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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 21. 5th September 1973

Courts Etc Here & There

Courts Etc Here & There

Dear Sirs,

It was interesting to see the reviews of the book 'Prisoner' and to reflect on the NZ penal system as compared to the Chinese which was so excellently described by Cheryl Dimond in her article "From the Courts to the People". Perhaps the most amazing point made in the article about the legal system in China was that it is understood just as well and in the same terms by a professor and by a worker.

Perhaps I might set down a few observations to complement the article.

In China the crime rate is dropping all the time, as is the number of unsolved crimes. And of course the low ratio of police to population has already been mentioned in Salient.

Arrests are usually made on the basis of certainty of proof, not on the basis of suspicion. All arrests must be witnessed by an independent party. Relations must be notified as soon as you are arrested. How different all these things are in New Zealand!

As far as I am aware, jail is usually given only to murderers and rapists. Often they don't go to jail. Of course, spying and treason results in jail.

The Chinese system is based on a series of many communes. The person that commits the crime goes in front of the commune elders who discuss his problem with him and show him alternatives (i.e. positive actions) to the crime.

Often a person will be told to go and read a certain book on an individual's role in society Having done this, he returns and is questioned on it. If his understanding of the book is not satisfactory then he must read it again until he realises what is expected of him.

Another example of People's Courts was given by Cheryl Buchanan, a member of the first Aboriginal delegation to China. "Everything is so different. While we were there a young guy ran into an old man with his bicycle and broke his leg. He was tried right there in the street by the people who saw what happened. His punishment was to look after the old man until he was better, cook and clean for him....Putting people in jail doesn't help anything. The crime rate in China is very low. Almost no crimes of violence, and the majority of crimes are settled out of court." Jails — they can't really be called jails. They're more like boarding houses.

A Chinese 'jail' has no walls, barred windows or guards. The 'prisoners' often work during the day to return at night. At weekends many inmates go home. Families can live with inmates if they wish. If a 'prisoner' escapes it is up to the family to return him and 'no questions asked' applies.

Compare that to the New Zealand system of mouldy cells, separating families and armed guards.

The main point of China's system is that strong heritage consciousness is present in families and each person has a high amount of self discipline. Those things are very rare in New Zealand and this would be where we would fail by having the same type of penal system.

But surely we could pinch a scale from the flaming 'Red Dragon' and change it to run along similar lines. Or isn't that possible?

Yours in revolution,

Duncan Wise.