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| The Rule of Law and Political Ethics That a 'Hedgehog' Always Keeps in Mind: A Human Rights Lawyer's Thoughts on Matters of Great Importance |
A two-volume collection of essays by mainland Chinese human rights lawyer Liu Shuqing, titled "The Rule of Law and Political Ethics That a 'Hedgehog' Always Keeps in Mind: A Human Rights Lawyer's Thoughts on Matters of Great Importance," was recently published in New York. The book compiles nearly two decades of his writings on the rule of law, human rights cases, public events, and political ethics. The collection is divided into two volumes, covering topics such as the New Citizens Movement, the 709 crackdown, the Qing'an case, the Lei Yang case, the Zhengzhou citizen case, the five feminist sisters case, epidemic prevention and control, family planning, petitioners, the Masanjia Labor Camp, and the Xinjiang incident.
The book's autobiographical section reveals that Liu Shuqing has held multiple identities, including human rights lawyer, public interest lawyer, member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, and university teacher. He writes that he cherishes his identity as a human rights lawyer the most, but was effectively stripped of his right to practice law as early as the end of 2015, so he is now more accurately described as a "post-lawyer."
In an exclusive interview with this station on Tuesday (7th), he said, "This collection of essays brings together works that I am fairly satisfied with over the past 20 years. In a sense, it reflects my mental journey over the past 20 years. These articles are mainly commentaries on public politics, and almost every one of them is a retelling of normal political ethics." He also said that through these articles, one can see the changes in the political atmosphere in mainland China over the past 20 years, and also see "how this system has pieced together the totalitarian puzzle piece by piece, and the gaps in freedom that were once missed have almost disappeared."
At the end of 2015, Liu Shuqing's lawyer's license was revoked by the Jinan Municipal Bureau of Justice, effectively stripping him of his right to practice. Speaking to reporters over the phone about this, he said that strictly speaking, his license was "revoked," but the authorities would never allow him to practice again.
He said, "Losing my lawyer's license is like a warrior losing his sword and armor, but it's not all bad. It gives me a sense of transcendence." He added that when he had the license, he focused his energy on the cases he handled, and his writing was almost entirely personal. Now it's different. "I focus on broader themes, and my writing has more critical thinking and greater penetrating power."
Public cases and 709 cases
The book states that Liu Shuqing represented or participated in the cases of Xu Zhiyong, Chen Shuqing, Ji Laisong, the Five Women's Rights, and several other cases involving charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." He also mentions that in the 709 crackdown, Wang Qiaoling retained him to represent her husband, lawyer Li Heping; lawyer Wang Qiushi also retained him before his arrest; and he had connections with the cases of Wu Gan and Wang Quanzhang.
Currently teaching at Qilu University of Technology in Shandong, Liu Shuqing, reflecting on these public cases, told reporters, "As someone directly involved, I don't want to feign optimism and impose values on these cases, because as a human rights defender, I must be realistic." He believes that although these cases attracted attention both domestically and internationally, the government has sufficient means to control their spillover. Looking back at these cases further reveals the weakness of grassroots forces. As for what they will leave behind, it depends on whether people can persevere and whether those who follow can carry on the torch.
This interview was broadcast on July 7, just two days before the 11th anniversary of the 709 crackdown. Around July 9, 2015, the Chinese Communist Party's public security system carried out a concentrated crackdown, summoning, and questioning of human rights lawyers, legal assistants, and human rights activists in multiple locations, involving the Beijing Fengrui Law Firm and legal professionals in various places. This was later referred to as the "709 case" or the "709 crackdown."
Speaking about the 709 crackdown, Liu Shuqing said, "In a few days, it will be the eleventh anniversary of the 709 crackdown. On this day, it's almost impossible for me to remain calm." He believes that the 709 crackdown had a significant impact, and that "the discipline of human rights lawyers was not a one-time event, but an ongoing process." Now, when representing prisoners of conscience, lawyers are even hesitant to publicly release the indictment, defense statements, and judgments.
Civic Action and the Ethics of the Rule of Law
The book also records Liu Shuqing's participation in many civic actions, including anti-employment discrimination, compensation claims by victims of problematic vaccines in Shandong, calls for the establishment of a "National Truth-Telling Day" after the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, and actions initiated or participated in on issues such as financial subsidies for foreign students, the refund mechanism in the Quanjian case, and the reproductive rights of single women.
Speaking about the significance of these actions, he said he viewed them from the perspective of civil disobedience. They were not intended to create a political storm, nor did they expect to incite collective civic action. What supported these initiatives was "a hatred of injustice, a rejection of lies, and compassion for the weak." He believed that the meaning of this disobedience was what Havel called "living in reality."
The "rule of law and political ethics" in the book's title is also a core theme in Liu Shuqing's writings over the years. When discussing the relationship between the two, he says that political ethics and the rule of law have many things in common, but they are not entirely equivalent. Political ethics is "a more fundamental ethics about power and responsibility," addressing "whom your power comes from, to whom you should be accountable; whom your taxes come from, to whom you should be accountable." The rule of law emphasizes checks and balances on power and administration according to law. "For citizens, anything not expressly prohibited by law is permissible; for those in power, anything not authorized by law is prohibited."
Liu Wei, a commentator who focuses on Chinese civil society, believes that this collection of essays is also a grassroots archive of human rights lawyers after their work has been compressed in the public sphere. Over the past decade, many cases have been deleted, downplayed, or redefined in public discourse in mainland China, but the writings left by lawyers, clients, and public actors still constitute another kind of grassroots record.
Speaking about the initial intention behind publishing these two volumes, Liu Shuqing said, "The main reason for publishing these two books is to give myself an explanation. After more than 20 years of scattered thinking, writing, and civic action that combines knowledge and practice, I want to have something to summarize this period of my life at the age of 50, which is a small consolation. Of course, if readers can see from these books that Chinese human rights defenders are still persevering in an increasingly restrictive environment, and that more people are paying attention to this group, then that would be an unexpected joy."
