China is sharply increasing its use of criminal prosecution as a tool for maintaining control in 2014, two reports have found, in a shift away from ad hoc measures preferred in the past.
The past few years have seen a crackdown on dissent in the midst of a political consolidation drive and anti-corruption purge, with long jail sentences meted out to well-known and moderate activists including lawyer Xu Zhiyong and Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti.
The shift in security authorities’ methods illustrates the conflict in China between “rule by law” — in other words, using laws to maintain power — and “rule of law”, where legal rights trump political power.
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