This year’s theme was on the rule of law - but the final announcement on progress was far less progressive than last year’s report on economic reforms. Zhang Ming, a politics professor at Renmin university in Beijing, said: ‘I didn’t see anything new [from the plenum]. It put too much emphasis on the party’s leadership without stressing the need of the party or party members to obey the law.’ 

Capacity for abuse

Steven Tsang, a Sinologist from Nottingham University, said that the plenum report appeared to be ‘a general restatement of principles about so-called rule of law’. He added: ‘It’s nothing you or I would understand as rule of law. It’s a matter of strengthening the functioning of the judiciary under the leadership of the party, while reducing the capacity for abuse at local levels.’ Source: Financial Times