qing Dynasty declined rapidly. Britain smuggled into China large quantities of opium, and in response the Qing government imposed a ban on the drug. In an effort to protect its opium trade, Britain launched a war against China in 1840, which led to the Qing government's signing with the British government the Treaty of Nanking, a treaty of national betrayal and humiliation. Many countries, including Britain, the United States, France, Russia and Japan forced the Qing government to sign various unequal treaties following the Opium War. China was gradually relegated to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal country.

The Revolution of 1911 led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen was one of the greatest events in modern Chinese history, as it overthrew the 200-odd-year-old Qing Dynasty, ending over 2,000 years of feudal monarchy, and established the Republic of China.

New-Democratic Revolution (1919-1949)

The May 4th Movement of 1919 is regarded as the ideological origin of many important events in modern Chinese history. Its direct cause was the unequal treaties imposed on China after the First World War. Out of strong patriotism, students initiated the movement, and it further developed into a national protest movement of people from all walks of life. It also marked the introduction into China of various new ideologies, among which the spread of Marxism-Leninism was worthy of special mention. Under the influence of Russia's October Revolution of 1917, 12 delegates, including Mao Zedong, representing Communist groups in different places throughout the nation, held the First National Congress in Shanghai in 1921 to found the Communist Party of China.

The Chinese people led by the CPC underwent successively the Northern Expeditionary War (1924-27), War of Agrarian Revolution (also known as "Ten-Year Civil War," 1927-37), War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45) and War of Liberation (1945-49). Owing to the cooperation and joint resistance of the CPC and Kuomintang, the Japanese aggressors were defeated. But shortly after the anti-Japanese war, the Kuomintang launched a civil war. After the three-year War of Liberation led by the CPC, the Kuomintang government was overthrown in 1949.

People's Republic of China (1949- )

On October 1, 1949 a grand ceremony was witnessed by 300,000 people in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, and Mao Zedong, chairman of the Central People's Government, solemnly proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China.

During the initial post-Liberation period, the Chinese government successfully carried out land reform in areas accounting for over 90 percent of the total national agricultural population, and 300 million farmers were granted approximately 47 million ha of land. Amazing achievements were made during the First Five-Year Plan period, from 1953 to 1957. The average annual increase rate of the national income reached over 8.9 percent. China established basic industries necessary for full industrialization hitherto non-existent domestically, producing airplanes, automobiles, heavy machinery, precision machinery, power-generating equipment, metallurgical and mining equipment, high-grade alloy steels and non-ferrous metals.

The ten years from 1957 to 1966 was the period in which China started large-scale socialist construction. Though China suffered from the mistakes in its policies during the period, it also accomplished a great deal. The nation's total industrial fixed assets quadrupled between 1956 and 1966 and the national income increased by 58 percent in constant prices. The output of essential industrial products increased by several or even a dozen times. Large-scale agricultural capital construction and technical transformation got underway. Unfortunately, the "cultural revolution," which lasted for ten years (1966-1976), made the state and its people suffer the most serious setbacks and losses since its founding.

The Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary clique was smashed in October 1976, marking the end of the "cultural revolution," and the beginning of a new era in Chinese history. The CPC reinstated Deng Xiaoping, previously general secretary of the CPC, to all the Party and governmental posts he had been dismissed from during the "cultural revolution." In 1979, China instituted a guiding policy of "reform and opening to the outside world" under Deng's leadership, and the focus was shifted to modernization. Major efforts were made to reform the economic and political systems. China was step by step establishing a road with Chinese characteristics, a road that would lead to socialist modernization. Profound changes have come about in China since the country embarked on the policy of reform and opening-up characterized by a vigorously advancing economy and markedly improved living standard.

Jiang Zemin became general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 1989 and head of the state in 1993. Succeeding him, Hu Jintao took the position of general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2002 and president of the state in 2003.

