CHINA SUNDAY MORNING POST
MARCH 12, 2000

Chow Chung-yan

NPC delegates have lashed out at widespread corruption in judiciary departments and called for rule by law and justice.

The legislators said corrupt law enforcers had caused public resentment, which undermined the Government’s authority and the Communist Party’s image.

Bribery along with chaotic and unlawful interference in legal proceedings were common problems, they said.

The Supreme People’s court disciplined 2,500 judges and court staff last year, while the People’s Procuratorates investigated 1,500 officers, with more than 1,000 being punished.

Many judges openly asked plaintiffs and defendants for bribes or used their power to intervene in economic activity.
Delegates said corruption in the judiciary was the root of other corruption and could lead to serious social unrest.

China needed to set up a sophisticated and strong system of checks and balances. Unchecked power would lead to corruption and damage the impartiality of the law.

“We need to improve the quality of the judiciary officers. This is the ultimate solution,” Jianxi representative Lu Xiuzhen said.

In response to the criticism, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said they had invited NPC representatives to monitor court proceedings and reports would be submitted to them regularly.

They said all trials in Beijing had been open to the public and journalists since last year.

NPC law committee vice-chairman Qiao Xiaoyang said it had defined the power and procedures of the NPC and all other law-making bodies to legislate, to improve the consistency of the legal system.

Meanwhile, delegates from Xinjiang region, neighbouring several countries urged the introduction of a border control law to monitor the increasingly complicated border trade.

Border trade in XInjiang reached about HK$10 billion last year, nearly 60 per cent of the province’s total foreign trade.

South China Morning Post

THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2000

PEGGY SITO

Whirlpool SMC Microwave Products has won a HK$24.4 million court judgment in Guangdong’s Zhong Shan city over the payment of goods sold to a mainland company.

Whirlpool said it had delivered products to Jia Xin Electricity Appliance over a substantial period of time, but many of the contracted payments had not been made.

The court called upon an accounting firm for expert advice.

Meanwhile, Whirlpool’s legal counsel had arranged at the start of litigation to have the defendant’s assets frozen, to ensure payment of the debt upon judgment.

Whirlpool said its counsel, Brand Farrar Buxbaum, submitted a successful application for penalty payments, thus restricting further delays by the defendant in paying the money it owes.

The judgment held that Jia Xin should pay Whirlpool 26.1 million yuan (about HK$24.4 million)for the goods.

The penalty for late settlement is 0.04 per cent of the payment per day from February 23, 1998.