China News Service, Beijing, October 6. Title: Experts talk about good border governance: Xinjiang’s judicial practice provides a sample for the governance of multi-ethnic areas.
China News Service reporter Li Baijia
Governance of multi-ethnic areas is a long-term, worldwide issue. Yang Bowen, director of the Human Rights Theory Teaching and Research Office of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, said in a recent exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" that Xinjiang's judicial practice contains the concept of rule of law and human rights protection, providing an observable and researchable sample for this issue.
Xinjiang is located in northwest China. It has been a multi-ethnic area since ancient times, and multiple religions coexist and spread. Data from the seventh national census show that among the permanent population in Xinjiang, the Han population is 10.9201 million, accounting for 42.24% of the total population, and the ethnic minority population is 14.9322 million, accounting for 57.76% of the total population.
Based on reality
Yang Bowen introduced that since the reform and opening up, Xinjiang has continued to promote local legislation based on its own regional characteristics and ethnic minority areas, and has promulgated hundreds of local regulations focusing on politics, economy, culture, education, religion, ethnic unity, social security and other aspects.
"Xinjiang's judicial practice is rooted in the governance tradition of this land." Yang Bowen summarized that currently, the region has built 15 branch intermediate courts, 99 grassroots courts, and 275 people's courts at the local level, with more than 12,900 four-level public legal service stations in cities, counties, and villages, and more than 13,900 people's mediation organizations. This comprehensive and diversified dispute resolution mechanism and public legal service system has penetrated into pastures, desert oases, border villages and towns, and has become the forefront of judicial services to the people.
Xinjiang’s judicial practice is also improving in the direction of refinement. After many trips to Xinjiang for research, Yang Bowen observed that in terms of protecting language rights in litigation, Xinjiang courts and procuratorates have fully implemented "bilingual justice." More than 180 science and technology courts in Urumqi are equipped with trilingual intelligent mutual translation systems of the national common language, Uyghur, and Kazakh; the application rate of bilingual judgment document translation in the city has reached 95%. "This service mechanism ensures that litigants of all ethnic groups can understand documents, hear court hearings clearly, express their demands clearly, and participate in the entire judicial process smoothly."
Yang Bowen told reporters that Xinjiang has also effectively safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups through innovative dispute resolution mechanisms and extended circuit trial services. In Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County, Hami City, Xinjiang, a judge traveled 500 kilometers deep into the summer pastures to deliver judicial services to the doorsteps of herdsmen; in Kalabula Town, Xinyuan County, Ili Prefecture, the judge drank milk tea under the walnut tree, engaged in household chores, and resolved conflicts and disputes among the people on the spot...
"Xinjiang's judicial practice demonstrates the flexibility to adapt to local conditions and protect the rights and interests of all ethnic groups. Its core is always the pursuit of justice, promotion of unity, and service to the people." Yang Bowen said.
Double standard interpretation
For a period of time, Xinjiang has been deeply affected by the overlapping influence of ethnic separatist forces, religious extremist forces, and violent terrorist forces. Violent terrorist attacks have occurred frequently, causing great harm to the lives and property of people of all ethnic groups, and severely affecting the order of social production and living. Faced with the complex security situation and the urgent needs of people of all ethnic groups for a stable life, Xinjiang adheres to the rule of law thinking and uses the rule of law to severely punish illegal and criminal activities that endanger national security and social stability. It has effectively curbed the frequent occurrence of violent terrorist activities and protected the basic rights of people of all ethnic groups such as the right to survival and development to the maximum extent.
However, some forces in the international community have made a one-sided interpretation of Xinjiang's judicial practice, believing that it focuses too much on national security and social stability and undertakes political governance tasks.
"This argument typically pits national security, social stability and the legitimate rights and interests of the people against each other." Yang Bowen pointed out that ensuring national security and social stability through justice is actually common in countries around the world and has corresponding systems. It is also a very mature and common practice in contemporary criminal laws of various countries to write behaviors that endanger national security into the criminal law, and to convict and punish them.
Welcome to conversation
Yang Bowen emphasized that China's judicial practice in Xinjiang has clear and clear legal basis for handling cases, insists on equality before the law, fully respects the customs and habits of people of all ethnic groups, and protects citizens' rights such as freedom of religious belief while punishing various illegal crimes in accordance with the law. The entire process strictly adheres to procedural justice, and has won the support and recognition of people of all ethnic groups.
"We welcome the international community to 'come in' and actually see the social development of Xinjiang and hear the real voices of people of all ethnic groups. We also hope to promote relevant experience to 'go out' and provide reference for different countries and regions to carry out legal cooperation and explore social governance in multi-ethnic areas." Yang Bowen said.
Interviewee profile:
Yang Bowen, Doctor of Laws, is a lecturer, master's tutor, and director of the Human Rights Theory Teaching and Research Office of Northwest University of Political Science and Law. His research interests include constitutional law, human rights, and global governance. He has published many articles in Legal History Review, Peking University Law Review, and Local Legislative Research. He is also in charge of the 73rd batch of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation's general funding for projects such as "Research on China-Related Human Rights Legislation in the U.S. Congress from the Perspective of the International Human Rights Discourse Struggle."
