Chinese official rules out Western-style legal reform

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A top Chinese official on Monday ruled out Western-style legal reforms and told legal officials to dig in their heels to defend Chinese-style socialism. Zhou Yongkang told judges and prosecutors to become "firm defenders of the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics." The concept refers to the jettisoning of the centrally planned economy while maintaining strict authoritarian one-party communist rule. "China's judicial system should not copy other country's modes as its politics, economy and culture are basically different from other nations," Zhou was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency and state broadcaster CCTV. Zhou's comments underscore the Communist Party's consistent refusal to cede to calls from home and abroad for an independent judiciary and stronger legal supervision over the party.