British Journal of Criminology Advance Access originally published online on June 14, 2006
British Journal of Criminology 2007 47(1):23-41; doi:10.1093/bjc/azl032
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The British Journal of Criminology 47:23-41 (2007)
© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (ISTD). All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Severe and Swift Justice in China
* Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia; email: S.Trevaskes{at}griffith.edu.au.
One quarter of the worlds population live in China. Chinese law is fast shifting into the global arena. Chinas response to new and emerging crimes over the last decade is now an important international human rights issue. This paper discusses some key concepts for understanding the criminal justice system of a country that is fast becoming the second most economically and geo-politically powerful nation in the world. Thousands of criminals are executed during Chinas periodic Strike Hard anti-crime campaigns. This paper examines the Strike Hard policy of severity and swiftness, seeking to achieve three complementary objectives: to provide insight into the machinations of criminal justice operations in Chinas anti-crime campaigns, to explain official justifications for the policy, and to give voice to alternative commentaries and opinions of Chinese criminal justice researchers and practitioners.