The Shifting Sands of Punishment in China in the Era of “Harmonious Society”

Abstract

This article about the politics of punishment in China today follows some of the political machinations involved in the development of a new policy called “Balancing Leniency and Severity.” It treats this new policy as an exemplar of how politics works in the Hu Jintao era to change the way crimes are addressed in judicial decision making. This paper underscores the important ways in which political ideology informs criminal justice policy and practice in China. It examines a number of stages of development within the last decade during which Balancing Leniency and Severity has emerged as a foundational criminal justice policy.

Advancements and controversies in China’s recent sentencing reforms

“…The policy directs sentencing courts to punish those who commit 'serious crimes' heavily while lenient treatment should be applied only to those who commit 'minor offences'. 59 However, serious crimes and minor crimes associated with the policy are not legally defined concepts in the Chinese Criminal Law, leaving the meaning and interpretation unclear. In fact, China's changing social and political context often plays a decisive role in determining the seriousness of a criminal offence.…”

Business and the Risk of Crime in China

“…The role of prevention is recognised by business and is reflected in the rapid growth of private security and guarding services in China, but their coordination and utilisation could be improved. The recent demise of campaign-style policing and the shift to a prevention focus rather than reliance on crude general deterrence and brutalising punishments will also help in redefining what constitutes serious harm (for example, Bakken 2004;Trevaskes 2010aTrevaskes , 2010b. If these changes release police resources for greater specialisation in complex crime such as fraud and enable better crime proofing of SOEs and other businesses then the costs of serious fraud, IP crime and corruption might be contained.…”

“…One-Year Prevalence of Theft/Fraud, Bribery and Extortion and IP Infringement: Mainland China ICBS (2004-05) and PWC Global Economic Crime Survey (2007-09)Sources: PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2007a, 2010a, 2010b.…”

Hukou Status and Sentencing in the Wake of Internal Migration: The Penalty Effect of Being Rural‐to‐Urban Migrants in China

“…Penal policy in China is presently undergoing a series of important reforms that downplay the punitive effect of the criminal justice system by adopting “Balancing Leniency and Severity” ( kuanyan xiangji ) as a foundational criminal justice ideology (Trevaskes ). The Chinese government has acknowledged that “heavy penality” ( zhongxing zhuyi ) has failed to reduce or prevent crime and has produced counterproductive effects on social stability.…”

“…The Chinese government has acknowledged that “heavy penality” ( zhongxing zhuyi ) has failed to reduce or prevent crime and has produced counterproductive effects on social stability. Accordingly, the “Strike Hard” strategy has given way to other forms of more lenient punishment (e.g., criminal fines and community corrections) in crime control (Trevaskes ). In the early reform era, Custody and Repatriation ( juliu qianfan ) was abolished, a measure designed to purposely control the mobility of the floating population through confinement and deportation.…”