Chinese netizens hit out on Wednesday at new rules forcing lawyers to swear an oath of allegiance to the ruling Chinese Communist Party.
According to a notice posted on the justice ministry website, first-time applicants and those who want to renew their legal practice licenses must promise to "faithfully fulfill the sacred mission of socialism with Chinese characteristics."
They must also pledge "loyalty to the motherland, its people, and uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China."
The move highlights long-running mistrust among Party and government officials of lawyers, who are often active in promoting the rule of law and therefore judicial independence, which would result in less political control, particularly by local officials.
The ministry said the oath was aimed at "firmly establishing among the legal profession faith in socialism with Chinese characteristics ... and effectively improving the quality of lawyers' political ideology."
Political content
According to a blog post on Wednesday by Beijing-based rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan, the revised oath is the first to contain political content.
"In my view, the previous version of the oath was better able to convey the basic essence of the legal profession," he said, in a long analysis of the directive, including comparisons with equivalent oaths in other countries.
On the microblogging platform Sina Weibo, netizens seemed unimpressed by the new development.
"That'll be a fat lot of use," sneered user @weidademanlian. "So many corrupt officials in the Party have taken that oath too."
Others were concerned that the Party's inclusion in the oath would spell more repression.
"We're done for," wrote user @weiqinghuan. "There is no way the judiciary can be independent now."
And user @Cylu830 added: "This just gets worse and worse," adding an "angry" emoticon.
'Inappropriate'
Beijing-based rights lawyer Mo Shaoping told Reuters that the new oath is "inappropriate" and would hurt the development of the Chinese legal system, while top rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang said he sees no legal basis for the change.
"In my opinion, the biggest destroyer of the rule of law in China is the Communist Party," Pu said.
Rights lawyers have been increasingly targeted as part of the Party's nationwide "stability" drive, sparked last year by online calls for a "Jasmine revolution" inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East.
A number of them were held incommunicado in secret locations, with some reporting torture and mistreatment at the hands of police.
High-profile lawyer Gao Zhisheng, one of those who had been secretly held, was formally jailed in December following a sentence handed down in 2006 for "inciting subversion of state power," a charge often used to punish critics of one-party rule.
Reported by Luisetta Mudie.
Imagine if all US lawyers had to swear loyalty to either the Republican or Democratic parties? There would be such a huge outcry in the media & bar associations. I think all lawyers who believe in an independent judiciary & rule of law should boycott China.
Mar 23, 2012 11:29 AM
If the Communist Party will not amend its dictatorial and unjust ways, its monopoly on political power must be brought to an end by progressive forces within the society, armed forces, and government at every level. There has been no sign since 1989 that the Party is willing to amend its unjust ways.
Mar 21, 2012 04:31 PM
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