Weiquan Movement - Background

Background

Since the legal reforms of the late 1970s and 1980s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has moved to embrace the language of the rule of law and establish a modern court system. In the process, it has enacted thousands of new laws and regulations, and begun training more legal professionals. The concept of "rule of law" was enshrined in the constitution, and the CCP embarked on campaigns to publicize the idea that citizens have protection under the law. At the same time, however, a fundamental contradiction exists in the implementation of rule of law wherein the CCP insists that its authority supersedes that of the law; the constitution enshrines rule of law, but also emphasizes the principle of the "leadership of the Communist Party." The judiciary is not independent, and is therefore subject to politicization and control by the Communist Party. This has produced a system that is often described as "rule by law," rather than rule of law.

Because judicial decisions are subject to the sometimes arbitrary assessments of the CCP, citizens who attempt to make use of the legal system to pursue grievances find that, if their cause is determined to have the potential to undermine the authority of the Communist Party, they may be suppressed. Defendants who find themselves facing criminal charges, such as for conducting activism or for their religious beliefs, often have few means of pursuing an effective defense.

The Weiquan movement coalesced in the early 2000s in response to these inherent contradictions and the arbitrary exercise of legal authority in China, though its roots could be traced to the consumer protection movement that began in the 1990s. The movement is informal, and can be understood as including lawyers and legal activists who advocate for civil rights and defend the interests of citizens against corporations, government or Communist Party organs. Fu Hualing and Richard Cullen note that Weiquan lawyers "are generally always on the side of the weaker party: (migrant) workers v. employers in labor disputes; peasants in cases involving taxation, persons contesting environmental pollution, land appropriation, and village committee elections; journalists facing government censorship; defendants subject to criminal prosecution; and ordinary citizens who are discriminated against by government policies and actions."

The emergence of the Weiquan movement was made possible by a confluence of factors, including a market for their services, and an emerging rights consciousness. It was also facilitated by the 1996 "Lawyers Law," which changed the definition of lawyers from "state legal workers" to professionals holding a legal certificate who perform legal services. The law effectively delinked lawyers from the state, and gave lawyers greater (though still limited) autonomy within the profession.

Weiquan lawyers tend to be especially critical of the lack of judicial independence in China. Rather than challenging particular laws, they frame their work as being in keeping with Chinese laws, and describe their activities as a means of defending and upholding the Constitution against abuses. As such, Weiquan lawyering has been described as a form of Rightful resistance.