Torture in China.
Torture and inhuman and degrading treatment of persons by state functionaries in China is documented by both international and domestic sources as being fairly widespread. It takes place in pre-trial detention as well as in prisons and labor camps. Its roots are to be found firstly in a weak legal system; the fair trail guarantees are still not observed in the Chinese legal system and the courts are not sufficiently independent from political and economic interests. Secondly, a tradition of coercion and uncontested bureaucratic power, inherited from communist and imperial times, is still alive. Thirdly, China lacks efficient monitoring mechanisms, like complaints boards and a free press. The legislation prohibiting torture is relatively clear, compared to so many other countries, but a huge gap between black-letter-law and practice mar all parts of Chinese society, including the legal procedural system. There are efforts taken by public authorities, legal professionals and activists to combat the use of torture, but these are met with opposition and inertia, especially from the police system, and there is still a long way to go.
Thelle
Hatla
H
Institute for Human Rights, Strandgade 56, 1401 Copenhagen, Denmark. hth@humanrights.dk
D002681:China; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006806:Human Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011050:Policy Making; D014104:Torture / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014480:United Nations / Q000592:standards