Eric's Beijing Diary

This morning on Dialogue, they were having a discussion of the rule of law. This is talked about quite a bit in China, now, but so far the discussion is largely cosmetic. He Jiahong, a professor from Renmin University, told a story to illustrate the cultural contrast involved in this issue. This guy goes to Germany to study, and is walking down the street with his German girlfriend. They come to a red light, and the Chinese guy looks to make sure he can get across without getting run over, and just keeps on going. This upset his German girlfriend, who broke up with him, because she thought he was a very dangerous, unreliable person. Several years later, the guy goes back to China, and is walking down the street with his new Chinese girlfriend. They come to a red light, and his Chinese girlfriend just keeps on going. But he has been living in Germany, and has become accustomed to waiting for the light, so he stays put. His girlfriend gets upset and breaks up with him because she thinks he is too rigid and fearful.

This professor also said something else that I thought was significant. He said, "China has laws but China does not have the rule of law." Some time ago, I reported in this blog on the blind lawyer from Shandong Province who was railroaded by a local court (see 12 December 2006), and whose lawyers were not allowed into the courtroom to defend him. China's current rhetoric about the rule of law sounds pretty empty to anyone who is aware of cases like that one, which clearly had the attention of the central government, which must, then accept responsibility for the ridiculous outcome. The subject is certainly important, and I welcome the discussion, but it will increase expectations for fundamental change, and it remains to be seen whether China is actually prepared to meet those expectations.