Introduction
Deng Xiaoping's rule in China marked an important pivotal point of political and economic development in the country, which had begun under the reign of the first generation leaders. Even after the death of the former, the political and economic achievements of China continue to impress across the globe. However, at the dawn of the post-Deng era, there has been a growing trend of economic and political development in different regions. As a result, it has alluded to the important question of what is the state of affairs in China amidst some current issues, which questions the growth of politics in China and the societal welfare in general.
For instance, the death of Lei Yang, a well-educated Chinese national has been one of the issues, which has questioned the political development in the country. As such, it has attracted the attention of various scholars and the media, concerning the role of the government in protecting the interest of the citizens that generated a lot of controversy among different parties, most importantly the citizens. This paper seeks to establish some of the implications of the post-Deng- era using the Lei Yang case as the reference point. However, the paper will begin with a brief description of the Deng era detailing some of the most significant achievements of the pre-eminent leader.
China in the Deng Era
Deng Xiaoping is considered as the greatest Chinese leader of all times due to the great political and social strides he enabled the people of China to make economically, socially and politically. He became a leader when the country was facing various issues, mainly concerning cultural reforms and a minimal per capita income (less than $ 100) (Hu & Lin, 2001). During his tenure, which lasted between 1978 and 1992, Deng was able to improve the living standards of the Chinese in terms of increasing the per capita income, which was done through tremendous growth of the country’s economy. The country underwent a tremendous metamorphosis in the political and economic sectors through the leader’s adoption of the Marxist revolution. Even at 78, Deng did great things for his country in his leadership position, such as the promotion of peace within the country and with the outside world.
For instance, he visited France in 1975, which was followed by the development of a business treaty (Hu & Lin, 2001). Later in 1978, he visited Japan to mend the relationships between the two countries, which paved the way for further growth of the Chinese socially and economically. He later went to the USA to develop trade relationships with President Carter, who was the sitting US President. Following the philosophy of his predecessor, Mao, Deng held that the cultural revolutions that were rampant during the rule of the communist leaders in 1949 had to be eliminated. The focus on introducing new leadership philosophy became the most important point of his leadership in the eyes of the Chinese and the international observers. Deng believed that China had to be politically stable to achieve democracy and freedom of the people. In fact, he sought to grant the citizens more freedom than Mao had done in his time.
According to Deng, the only way to achieve stability at the time was bringing the public demonstrations that were rampant to an end. On June 4, 1989, Deng resorted to the use of military force to stop the protests in Beijing, which caused the death of many Chinese citizens (Vogel, 2011). Although this was seen as a brutal move by the president that had done so much for the country, it was the only practical solutions to achieve stability in Beijing and the country at large. This incident is more or less similar to the Lei Yang case, where Lei-yang, a Beijing resident, and environmentalist was killed following a police detention.
The Lei Yang Case
The 29-year-old Lei was found dead in police custody in May this year and his death has sparked controversy all over the country, which provoked the interests of the media towards the role government and the police force. The mysterious death has been connected with police brutality mostly since the police did not provide enough reason of the young man’s death in their custody. His family and other citizens have come forward to demand answers from the authorities since they fear that this could be an ongoing act leading to more deaths of Chinese national in the hands of the police (Tatlow, 2016). In the modern democracies, the acts of police brutalities are condemned and as such, the conduct of police sparks rage, which has resulted in the protests.
According to the police report, Lei was arrested in a foot parlor massage by plain cloth police. The foot parlor massage is closely associated with prostitution in the country, and the government has been striving to end the social vice. During the arrest, the police alleged that the video and audio recording of the proceeding had been destroyed which meant that the public could not know the exact proceedings of the arrest and whether Lei had resisted arrest as the police said (Tatlow, 2016). The details regarding the case are scanty and disjointed, which leads to the questioning of their credibility. Additionally, the argument that the video was deleted makes the public question their capability of doing conclusive investigations in the case.
