Rule Of Law In China: Progress And Problems. Lin Li
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the ruling Party has been concentrating on the construction of socialist democracy and rule of law with Chinese characteristics. In the process of deepening the reform and promoting the modernization of the state governance system and governance capacity, the ruling Party has been paying more attention to the strategic position of ruling the country according to law as the basic strategy of the Party to lead the people to govern the country and the society; the Party has been attaching greater importance to the full play of the rule of law as a basic way of governing the country, building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and realizing the Chinese dream; the Party has been paying more attention to the basic functions of using the rule-of-law thinking and practice to guide reform, promote development, maintain order, curb corruption, and realize social justice. Therefore, the rule of law in China has entered the period of a new historical turning point and a new historical starting point in terms of advancing the rule of law and accelerating the building of a law-based China.
Comprehensively advancing the rule of law is a necessary requirement for building a modern socialist country with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese Constitution stipulates that we should develop the socialist democracy, perfect the socialist legal system, and gradually realize the modernization of industry, agriculture, national defense, and science and technology, so that we will build China into a strong, democratic, and civilized socialist country. Building a modern and powerful socialist country with Chinese characteristics is the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way and realizing the Chinese dream of rejuvenation. It is also the proper meaning of the comprehensive promotion of the rule of law and the realization of the modernization of state governance. At the beginning of the reform and opening-up, based on (1) the scientific understanding of “without democracy, there would be no socialism and no socialist modernization” and (2) the practical needs of emancipation of mind, setting things right, reform and opening-up, and the construction of socialist modernization, we needed to develop democracy for the people, improve the national legal system, and realize the legalization of democracy. Today, based on (1) the new thinking that “without rule of law, there would be neither state governance modernization, nor achievement of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the realization of the Chinese Dream of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”; (2) the rule of law “that concerns our party in power, the people’s well-being, and the long-term stability of the party and the country”; (3) the new judgment that “the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects has entered a decisive stage, the reform has entered the critical period, the international situation is complex and changeable, the hard task of reform, development, and stability that our party is confronted with is unprecedented, and there are unprecedented contradictions, risks, and challenges”, and (4) the new idea that the rule of law possesses a more prominent status in the overall work of the Party and the country with a more important role to play, we must (1) regard comprehensively advancing the rule of law as the top priority in the overall development strategy of the Party and the state; (2) carry forward the spirit of the rule of law and cultivate the culture of rule of law in the wide category of the socialist core values; (3) maintain the authority of the Constitution and safeguard the implementation of the Constitutional law in the large pattern of guaranteeing the implementation of the legal authority of state governance, consolidating the Party’s ruling foundation, securing the basic rights of the people, and achieving justice of the society; and (4) carry out the basic requirements of building the law-based system and giving full play to the function of the rule of law in the concrete practice of leading to deepen the reform, promote the overall development, construct an orderly society, and guarantee long-term stability.
Comprehensively advancing the rule of law is a necessary requirement for developing people’s democracy. Under the principle of popular sovereignty, the people are always the main body in governing the country according to law rather than the object to be punished or penalized. At any time, governing the country by law is not and will not be allowed to be transformed into “governing the people by law”. The essence of ruling the country by law is to achieve people’s democracy by combating corruption and building a clean government through respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. Therefore, the starting point and foothold of ruling the country according to law inevitably come down to the development of people’s democracy and the protection of the people’s political status as the main body of the state and society and sovereign rights. The new expectation of the development of people’s democracy to the rule of law is reflected not only in the aspect of political democracy and political rights, such as the right to vote and to be elected, the legal right to management, the right to be informed, and the right to participate in governance and supervision, but more in the area of social democracy and social rights, such as self-management, social security, medical care for the aged, housing and employment, education and health, and public services, and in economic democracy and economic rights, such as participation in economic decision-making and management, acquisition of property or enterprise shares, participation in trade unions, equality between men and women, equal pay for equal work, paid leave, right to living standards, and safe birth. The people need not only abstract democratic and political rights or democratic and political participation, but also specific and practical democratic and political rights which help them to get equitably involved and respected; they need not only the theoretical democratic and political rights, but also the specific real and practical interests, such as human and property rights, economic and social rights, and environmental and ecological food safety rights. For the people who have experienced more than 30 years of reform and opening-up to the outside world, what rights and benefits can be brought about by the comprehensive promotion of the rule of law is more important than the empty talk about the Constitution and the legal “mastership” and “sovereignty in the people”. Ruling the country by law is the curse of officials and the natural enemy of corruption. It is the gospel and protector of the people. In this sense, the comprehensive promotion of the rule of law, in the final analysis, is to bring more security, order, dignity, rights, and happiness to the millions of people through the rule of law by state will and state coercion, so that the Chinese people will not stop at political liberation, but strive to further obtain economic liberation, and social emancipation, eventually resulting in the complete liberation of man.
Comprehensively advancing the rule of law is a necessary requirement for the modernization of state governance. State governance refers to the institutional arrangements and activities in the process of exercising state power and managing state affairs through the National People’s Congress and the local people’s congresses at all levels. Under the leadership of the ruling Party, in accordance with the Constitution, laws and other regulations, rules and procedures, the people of all ethnic groups, all state organs and armed forces, political parties and various social groups throughout the country, enterprises and institutions, etc., jointly participate in the political, economic, and social lives, jointly manage national and social affairs, and economic and cultural undertakings, and jointly promote the institutional arrangement and the process of activities in the overall development of the construction of politics, economy, society, culture, and ecological civilizations. State governance means that the ruling Party adheres to the ruling according to the Constitution and laws, taking control of the overall situation, coordinating all the other parties, supporting the state organs to perform their functions independently according to law, leading and supporting the various social subjects to implement systematic, legal, comprehensive, and source governance to the state and society. Rule by law and state governance are interrelated, complementary, and mutually beneficial. Ruling the country according to law is the important content and the main way to promote the modernization of state governance. Promoting the modernization of state governance means promoting and realizing the rule of law, democratization, scientificity and informationization of the state governance system, and governance capacity, with the core of promoting the law-based sate governance. On the one hand, it is necessary to promote the rule of law of the state governance system. The overwhelming majority of the systems and mechanisms in those law-based state governance systems have been embodied in the legal regulations and legal systems in the national legal system through legislative procedures. Therefore, the development and improvement of the national legal system and the construction of a complete and scientific legal system, in essence, are to promote the institutionalization, standardization, and stereotype of the state governance system to form an effective national system. On the other