China’s Rapidly Deteriorating Criminal Justice System, and How It Will Affect the Outside World
Chinese paramilitary police officers watch over pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping district in Beijing on Oct. 24, 2014. China's Communist rulers declared that the country would embrace the "rule of law with Chinese characteristics," official media reported after a key party meeting touted as heralding legal reform. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
Ever since Xi Jinping consolidated his power, China’s already flawed and fragile criminal justice system deteriorated significantly. Not only have new extra and outright illegal methods of detention and investigation been installed, but existing due process requirements and legal safeguards have been further hollowed out.
Peter Dahlin
Author
Peter Dahlin is the founder of the NGO Safeguard Defenders and the co-founder of the Beijing-based Chinese NGO China Action (2007–2016). He is the author of “Trial By Media,” and contributor to “The People’s Republic of the Disappeared.” He lived in Beijing from 2007, until detained and placed in a secret jail in 2016, subsequently deported and banned. Prior to living in China, he worked for the Swedish government with gender equality issues, and now lives in Madrid, Spain.