Structure of Government

The National People's Congress ("NPC") and local people's congresses at all levels, formed through democratic elections, represent the people in exercising state power. People's congresses are the basic units of political power in China, and the NPC and its Standing Committee exercise the highest level of this state legislative power. The people's congress system is responsible for creating and supervising all administrative, judicial and procuratorial units at every level of government. The system was established following the meeting of people's congresses at different levels in 1953, and then convened in 1954 in the First National People's Congress.

Deputies to county and township people's congresses are directly elected. Deputies to people's congresses above the county level are elected by deputies at lower levels. The NPC deputies are supervised by delegates at lower levels, and are ultimately responsible to the people, who can recall them. The NPC is empowered to examine and approve the national economic and social development plans and the reports on their implementation. It is also responsible for examining and approving the state budget and the report on its implementation during its annual meeting.

All administrative, judicial, prosecutorial and military agencies and other state-level institutions are responsible to the NPC and supervised by it. The legislative powers of the NPC include electing the President of China, supervising the enforcement of the Constitution, amending the Constitution, enacting basic laws, deciding on the choice of the Premier of the State Council upon nomination by the President, electing the Chairman of the Central Military Commission and, upon nomination by the Chairman, deciding on the choice of all other members of the Central Military Commission, and electing the President of the Supreme People's Court. The NPC meets once a year for about two weeks. Between these sessions, its power is exercised by its Standing Committee, elected by NPC members, which is responsible to the NPC and reports its work to the NPC. The current Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee is Wu Bangguo.

C.Judicial Branch

The judicial system of the PRC is established in Articles 123-135,and consists of the people’s courts, the Supreme People’s Court, the people’s procuratorates, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, military procuratorates and other special people’s procuratorates.Article 129 refers to the people’s procuratorates as “state organs for legal supervision.” The Supreme People's Procuratorate, accountable to the NPC and its Standing Committee, is the highest prosecutorial agency in China exercising and supervising prosecutorial authority at all state and local levels. Procuratorates examine cases scheduled for investigation by public security agencies to decide whether a suspect should be arrested or not, and whether a case should be prosecuted or not. They institute and support public prosecution in criminal cases; and oversee the activities of the public security and state security agencies, people's courts, prisons, houses of detention and reform-through-labor institutions. The Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate is Jia Chunwang.

There is a hierarchy within the court structure from the top down: The Supreme People’s Courts, the Higher People’s Courts, the Intermediate People’s Courts, and the Basic People’s Courts.The Basic People’s Courts are comprised of more than 3,000 courts at county level, which are further subdivided into about 20,000 smaller units referred to as people’s tribunals located in towns and villages. There are 376 Intermediate People’s Courts and 31 Higher People’s Courts located in the provinces. Additionally, there are a number of specialized courts, for example those dealing with railway transportation, forest affairs, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and maritime issues. Jurisdiction is allocated partially through the Constitution, the 1979 Organic Law of the People’s Courts, the Law of Criminal Procedure, the Law of Civil Procedure, and the Law of Administrative Procedure.
Litigants are generally limited to one appeal, on the theory of finality of judgment by two trials.Cases of second instances are often reviewed de novo as to both law and facts.Requests for appellate review take the form of appeals and protests (in criminal cases).Appeals are lodged by parties to the case, defendants and private prosecutors.Protests are filed by the procuratorate in criminal cases when it is believed that an error has occurred in the law or facts as determined by the judgment or order of the court of first instance.In civil cases the procuratorate does not possess a right to file a direct protest, but it can initiate adjudication supervision via a protest. Adjudication supervision refers to a type of discretionary post-“final” decision review, which may occur in certain situations in criminal cases.

A.1982 Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Xianfa)

The Constitution of the PRC guarantees the basic rights and interests of citizens, including the right to vote and to stand for election; freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration; freedom of religious belief; the inviolability of the freedom of the person, the personal dignity and the residences; freedom and privacy of correspondence; the right to criticize and make suggestions to any state agency or functionary and exercise supervision; the right to work and rest and the right to material assistance from the state and society when they are old, ill or disabled; and the right to receive education and freedom to engage in scientific research, literary and artistic creation and other cultural pursuits.

