Rise in Serious Criminal Cases: Causes and Countermeasures

Author: Mo Hongxian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: On August 12, 2005, it was the 80th birthday of Professor Ma Kechang, a renowned legal scholar and the first Dean of the Law School at Wuhan University. That year also marked the 56th anniversary of Professor Ma Kechang's career in legal education and research. This series of books was specially compiled to celebrate Professor Ma Kechang's 80th birthday and his 56th anniversary in legal education and research. Over the 56 years of his legal education and academic career, Professor Ma Kechang witnessed and personally experienced the ups and downs of the 55-year journey of China's rule of law construction. In 1946, he was admitted to the prestigious National Wuhan University Law School from Xihua County, Henan Province, to study law and dedicate himself to the revolution. In 1950, he graduated with outstanding academic performance and was retained by the university to teach. Soon after, he was recommended to the graduate program at Renmin University of China for further studies, where he specialized in criminal law under the guidance of Professor Bestlova, a Soviet criminal law scholar. In 1952, he completed his graduate studies and returned to Wuhan to teach criminal law. However, due to well-known reasons, when China's democratic rule of law construction faced severe setbacks, Professor Ma Kechang was also affected. In 1958, Professor Ma Kechang received unfair treatment and was sent to rural labor. In the second half of 1959, although he was officially "stripped of the label" and allowed to return to Wuhan University, the Law Department had already been disbanded, and he had to take on jobs such as cashier in the canteen and librarian. After the Cultural Revolution began, he was subjected to incorrect treatment again and sent to the countryside to follow the "May Seventh Road," undergoing what was called "labor reform," until 1972 when he returned to the Wuhan University Library, where he worked until 1979. During these more than 20 years of difficult times, his youthful prime and the golden age of his academic research quietly passed away. Yet, in the face of all kinds of spiritual and physical hardships, he always maintained an optimistic attitude toward life. Even while in the countryside or the library, he achieved remarkable results. In 1979, at the age of 53, Professor Ma Kechang finallya major turning point in his era and life. He was appointed as the Deputy Dean of the Law Department by the then President of Wuhan University, Professor Liu Daoyu, to assist Dean Han Depai in restoring and developing the Law Department, welcoming the spring of China's rule of law construction and legal education. After accepting the appointment, Professor Ma Kechang, driven by his love for the legal profession and his solid academic foundation, revitalized his career with youthful energy, fully demonstrating the charm and appeal of a legal activist, educator, and criminal law expert. As a legal social activist, in 1980, Professor Ma Kechang was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China to serve as the defense attorney for Wu Faqian in the sensational "Lin Biao and Jiang Qing Counter-Revolutionary Group Case," working legally and earning great praise. He also served concurrently as the Honorary President of the Chinese Criminal Law Society, a Special Consultant to the Supreme People's Court, and other social posts, making outstanding contributions to the country's legislative and judicial reforms. As a legal educator, starting in 1983, Professor Ma Kechang served as the Dean of the Law Department at Wuhan University. After the establishment of the Law School in 1986, he was appointed as its first Dean. With great passion and energy, he devoted himself to the development of the Law School, leading the faculty and staff in unity and progress, achieving remarkable results in teaching, research, talent cultivation, and international exchanges, making the Wuhan University Law School the "ace army on Mount Luojia," a renowned law school in China, and maintaining a leading position among domestic peers while gaining international acclaim. As a scholar, Professor Ma Kechang has remained active in the field of criminal law theory research, tirelessly writing. The multiple criminal law textbooks he co-edited are hailed as authoritative textbooks in China. His works, such as "General Theory of Crime," "General Theory of Punishment," "Chinese Criminal Policy," and "An Outline of the History of Modern Western Criminal Law," have received high praise from the academic community and have become classic documents in China's criminal law research, serving as prescribed textbooks for graduate students in criminal law at many universities. In 2002, his monograph "Principles of Comparative Criminal Law—General Theory of Foreign Criminal Law" was published, shocking the academic world with its rich content, thorough documentation, rigorous structure, and profound insights. It became the only law-related work to win the National Book Award in 2003. As a teacher, Professor Ma Kechang has consistently been active in the role of teaching and nurturing students, lecturing to undergraduates, master's students, and doctoral students. He taught with meticulous care, effortlessly navigating complex theories and real-world cases, explaining them in an accessible manner, earning great popularity and admiration from his students. He not only guided students in mastering professional knowledge but also inspired them to become individuals with ideals, aspirations, responsibility, and high moral standards. He has cultivated many outstanding talents for China's rule of law construction and legal education, some of whom now hold key positions in the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and various judicial and administrative departments, while others have become professors, doctoral supervisors, and academic leaders, actively contributing to legal education and research in various fields. Professor Ma Kechang is a scholar with strategic vision. With an open perspective and an international mindset, he emphasized exchanges and actively aligned discipline development with international standards, placing it in an international academic environment. He has been invited to visit and lecture in the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Brazil, and other countries, as well as in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, to attend international academic conferences. He has also warmly invited many renowned international scholars to visit China for lectures and conferences. Through exchanges with top universities, disciplines, and scholars, continuously introducing new academic information, theories, and trends, Professor Ma Kechang has actively organized international academic exchanges and cooperation, injecting vitality into discipline development, enhancing the discipline's reputation both domestically and internationally, and strengthening its competitiveness among similar disciplines, laying a solid foundation for the discipline to enter a virtuous cycle of development. With his profound knowledge, outstanding theoretical achievements, and noble character, Professor Ma Kechang has earned the respect and admiration of the Chinese judiciary, the criminal law community, and the entire legal field. He has gained the esteem and admiration of his international peers and is beloved by his students. As Professor Ma Kechang's 80th birthday is approaching, his students haveorganized to plan this celebratory series of books to express their gratitude and congratulations to their master. The works in this series are either solo or co-authored by his disciples and represent their new research achievements in criminal law and criminology. The significance of this birthday gift is profound. On one hand, it is the disciples' way of reporting their work to their master; on the other hand, it also deepens the theoretical research in criminal law through this method, which fully aligns with the master's expectations for his disciples. When planning this series, it received strong support and high attention from the China University of Political Science and Law Press, which organized a dedicated editorial team to oversee the editing and publication of the series.