.

Read in Chinese

Speakers:

Ms. Tao Kaiyuan, justice and vice president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC)

Ms. Yang Linping, justice and vice president of the SPC

Mr. He Xiaorong, justice and vice president of the SPC

Mr. Shen Liang, justice and vice president of the SPC

Chairperson:

Chen Wenjun, spokesperson of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)

Date:

July 12, 2022

Chen Wenjun:

Friends from the press, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. Today, we are holding the 15th press conference under the theme of "China in the past decade" to brief you on working measures and effect of people's courts in the new era. Joining us today are Ms. Tao Kaiyuan, justice and vice president of the SPC; Ms. Yang Linping, justice and vice president of the SPC; Mr. He Xiaorong, justice and vice president of the SPC; and Mr. Shen Liang, justice and vice president of the SPC. 

Now, let's give the floor to Ms. Tao for her introduction.

Tao Kaiyuan:

Friends from the press, good morning. First, I would like to express my thanks for your interest in and support for the work of the SPC. My colleagues and I will brief you on the work of the SPC in the past decade.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the people's courts have adhered to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and thoroughly implemented Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law. We have acquired a deep understanding of the decisive significance of the establishment of both Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and increased our awareness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and maintain alignment with the central Party leadership. We have stayed confident in the path, the theory, the system and the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We have firmly upheld Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and upheld the Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership ("Two Upholds"). We have focused on the goal of making the people feel fairness and justice in every judicial case, and adhered to the principle of justice for the people and enhancing judicial justice. We have worked to provide powerful judicial services and guarantees for building a modern socialist country in all respects. The number of cases accepted and heard by the people's courts increased from 14.217 million in 2013 to 33.516 million in 2021. The total value of closed cases reached 46.7 trillion yuan.

First, we have adhered to the absolute leadership of the Party over judicial work, always taken the Two Upholds as the highest political principle, and unswervingly followed the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. We have always upheld Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, stayed absolutely loyal to the leadership core, obeyed the Party's command, shouldered our responsibilities, studied, believed in and put into practice Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, and thoroughly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee in judicial work.

Second, we have safeguarded national security and social stability in accordance with the law. We have adopted a holistic approach to national security, punished criminals in accordance with the law, and resolutely safeguarded national political security and overall social stability. We have worked to crack down on organized crime and root out local criminal gangs on an ongoing basis. From 2018 to 2021, Chinese courts concluded 36,000 gang-related cases, involving 244,000 suspects. Murder, arson, kidnapping and other crimes were severely punished, and serious violent crimes were in smaller numbers. We have punished epidemic-related crimes in accordance with the law, and effectively ensured order in the epidemic prevention and control work. We have adhered to the principle of seeking truth from facts, and resolutely corrected a number of major wrongful convictions, such as those of Hugjiltu and Nie Shubin, to ensure more powerful judicial protection of human rights.

Third, we have served the high-quality economic development in accordance with the law. We have applied the new development philosophy in full, in the right way and in all fields, and performed our duties and responsibilities on major issues. We have strengthened judicial protection of property rights, corrected the case of Zhang Wenzhong in accordance with the law, and provided equal protection to state-owned and private enterprises, domestic and foreign-funded enterprises, and micro, small, medium-sized and large enterprises, in order to create a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment. We have promulgated 20 practical and tough measures to promote the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, substantially resolving their disputes and helping these market players solve difficulties, in a bid to ensure stability on six key fronts (employment, finance, foreign trade, inbound investment, domestic investment, and market expectations) and security in six key areas (jobs, basic living needs, operations of market entities, food and energy security, stable industrial and supply chains, and the normal functioning of primary-level governments). We have strengthened judicial protection of intellectual property rights to serve innovation-driven development. The number of first-instance cases related to intellectual property increased from 101,000 in 2013 to 577,000 in 2021, with an average annual growth rate of more than 20%. Judicial interpretations such as provisions on issues concerning representative actions arising from securities disputes have been introduced to promote the healthy and stable development of finance. We have protected the ecological environment with the strictest rule of law in order to serve the building of a beautiful China. We have worked to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of both Chinese and foreign parties receive equal protection. In addition, we have improved judicial policies in terms of Belt and Road cooperation, and the construction of free trade pilot zones and free trade ports, in order to serve high-level opening up.

Fourth, we have protected the legitimate rights and interests of the people in accordance with the law. We have safeguarded the bottom line of ensuring people's safety, and promptly published judicial interpretations and typical cases of crimes related to issues close to people's lives, such as telecommunications and internet fraud, infringement of citizens' personal information, and throwing objects from height. We have strengthened judicial protection, implemented the Civil Code, and deepened the reform of family trial rules and mechanisms. In the past 10 years, more than 36 million cases involving education, employment, medical care, elderly care, housing, marriage and other family issues have been concluded in accordance with the law. After achieving the phased goal of basically resolving difficulties in the execution of court rulings, we have continued to consolidate the results. In 2021, a total of 8.642 million cases were enforced and concluded by courts across the country, involving sums of 1.94 trillion yuan. We have vigorously promoted the building of a one-stop system that offers both litigation services and alternative dispute resolution services. In 2021, 10.84 million disputes were mediated by courts across the country online. From January to June 2022, 5.773 million disputes were mediated online. China has established a one-stop system that offers both litigation services and alternative dispute resolution services with Chinese characteristics, which can mobilize the vast number of resources, provide the most complete online mediation, and resolve a wide variety of cases.

Fifth, we have accelerated building a fair, efficient, and authoritative socialist judicial system. We have fully implemented the judicial responsibility system and the quota system for judges, improved the category-based management of judicial personnel, and the judicial restraint and supervision system to ensure that adjudicators and those who judge are held accountable. We have deepened the reform of the trial-centered litigation system and completed pilot reform practices to separate the handling of civil litigation cases by complicated and simple procedures. We have improved the trial-level functions of four-level courts, improved the organizational system of the people's courts, and comprehensively improved the quality and effectiveness of trials. We have deepened the building of smart courts, and introduced three major rules respectively for online litigation, online mediation, and online operation of the people's courts, as well as guidelines on strengthening the judicial application of blockchain. There are now broad prospects for technology to empower justice.

Sixth, we have developed a committed, disciplined, and responsible professional team of courts. We have accelerated team building to make it more revolutionized, standardized, specialized, and professional, strictly governed the Party and the police in all areas, and solidly carried out team education and improvement. By doing so, we have continuously improved the political ecosystem, discipline observance, and staff capabilities of courts throughout the country. Among them are many progressive role models of justice for the people and fair justice in the new era, such as Zou Bihua, Fang Jingang, Zhou Chunmei, and Teng Qigang.

On the new journey, the people's courts will, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, stride forward along the path of the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and better perform our duties and missions, to let the people genuinely feel that fairness and justice are permanently close by and welcome the 20th CPC National Congress with practical actions.

That is all I have for now. Thank you.