Introduction
Trials can be very expensive for both the country and the individuals involved. However, on the other hand, trials are important in finding justice for persons especially the ones affected directly. The justice system is always important in any country as it ensures that every person is treated equally under the law and people are punished for their offenses. Trials can last for long periods all in the quest for justice and still end up not receiving the real justice that is required by the people.
The paper will be looking at the significance of the Gang of Four and Bo Xilai scandal to the society and the justice system today.
Literature review
The paper will use literature from various articles from media bodies and other governmental and non-governmental organizations and also books on the law and the justice system.
The article by the Human Rights Watch titled “Criminal Justice in China: From the Gang of Four to Bo Xilai” looks at how the courts have shown the progress in the reformation process of their law courts. According to the article, the Bo Xilai scandal has taken a long period due to the increased political interference of the case. The article looks at the comparison between the case and that of the gang of four that took place in 1981 as both cases involved corruption.
The article by “The Wall Street Journal” looks at the case of Bo Xilai as a step towards a fight against bad leadership in China and a warning to all the corrupt individuals. The article further looks at how the trial changed politically over the three decades within which it took place. The justice system of China is considered to have made a significant step towards the fight against bad leadership and corruption among officials. The article looks at the moral lesson learnt from the trial as applicable to future Chinese generations.
The economist looks at the relation of the Bo Xilai trial and that of the Gang of Four as important and necessary for a reformed Chinese leadership. The two trials all involve corruption and abuse of power. In both the trials, the article talks about lengthy sentences that the accused parties are given to serve by the courts. As a result, the cases serve as important examples for the development of the country’s justice system and the country’s leadership system.
A look at the book by Yuwen Li, the author looks at the importance of enhancing reforms in the justice system to reduce the duration to which court proceedings take place. Additionally, the author looks at the lengthy period as a drawback in terms of ease of interference of the cases by external parties such as government bodies or private bodies with particular interest vested in cases.
Lastly, the book by Susan Estrich looks at how politics is moving to destroy the criminal justice system by interfering with most of the cases under the system. Political interference interferes with cases that are important to a country and the case applies everywhere. The book relates such cases of political interference with increased corruption in governments where corrupt individuals cannot be tried in the courts due to their political power. The case can be related to the Chinese cases of Bo Xilai and The Gang of Four in which, political interference would have complicated the cases and led to more delays and no justice served.
Bibliography
Estrich, Susan. 2008. Getting away with murder how politics is destroying the criminal justice system. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press
Human Rights Watch. 2013. Criminal Justice In China: From The Gang Of Four To Bo Xilai: Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/25/criminal-justice-china-gang-four-bo-xilai.
Li, Yuwen. 2014. The judicial system and reform in post-Mao China: stumbling towards justice. Farnham: Ashgate.
The Economist. 2013. Why Is The Bo Xilai Case So Important?: The Economist. http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/08/economist-explains-15.
Wall Street Journal. 2016. The Fall Of Bo Xilai: WSJ.Com. http://stream.wsj.com/story/bo-xilai/SS-2-42626/.
