Going to the Chinese mainland can be dangerous. First-time visitors are often surprised at their freedom, and seasoned travelers may feel comfortable, but foreigners in China do get detained by police for many reasons. When commercial dealings sour. business people of Chinese descent, including those from Taiwan and Hong Kong, are especially at risk.

Last week, within twenty-four hours, China’s National People’s Congress enacted a revised Criminal Procedure Law and its Communist Party ousted a rising political star. Superficially, the two Beijing events seemed unconnected. Yet they are linked.

On Thursday, March 8, 2012, the revised draft of the criminal procedure law was formally introduced to the national legislature in China, including stricter revisions that restrict the police’s power to secretly detain people–at least on paper. Professor Cohen’s commentary is available here.

Normally, ‘dog bites man’ is not news, but in the generally bleak climate for reform that pervades China’s criminal justice system, a story of “judge upholds law” has gained some traction in the Chinese media.

Two weeks ago, a draft of the amendment to Criminal Procedure Law was posted on the website of the National People’s Congress to solicit public comments. This is the first time that the legislature has invited the general public to comment on a proposed amendment to such a major criminal procedure legislation. On Sept. 13 and Sept. 19, 2011, Professor Guo gave two presentations at NYU with comments on the draft, discussing both positive developments and potential problems in the amendment.