[JURIST] A top Chinese official on Thursday appealed to the nation’s judges, urging them to be impartial when issuing rulings. Speaking in front of a national meeting of high court presidents in the Shaanxi Province, Central Committee of the Communist Party of China official Zhou Yongkang stressed the importance of fair and honest justice in order to build a country ruled by law. President of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) Wang Shengjun agreed with Zhou’s sentiments, contending that reform of the judiciary will contribute to social justice.
The Chinese government has recently focused attention on ridding corruption in official channels. Last week, a Chinese Intermediate People’s Court in Chongqing sentenced a former deputy police chief and high-ranking judicial official to death for accepting bribes, protecting criminal gangs, rape, and being unable to justify his large amount of personal assets. In March, the Hebei Province People’s High Court upheld a life sentence for former SPC vice president Huang Songyou, who had been convicted of bribery and embezzlement. Earlier that month, Wang called for increased efforts to fight corruption in the country’s court system. In January, the SPC announced new anti-corruption rules in an effort to increase public confidence in the rule of law. In October, two Chongqing courts sentenced six individuals to death for their connections with organized crime gangs.