In wake of mass attacks, China’s judges urged to ensure fairness to maintain stability

In rare People’s Daily commentary, senior official calls on judiciary to focus on fixing conflicts to prevent ‘social risks from escalating’

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A Chinese legal official warns judges and prosecutors that if they are more concerned with closing cases than delivering justice, they might “intensify conflicts”. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:33pm, 3 Dec 2024

China’s judges and prosecutors must pay more attention to solving conflicts and ensuring fairness rather than just closing cases, a senior judicial official said in a rare commentary, as authorities reflect on a string of mass killings in recent weeks.

Wang Chengguo, secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Zhejiang province, wrote in the official People’s Daily on Tuesday that China’s judicial system must focus on maintaining social stability as its main task.

He said China faced “an increasing number of uncertain and unpredictable factors”, and law enforcement and judicial work served to achieve justice in individual cases and were crucial channels for repairing social relations and advancing social governance.

If officials focus on judicial procedure and aim to close cases quickly, ignoring individual justice, or if they apply laws mechanically to simplify cases without solving the actual problems, they might “intensify conflicts between the parties involved”, Wang wrote.

He called for solving problems and strengthening governance “at the root” to prevent “various social risks from escalating”.

Wang’s commentary is likely a reflection of recent mass incidents, said a political scientist who asked to remain anonymous.