Media Law in the PRC
- Book Review,
by Asia Law and Practice Staff
Book Description
The print and broadcast media in the PRC are regulated by one of the most confusing array of regulations, circulars and unwritten policies. With no single source of law this is a unique practical volume designed to enable all those in publishing, advertising and broadcasting to ensure they have a thorough understanding of the PRC regulatory environment and how they can most freely operate within it. The result of several years of research and illustrated with numerous practical case studies and examples, this is an essential manual for all journalists, publishers, broadcasters, advertisers and their advisers.
About the Author
H.L Fu is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at the City University of Hong Kong. Dr Fu's current areas of research are media law, constitutional law and criminal justice systems. He has published articles in the areas of policing and the sociology of law and has spoken at conferences in Asia and Europe. Richard Cullen is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the City University of Hong Kong. Dr Cullen's current areas of research are media law, public and comparative law and revenue law. He has spoken at many international conferences and seminars and has published several books and numerous articles.
Excerpted from Media Law in the PRC by H.L. Fu, Richard Cullen. Copyright © 1996. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Sedition and Subversion At first glance there is a striking difference between PRC Law and the typical position in common law jurisdictions (like Hong Kong) with respect to subversion. Subversion is a punishable crime in China under the PRC, Criminal Law as a counter-revolutionary offence. The offence of subversion is listed at the top of the counter-revolutionary offences in the PRC, Criminal Law, second only to the offence of treason. It has rarely been used to charge anyone, however. The first case which was prosecuted under the offence was the Gang of Four in which four elite radical members within the CCP were prosecuted and convicted in 1979 in the wake of the Cultural Revolution (see box below). The most recent case was the prosecution of Wei Jingsheng in 1995 (see "Case Studies" below). The "Gang of Four" were found guilty of subverting the government through mass persecution of senior CCP and government leaders; by instigating violent confrontation against political factions; and by preparing the Shanghai militia for military rebellion. The Gang of Four comprised Jiang Qing (Maa Zedong's fourth wife), Wong Hong Wein, Yao Wenyuan and Zhong Chunqiao. All were radical activists from Shanghai. All, apart from Yao, are now dead. Yao was recently released from prison 20 years to the day the Gang of Four were arrested. It is not clear who has the capacity to commit the offence. According to the SPP, the legislative intention was to limit the applicability of the offence to those occupying senior party/State positions who have the capacity and resources to overthrow the government. Ordinary citizens and political dissidents (who are largely politically impotent) would lack this capacity and, in law, would not be capable of subversion. Cases decided by the courts, however, show that this is not a correct understanding of the law of subversion. The defendant's capacity to subvert the government is not, as it turns out, an element of the offence.
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