Hu Jia in China’s Legal Labyrinth

Far Eastern Economic Review, April 2008

Posted: 25 Mar 2010

See all articles by Jerome A. Cohen

Jerome A. Cohen

New York University School of Law

Eva Pils

The Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London, Dickson Poon Transnational Law Institute

Date Written: April 2008

Abstract

On April 3, 2008, the Beijing Number One Intermediate People’s Court convicted Hu Jia, a 34-year-old Chinese commentator and activist, of the crime of “inciting subversion of state power” through publication of five articles and two interviews. This short article co-authored by Jerome A Cohen and Eva Pils argues that in considering the implications of this high-profile case for the prospects for rule of law in China, we should be mindful of the past. In the days when political offenders were still charged as “counterrevolutionaries,” the option of waging a meaningful defense was even less available than it is today. The question now is whether and when it may prove possible for the constitutional and statutory protections that have gradually been evolving to be consistently implemented in practice, and Hu Jia’s case gives reason for skepticism.

Keywords: China, subversion crimes, freedom of speech

Suggested Citation

Cohen, Jerome A. and Pils, Eva, Hu Jia in China’s Legal Labyrinth (April 2008). Far Eastern Economic Review, April 2008 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1563711

Jerome A. Cohen

New York University School of Law ( email )

40 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012-1099
United States
212-998-6169 (Phone)
212-995-3662 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://its.law.nyu.edu/faculty/profiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=cv.main&personID=19840

Eva Pils (Contact Author)

The Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London, Dickson Poon Transnational Law Institute ( email )

Somerset House East Wing
Strand
London, WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

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