China Briefing | China’s legal system has a long way to go before it can be trusted
- Examples abound of the country’s opaque law enforcement and judiciary ignoring due process and trampling over the rule of law
- Moves are being made to stamp out corruption and build public confidence, but will they be enough to deliver systemic change?
Liu, who was also known as Stephen Lau Hei-wing in Hong Kong, reportedly earned his fortune by dealing in lucrative textile quotas with the help of senior officials from the Ministry of State Security, China’s answer to the CIA. A smooth-talking and savvy businessman, he rubbed shoulders with the elites of Hong Kong and the mainland, and married a celebrity anchor who worked for China Central Television, the state broadcaster.
Also in the 90s in Kunming, southwestern Yunnan province, Sun Xiaoguo was a well-known thug and serial rapist. However, he managed to stay out of prison, primarily because his mother and stepfather were both in the police force.
After an eight-month spree of rapes and aggravated assaults on young women and underage girls in 1997, Sun was sentenced to death by a local court in 1998, with the verdict subsequently upheld by the provincial supreme court.
But his sentence was never carried out. Instead, it was mysteriously reduced to 20 years’ imprisonment. Even more extraordinarily, Sun is believed to have been let out of prison after serving less than 14 years.
