A Voyage in the East

Yesterday was the most interesting day that I have had so far in China. In the morning we were up early to present ourselves at the local court house. After the obligatory photo-op for the assembled media we watched a Chinese trial. It is incredibly different than our trial process. All the evidence was presented orally by the prosecutor (dressed in brutal blue uniforms) from witnesses written statements. The defence is then given the opportunity to rebut the prosecutors evidence. The judge from time to time threw questions at the defendant, a migrant labourer from Mongolia with only a primary education, who had confessed to trying to steal $50 Canadian from a woman. Because the attempt was not successful, and because it was the defendants first offence, the prosecutor asked for a "lenient" sentence. The defence attorney (who did not say very much during the proceeding) also asked for a "lenient" sentence. The judge agreed that a "lenient" sentence was appropriate and sentenced the defendant to TWO years in jail, where the accused will be reformed through labour. Jail with Chinese characteristics! For me, there were many lessons from this experience. The first is that heavy punishments did absolutely NOTHING to deter the crime. It is known by everybody that the Chinese authorities throw the book at offenders, yet there is still crime in China! Canada should not adopt a crime control model for our criminal justice system.

In the afternoon, a group of us went to the Great Wall. We found a guide who agreed to take us to a remote part of the Great Wall. The views were fantastic and I buried a Canadian quarter in the wall. Now a very small part of Canada is buried high a top a mountain in the Great Wall. A sign of growing interdependence? It was a shame that I managed to delete all my fantastic photos, what an idiot I can be! Still, it was a shame to leave behind the hussle and bussle, as well as the pollution, of the busy city of Beijing. This afternoon, I am going to the Zoo to see Pandas!