Severe and Swift Justice in China

Abstract

One quarter of the world's population live in China. Chinese law is fast shifting into the global arena. China's response to new and emerging crimes over the last decade is now an important international human rights issue. This paper discusses some key concepts for understanding the criminal justice system of a country that is fast becoming the second most economically and geo-politically powerful nation in the world. Thousands of criminals are executed during China's periodic 'Strike Hard' anti-crime campaigns. This paper examines the Strike Hard policy of 'severity and swiftness', seeking to achieve three complementary objectives: to provide insight into the machinations of criminal justice operations in China's anti-crime campaigns, to explain official justifications for the policy, and to give voice to alternative commentaries and opinions of Chinese criminal justice researchers and practitioners.