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Read in Chinese

Speakers:

Tong Jianming, grand prosecutor and first deputy prosecutor general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP)

Zhang Xiaojin, head of the Fourth Procuratorial Office of the SPP

Hu Weilie, head of the Eighth Procuratorial Office of the SPP

Gao Jingfeng, head of the Law Policy Research Office of the SPP

Chairperson:

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

Date:

July 18, 2022

Chen Wenjun:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. Today, we are holding the 16th press conference under the theme of "China in the past decade." We have invited Mr. Tong Jianming, grand prosecutor and first deputy prosecutor general of the SPP, who will brief you on the progress and effect of legal supervision of the people's procuratorates in the new era and answer your questions. Also present at the press conference today are Mr. Zhang Xiaojin, head of the Fourth Procuratorial Office of the SPP, Mr. Hu Weilie, head of the Eighth Procuratorial Office of the SPP, and Mr. Gao Jingfeng, head of the Law Policy Research Office of the SPP.

Now, let's give the floor to Mr. Tong for his introduction.

Tong Jianming:

Friends from the press, good morning. I'm very glad to be attending this press conference held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee under the theme of "China in the past decade." First, I would like to express my thanks for your interest in and support for the work of the people's procuratorates.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the legal supervision of the people's procuratorates. General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important instructions, pointing out the direction for the development of the Party's procuratorial undertakings in the new era. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the people's procuratorates 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. We have conscientiously implemented the Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Strengthening the Legal Supervision of Procuratorial Organs in the New Era. Keeping in mind the political guidance, we have taken into account the big picture, sought development and focused on self-improvement, and actively exercised our four major functions regarding criminal, civil, administrative and public interest litigation in accordance with the law. We have provided a strong judicial guarantee for high-quality economic and social development. Our work has mainly focused on the following five aspects:

First, we have coordinated development and security, serving the overarching tasks of the Party and the country. The procuratorates have always regarded serving high-quality economic and social development as their fundamental mission. Adopting a holistic approach to national security, we have punished all types of criminal offenses in accordance with the law, and created a harmonious and stable social environment for economic and social development. From 2013 to June this year, 8.58 million criminal suspects were arrested and 14.9 million were prosecuted. We have carried out a three-year special campaign against organized crime, adhering to "not letting a single criminal involved in gang activities remain at large and not wrongly convicting any innocent persons." 230,000 gang-related criminals and 2,987 people acting as "protective umbrellas" have been prosecuted. Through continuous efforts, the Party has led the people in sustaining rapid economic development and long-term social stability. From 2013 to 2021, the number of people prosecuted for suspected serious violent crimes dropped from 108,000 to 59,000. Given the notable changes in the structure of crimes, such as the continuous decline of serious crimes and the increase in the proportion of misdemeanors year by year, we have exercised the policy of being prudent when making arrest decisions and reducing the numbers of arrests and detentions. The ratio of criminal cases without arrest and without prosecution climbed from 17.9% and 4.9% in 2013 to 39.2% and 23.5% in the first half of this year. The percentage of pre-prosecution custody made by procuratorial organs has dropped from 61.1% in 2013 to 32.7% in the first half of this year, marking notable judicial progress. Leveraging the procuratorial function, we have actively created a law-based business environment. The punishment of economic crimes has been intensified. From 2013 to June this year, 1.03 million people were prosecuted for crimes that undermined the order of the market economy. We have also protected intellectual property rights in an all-round way by overseeing criminal, civil and administrative proceedings to serve innovation-driven development. In 2021, 14,000 people were prosecuted for intellectual property infringement, an increase of 59.3% over 2013. A procuratorial office was established in the China Securities Regulatory Commission to facilitate the healthy development of the capital market. We have explored and carried out pilot reforms for enterprise compliance. When handling cases involving enterprises, procuratorial organs can choose not to approve arrest or prosecute to the full extent in accordance with the law and urge the enterprises involved to make commitments to comply and rectify. Through both "lenient practice" and "strict regulation," we worked to prevent the situation whereby "cases are handled but the businesses are shut down," and a group of companies involved have transformed themselves and embarked on the track of operating in compliance with laws and regulations.