Wong Kai-shing

On Sept. 7, 2000, there was a small news item in the Nanfang Weekend, a Chinese newspaper, reporting that in early August the People's Procuratorate of Shuncheng District in the city of Fushun in Liaoning Province had promulgated the 'zero statement rule' when prosecutors handle cases. According to this rule, criminal suspects are allowed to keep silent during their interrogation by prosecutors. This is the first time in China that the right to silence is recognized in a law, though it is only the rule of a district procuratorate. This event is significant though as it signifies a growing recognition of the rights of criminal suspects.

In the past one year, there has appeared in some Chinese law journals, magazines and newspapers a number of articles discussing the importance of the right to silence and support for its introduction in China. It was reported that in August a group of Shanghai lawyers was pressing for a change in the law to give criminal suspects the right to silence during questioning, resembling the Miranda Rule in the United States that obliges the police to read suspects their rights and provides for the right against self-incrimination and for suspects to be represented by a lawyer after their arrest. One of the lawyers in Shanghai said that this practice would protect human rights and help improve the fairness and openness of the judicial process.

Those people who support the introduction of the right to silence in China give the following reasons. First, it can further realize the principle of presumed innocence that has been recognized in the Criminal Procedure Law since its revision in 1996 and is stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) signed by China in 1998. Second, it can reduce the use of torture to extract confessions from criminal suspects. Third, it can reduce cases involving unjust charges. Presently, a confession is often the key evidence used to convict a person in China. This has created two problems. One is the use of torture to extract a confession. The second problem is the inadequate effort and skill used to find other evidence apart from evidence related to the confessions of suspects. Consequently, in many cases, people have been charged or convicted unjustly. With the right to silence, the police and the procuratorate have to make a more thorough investigation of the case than in the past. This will help improve the quality of investigation and reduce unjust charges.

Now people are watching how the so-called 'zero statement rule' is put into practice by the People's Procuratorate of Shuncheng District. However, the immediate effect on protecting the rights of criminal suspects will be limited as the police of Shuncheng District have not adopted this rule yet. There may be other districts or cities, however, that follow the example of Shuncheng District and introduce their own 'zero statement rule.' This type of development that promotes the rights of criminal suspects in China should be encouraged.