In one of the country's most high-profile lawsuits, lawyer Qiao
Zhanxiang from North China's Hebei Province lost another appeal
yesterday against the Ministry of Railways, which jacked up the
price of train travel during last year's Spring Festival.
The Beijing Higher People's Court ruled that the price hikes
enacted during last year's Spring Festival did not violate the 1998
Pricing Law of the People's Republic of China even though the hikes
were set without any public hearings.
Such pricing activity was approved by the State Council and the
State Development Planning Commission - the country's top pricing
authority, the court said.
Qiao filed an appeal in November alleging that the ministry's price
increase had violated the Pricing Law because no public hearings
were held before it made the decision.
The court ruled that the Pricing Law does require hearings before
setting government-guided prices on key public utilities.
But detailed rules for such hearings were not worked out by the
State Development Planning Commission until August 2001, almost a
half-year after the price hike, said Wang Zhenqing, chief judge of
the court.
In
China, a State Council regulation is often a prerequisite for
carrying out a statute.
Although he lost the case, Qiao said he was not all that
bothered.
"What I care about most is that the case encourages people to
become more aware about the importance of safeguarding their
interests through legal channels, even against the government,"
Qiao said.
Court officials said Qiao should take heart that the central
government listened to his quibble and held public hearings
regarding this year's price hikes.
Qiao filed his first indictment against the ministry in March
before the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court. When the court
rejected his accusation last November, he filed it with the Beijing
Higher People's Court.
(China
Daily February 28, 2002)