Behind the Facade: Policing Power and the Paradox of the 'Perfect Conviction Rate' in China

Abstract

With one of the highest conviction rates in the world, the police and prosecutors in China rarely lose a case. China’s record conviction rate of more than 99.9% helps explain why its criminal justice system has produced so many improper judgements. The crux of the problem lies with China’s party-run judiciary, a system in which the police, prosecutors, and judges work together to ensure convictions. Even when encountering irrefutable evidence that a confession was not freely offered but precipitated by threats, fear, torture, or promises, Chinese judges work out a solution with prosecutors to ensure the potency of the policing dossier. In so doing, they often have charges dropped to avoid an acquittal, which can embarrass the police and bring disgrace to the prosecutorial profession. By piercing the veil of the high conviction rate, the purpose of this dissertation was to explore the operation of Chinese criminal proceedings behind the façade with a specific focus on policing operations. It specifically seeks to shed light on the relationship between the abuse of police power and the high conviction rate in China.

Date of Award	24 Aug 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Zhen Charles QU (Supervisor) & Xin Frank HE (Supervisor)