Adopted in 1982, China's Constitution has been amended for four times, most recently this year on March 14, 2004 when the National People's Congress voted to include formal guarantees of human rights — "the state respects and safeguards human rights" — and private property. The clause on private property protection places private assets of Chinese citizens on an equal footing with public-sector property, "not to be encroached upon." Other major amendments to the Constitution included an institution of the guiding role of the "Three Represents" important thought in national political and social life, expressions of coordinated development of material civilization and political and cultural progress, incorporation of the term "builders of socialism," and improvement of the land expropriation system.

 B.NPC Statutory Law and Other Legislative Enactments

Over the past six years, China has intensified legislative action on enacting and revising laws and regulations in accordance with its having become in late 2001 a member of the World Trade Organization ("WTO"). Up to the end of 2003, around 440 laws and law-related decisions enacted by the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee, more than 1,000 administrative regulations enacted by the State Council and 10,000 local ordinances had been formulated. Those laws, regulations and rules applying to a wide range of areas have helped to establish a relatively complete system of law in China.

In 2003, China made unusual progress in its effort to improve its legal system.

First, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress unanimously adopted the Amendment to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China that was then approved in March 2004 by the National People's Congress.

Second, the former "Measures for Internment and Deportation of Urban Vagrants and Beggars" was replaced by the "Measures for the Assistance and Administration of Persons Without Assured Living Sources in Cities," the words in the titles reflecting the social progress contained within the measures. On August 1, 2003, a regulation that provides voluntary shelter for vagrants and beggars went into effect, demonstrating China's efforts to safeguard the civil rights of both migrants and homeless people in urban areas. The new measures came more than a month after the Chinese Central Government abolished a 20-year-old regulation that allowed police to round up people without identification cards at will. Under the new regulation, police are not allowed to imprison migrants without identification cards as vagrants. Instead, police have the duty to "inform beggars and vagrants that they can ask for help from shelters." This underlies the voluntary basis of the new relief system rather than the so-called "holding system" previously in force.

Third, the new Regulations on Marriage Registration was enacted, replacing old regulations considered obsolete. Under the new regulations, couples need only show their ID cards and residency papers and sign a document stating they are not married or related to register their marriages, thus ending the involvement of "Danwei" or the state-owned working units, which was previously essential.

C.International Treaties
The 1982 Constitution does not specify the treatment of international law in relation to the laws of the PRC. However, in practice the legislative approach has been to automatically incorporate international law as part of PRC law. If, however, the PRC has made a reservation to a provision of a treaty, this aspect or provision of the treaty is not implemented in the law.

D. Case Law
Unlike common law jurisdictions such as the United States or England, there is no strict precedential concept for case law.In theory, each case stands as its own decision and will not bind another court.However, in practice lower people’s courts judges often attempt to follow the interpretations of the laws decided by the Supreme People’s Courts. Moreover, higher courts can use the finality of their judgments on appeals as having a binding effect on the lower court that issued the first judgment or order.

Legal System of China

The judiciary in China has both broad and narrow meanings. Broadly speaking, the judiciary means law-enforcement activities conducted by the country's judicial organs and organizations in handling prosecuted or non-prosecuted cases. Narrowly speaking, it applies to law-enforcement activities conducted by the country's judicial organs in handling prosecuted cases. This presentation uses the term in the broader sense.

Judicial organs here mean public-security organs (including state security organs) responsible for investigation, prosecution, trial and execution of cases, the prosecutors, the trial institutions and the custodial system. Judicial organizations here refer to lawyers, public notaries, and arbitration organizations. The latter, though not part of the judicial apparatus, are an integral part and a link in the overall judiciary system.

The judiciary system in general refers to the nature, mission, organizational setup, principles and procedures of judicial organs and other judicial organizations. This system comprises sub-systems for investigation, prosecution, trial procedures, jails, judicial administration, arbitration, lawyers, public notaries and state compensation.