According to the Shanghai Daily (2016), many eyewitnesses saw Lei run away from the plain clothe officers during the arrest and was calling for help probably due to the brutality he had been subjected to, during the arrest. However, a bystander video footage confirmed that Lei was unconscious when taken into the police vehicle en route to the Changping Police station. As such, it indicated that Lei was subjected to police brutality even before he was taken to the police station. The details of the clip contradicts the official report by the Changping police that stated that the man had resisted arrest and attempted to kick officers and avoid the arrest, which prompted the use of force by the police. According to the citizens, the death of Mr.Lei under the police custody was uncalled for despite the allegations of his visit to the foot massage parlor. Even worse, some of the police activities such as deleting video evidence from the internet from the civilians indicate an ongoing controversy in the police dealing with such matters (Tatlow, 2016). Due to the suspicions and controversy surrounding the death of Lei Yang, this case has been termed as the most significant case of the year for the citizens, the media, and the police in a move to achieve social justice in the country, which had been spearheaded by the first and second generation Chinese leader. The depicted police brutality has been linked with several reactions and implications from various parties as discussed below.
Reactions and Implications of the Lei Yang Case
The family and friends of Lei expressed their anger towards police brutality during the arrest of Lei Yang and his ultimate demise following the injuries inflicted by the police. The incident inflicted fear among the Chinese national as they felt that the government and the police had failed to respect and dignify the core human rights. To them, they do not know who the next victim of police brutality would be. Some feel that their death could be instigated by the police force in an attempt to exercise some of their rights and freedoms (Tatlow, 2016). The police brutality involved during the arrest of Mr. Lei strikes the Nationals as the greatest failure of the police to perform the most fundamental duty of ensuring the safety of the public regardless of the situation. Many parties, including activists and the media feel that the murder of Lei Yang was an injustice and uncalled for regardless of whether he was involved in prostitution or not. The resulting fear of the public could mean that the public would be reluctant to voice their rights and demands for fear that they would face the same fate as Lei did.
Although Changping police department launched an investigation into the murder, the family and the public are not satisfied with the proceedings. The suspicion is easily predictable because the police are investigating the murder, which was most likely committed by one of their own. The dual role played the police in the investigation of this murder (investigator and suspect) implies the loss of trust in the police activities or investigation results from the Chinese public. In the future, the public will most likely respond negatively to police investigations and reports of similar incidents, and this would cause social protests for justice in the society. Additionally, the loss of trust in the police implies that the people will have a negative attitude towards the police force, a situation that would lead to conflicts. If there are more incidences like this, there would be social unrest in the public followed by the instability that the country’s former leaders worked hard to achieve. Ultimately, this would force the government to use the same police force to calm the unrests as in the time of the Deng rule in 1989, resulting in more civilian deaths.
As indicated above, the police failed to use the correct protocol during the arrest and handling of the suspect, Mr. Lei Yang. Additionally, they failed to provide an adequate reason for the police brutality for the detention of the man who showed no signs of defiance to arrest. Even worse, they failed to provide an explanation for his death, which according to eyewitnesses had been caused by the injuries inflicted on the victim during his arrest from the massage parlor. Even with the pending investigations of the murder of this innocent man, it only shows that the police failed to observe the rights and freedoms of the citizens. As such, this implies that the police lack the best interest of the public at heart that is their safety (Holmes & Smith, 2008). As the police continued escaping the questions about the murder of Lei, it implies that the police are not accountable for their actions. The failure of accountability of police actions and the compliance with the murder investigations will lead to more loss of trust in the police and police authorities by the public and the doubts and suspicions on the police by the public will be on the rise.
As a conclusion, Deng Xiaoping's rule marked a significant period in Chinese history, as the country started making significant development in its social, economic and political sectors. The current status of the Chinese economy is significantly attributed to the change of approach by Deng Xiaoping's who disapproved the communist system, replacing it with Marxists approach. As a result, the Chinese economy started experiencing significant growth and development, which is evident in the current global economy. However, there have been instances that have been perceived as taking the country back to its history where human rights were not respected as much. For instance, the case of Lei Yang is one of the retrogressive actions taken by the police in the modern China. The actions of the police have significantly received reproach from numerous quarters and sparked a public outrage. As an investigating government agency, the public have lost confidence in the police’s ability to conduct conclusive and justified investigations of the case. This case among others has been seen as retrogressive in the current modern and civilized society.
References
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Hu, X., & Lin, G. (2001). The transition towards post-Deng China. Singapore: Singapore University Press, National University of Singapore.
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Police Brutality Happens Every Day in China as One-Child Policy Violently Enforced. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.lifenews.com/2015/05/07/police-brutality- happens-every-day-in-china-as-one-child-policy-violently-enforced/
Tatlow, D. K. (2016). Chinese Man’s Death in Custody Prompts Suspicion of Police Brutality. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/world/asia/china-lei-yang-police-death.html
Vogel, E. F. (2011). Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
