It is no coincidence that two days after Liu Xiaobo’s death, Xinhua published an article praising China’s “new achievements in judicial protection of human rights.” The judicial reforms the article mentions have not yet been fully implemented and are only inching along, while the Party-state continues vigorous use of the criminal process and extra-judicial measures to repress speech and conduct regarded as threats to “social stability.”
The Xinhua article starts with conclusions about progress in “judicial protection of human rights,” such as “improving the judicial accountability system,” enhancing the ability of lawyers to “play a bigger role in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of parties concerned,” and implementing the principles of “presumption of innocence and exclusion of unlawful evidence.” No illustrations, simply statements.
