Law expert Dr Lili Song takes a closer look at some current issues around foreigners caught by Chinese criminal law. In the past decade, as the number of foreigners living in and visiting China was on the rise, there were increasing reports of foreigners being charged with criminal offences. A thorny issue relating to consular assistance in China is consular attendance, or the lack thereof, at closed criminal trials.. According to current Chinese law, cases involving state secrets or personal privacy shall not be heard in public (s 188, the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law), and no person may observe the trial of cases that are not heard in public (s 222, the Supreme People’s Court Interpretation Regarding the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law). Renowned Chinese law scholar Jerome Cohen opined that as long as the consular agreement allows consular attendance at trial without excluding closed trials, consular attendance at closed trials should be permitted.

Source: Stuff May 24, 2022 23:14 UTC