Global “Harmonious Society” and the Law: China's Legal Vision in Perspective

Abstract

“A harmonious society needs a stronger legal system that wields greater authority.”“He,” the Chinese character for harmony, is now in everyone's mind when thinking about contemporary China. Harmony and other ‘Confucian values’ seem to have penetrated all spheres of Chinese society, from the Communist Party's elite to business leaders and academics. But Confucius is both used and abused: quoting the philosopher at the start of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in a kitsch historical extravaganza featuring 3,000 men dressed up as his disciples does not clarify the true political meaning of an increasingly ideologically eclectic regime. On the contrary, it leads, to borrow Claude Lefort's term, to further “complications.” Thus, the interest in the idea of a ‘socialist harmonious society’ stems less from what it holds aloft than from what it hides.

The Language of Rights and the Politics of Law: Perspectives on China’s Last Legal Ditch Struggle

“…44 This return to the past, embedded in multiple layers of political propaganda using national heroes as in the 2010 "Model Judge" campaign to penetrate the mind of the masses, does not only brings disappointment amongst the legal profession, but also real worries as to the future of an already quite uncertain judicial reform. 45 In addition, and in a logical move against the law, the Party-State has constantly promoted the return to mediation in the context of a "harmonious society" (hexie shehui) deprived of conflicts and apparently relying on the Confucian ideal of a "world without litigation" (tianxia wusong). 46…”

“…49 All 44 An outline of the plan is available in an English translation at: http://chinalawtranslate.com/en/courtreform-plan/. 45 On the "Model Judge" 2010 Campaign, See Minzner [34]. See as well, for a general overview, Yu [35,36].…”