Promote Social Fairness and Justice, Ensure a Happy Life for the People

Promote Social Fairness and Justice, Ensure a Happy Life for the People* 

January 7, 2014 

We should make safeguarding social stability our basic task, promote social fairness and justice as core values, and ensure a happy life for the people as our fundamental target. We should enforce the law strictly, administer justice impartially, further promote reform, strengthen and improve judicial, procuratorial and public security work, and safeguard the vital interests of the people. In so doing, we will ensure the realization of the Two Centenary Goals and the Chinese Dream of the nation's great renewal. 

Judicial, procuratorial and public security departments should take a clear stand in upholding the leadership of the Party. This means upholding the people's status as the masters of the country and implementing law-based governance, the Party's basic strategy of leading the people in governing the country. We should unswervingly adhere to the Party's leadership over judicial, procuratorial and public security work, and at the same time strengthen and improve its leadership. 

We should correctly balance the Party's policies and the state's laws. Both reflect the fundamental will of the people, and share the same nature. The Party leads the people in enacting and enforcing the Constitution and laws. It guarantees the enforcement of the laws enacted under its leadership and takes the lead in observing them. Judicial, procuratorial and public security officers should conscientiously safeguard the authority of the Party's policies and the state's laws, and make sure that both are executed properly. We should properly balance the need to uphold the Party's leadership and the need for judicial, procuratorial and public security organs to exercise their power independently and impartially in accordance with the law. Party organizations and officials at all levels should support these organs in taking responsibility independently in accordance with the Constitution and laws, and carrying out their work in a concerted and coordinated way. Commissions for judicial, procuratorial and public security affairs under the Party committees should have clearly defined functions. They should apply the rule of law to their leadership over judicial, procuratorial and public security work and play a key role in modernizing the governance system and capacity of the state. 

It is a basic task for judicial, procuratorial and public security organs to maintain social stability. We should keep a careful balance between maintaining social stability and safeguarding the people's legitimate rights and interests. We should address the people's proper and lawful demands on matters affecting their interests, and improve the institutions that are important for safeguarding their vital interests. We should assert the authority of the law in solving conflicts, so that people are convinced that their rights and interests are protected impartially and effectively. In addition, we should identify a balance between enlivening development and maintaining public order. We need to deal with social conflicts systematically and comprehensively at the source and in accordance with the law, as well as to mobilize the whole of society to safeguard social stability. 

Judicial, procuratorial and public security work is aimed at achieving social fairness and justice as core values. In a sense, promoting fairness and justice is the lifeblood of this work, and judicial, procuratorial and public security organs are the last line in defense of social justice and fairness. Judicial, procuratorial and public security officers should use the scales of fairness and the sword of justice to guarantee a fair and just society with concrete actions, and ensure access to fairness and justice for every individual. We should focus on addressing serious violations of people's rights and interests. We should never turn down people who ask us for help, never refuse to accept their cases because they cannot pay, never abuse power to violate people's legitimate rights and interests, or violate the law to create injustices and wrongly decided cases. 

It is the fundamental purpose of judicial, procuratorial and public security work to ensure that the people lead a happy life. Judicial, procuratorial and public security organs and officers should address the people's problems the way they do their own, and work on the people's small problems the way they do their own big problems. We will work for the satisfaction of the people and correct any of our practices they are not happy about. We will provide effective legal protection for the people's happy life. We should strengthen the comprehensive maintenance of public order, and resolutely reverse the rising incidence of serious crimes to protect the people's lives and property. 

To accomplish their noble mission entrusted by the Party and people, judicial, procuratorial and public security organs must enforce the law strictly and administer justice impartially. Justice breeds trust, and honesty fosters credibility. We should uphold our professional conscience and enforce the law for the good of the people. We should guide judicial, procuratorial and public security officers to act within the bounds of their professional code of conduct, never tolerate what the people detest, act quickly if the people so require, and strictly administer justice with awe-inspiring integrity. We should believe in and implement the rule of law, acquire a good knowledge and profound understanding of the law, and abide by and defend the law. We should hold our position firm, uphold righteousness, and respect only facts and the law in law enforcement. 

Impartial law enforcement should be guaranteed by institutions. We will apply institutions to every aspect of law enforcement as a "wall" wired with "high-tension electricity line." Violators will be subject to the severest possible penalties, or be prosecuted for criminal liability if the circumstances constitute a crime. Open trials promote justice, and transparency ensures impartiality. We should take the initiative in making trials open and inviting oversight to render manipulation and judicial corruption impossible. 

Officials at all levels should take the lead in acting in accordance with the law, and make sure that they do not do anything that violates the law. They should not exercise power that is not allowed for them by law or, even worse, override the law by fiat or bend the law. We should establish a sound registration, filing and reporting mechanism, as well as an accountability mechanism for officials' intervention in judicial affairs in violation of statutory procedures. 

On the whole, our judicial, procuratorial and public security officers are good. They are loyal to the Party, serve our people, are able to take on tough challenges, and brave death. They are highly competent functionaries the Party and the people can absolutely trust. Party committees and governments at all levels should implement preferential policies and measures for these officers, and help them with their practical problems. We should build a contingent of judicial, procuratorial and public security officers who have firm political beliefs, strong professional expertise, a good sense of responsibility and discipline, and good moral character, are firm in their faith, enforce the law for the people, are not afraid to take on responsibilities, and are upright and honest. 

It is essential for our judicial, procuratorial and public security officers to have firm ideals and convictions. We should give top priority to education in this regard for these officers. We should make sure that they uphold socialism with Chinese characteristics, faithfully follow the orders of the Party, and remain true to their mission. We should see to it that they put the Party's cause, the people's interests and the Constitution and laws above everything else, and remain politically loyal to the Party, nation, people and law. 

Judicial, procuratorial and public security officers should fully shoulder their responsibility to fight crimes instead of turning a blind eye to them. When facing dangerous, urgent or intractable tasks, they should go all out and complete them without hesitation. We should strengthen education in discipline and improve the mechanism that maintains discipline, and use iron discipline to train a strong contingent of judicial, procuratorial and public security officers. We should improve their professional expertise to make sure that they complete their tasks. We should wipe out corruption in the judicial, procuratorial and public security fields with the strongest will and the most resolute actions, and remove the bad apples from them. 

Judicial reform is a major part of our political reforms, and greatly helps modernize the state's governance system and capacity. We should provide stronger leadership and better coordination, and focus on real results in the process of building a just, efficient and authoritative socialist judicial system in order to better uphold the Party's leadership, give full play to the special features of China's judicial system, and promote social fairness and justice. 

* Main points of the speech at a central conference on judicial, procuratorial and public security work. 

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)