China's top legislators are considering reducing
police powers when dealing with minor public order offences in
order to safeguard citizens' rights.
The proposal was put forward by the National
People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, and is being
discussed for the second time in its weeklong session, which began
on Sunday. The first deliberation was held last October.
Under the new draft, current police powers to
question suspects for 36 hours and detain them for 30 days without
charge would be cut to a maximum of 12 hours and 20 days
respectively.
According to Zhou Kunren, vice-chairman of the NPC
Law Committee, the draft law on punishment for public order
infractions and security administration sets out a framework in
which police would initially be allowed to question suspects for 8
hours.
A further 4-hour extension would only be allowed if
approved by a county level or higher public security
department.
Yang Meixi, an NPC deputy and police officer from
north China's Shanxi
Province, cautioned yesterday that 12 hours might not give
police enough time.
The current rule, a regulation adopted in 1986 and
amended in 1994, reads: "Punishment for violations against public
order and security violations should be conducted in public and
fairly to respect and guarantee human rights."
The new draft also has a special chapter on the
supervision of public security authorities and police officers to
combat some who have treated money from fines as a bonus to their
regular salary.
The draft picks out 10 specific kinds of police
behavior when dealing with minor offences that would result in
administrative punishment or, in some cases, criminal
responsibility, including torturing suspects, restricting their
freedom and keeping money from fines.
If public security departments or police were found
guilty of any of these, they would be required to apologize and
shoulder civil responsibility.
Zhang Yumao, an NPC Standing Committee member,
fully supported increased supervision of police officers.
"Although most police officers fulfill their
duties, there is some corruption among public security workers," he
said.
(China Daily June 28, 2005)