China needs emergency laws to prevent riots

• Source: Global Times
• [16:02 July 15 2009]
• Comments

After the deadly July 5 violence in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the local government has mobilized all the resources available to put the area under control. This incident also exposed a legal vacuum in Chinese laws, which needs to empower the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force or Chinese People’s Liberation Army to conduct security missions.

Many western countries respond to emergencies in accordance with their own emergency laws, such as the US, UK and Canada. In the Los Angeles Riots of 1992, then US president George H. W. Bush responded quickly by calling up some 4,000 soldiers to restore order. In the emergency of hurricane Katrina in 2005, now former US president George W. Bush dispatched some 40,000 troops to maintain social security and rescue work.

At present, China has formed a relatively complete legal system consisting of state security law, martial law and emergency response law to deal with social emergencies. However, there is no specific law that can be enacted to mobilize Chinese armed police in the riots; currently local emergency plans and the restoration of security measures adopted during 2008 Olympics are the only available means which were not an efficient way to end the brutality of the mobs in the Xinjiang riots.

An emergency law should be put on the agenda and help bring the criminals to justice. Any effective and efficient coping mechanism needs to be justified under the law in a way to control future incidents. That is what we have learned from the Xinjiang riots.