How China’s new anti-graft super body will work, and why calling a lawyer won’t be an option
Anti-corruption law to come into force next year likely to make denial of legal counsel the norm
When five China-based executives of British pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – a Briton and four Chinese nationals – were found guilty in 2014 of bribing doctors to use its drugs, Beijing portrayed it as a symbolic case that upheld the dignity of the law.
But it was viewed somewhat differently by Shi Fulong, a lawyer based in Changsha, Hunan province, who represented another GSK employee detained in the investigation.
“They said it was a large-scale bribery case so they rejected my requests to meet my client,” said Shi, whose client, a Chinese national, was eventually released without charge.
“The law gives the authorities the power to reject lawyers’ requests for meetings with their clients on such grounds,” he said. “Very unfortunately, that power is usually abused.”
A new anti-corruption law, expected to come into force next year, looks likely to make denial of access to a lawyer the norm in such cases. According to a draft of the bill, it will give Chinese graft-busters the legal grounds to detain any individual suspected of involvement in corruption for months – including those suspected of giving or receiving bribes – and block their access to lawyers during their detention.
The national supervision law, released in draft form on November 6 and expected to take effect in March, will establish a new anti-graft super body – the national supervisory commission – and give the commission and its local branches special detention powers when targeting corruption suspects.