China Voice: Should lawyers have impunity privilege?

China announced the detainment of a group of lawyers and others suspected of disrupting public order and obstruction of justice last week.

For many, the move was seen as odd, as lawyers are generally supposed to be better aware of law and more cautious with their behavior.

However, it is not surprising either, since lawyers are not born to be infallible and those who commit crimes should also be subject to punishments.

According to police, the lawyers are being investigated for suspected acts of seeking profit by illegally organizing paid protests, hyping controversies and swaying court decisions.

Their acts also included shouting, screaming and insulting judges and police at court, forcing trials to a halt.

If such suspicions are properly proven, they constitute serious contempt of court and obstruction of justice, which should be regarded as flagrant trampling on the rule of law principle in any country that respects this tenet.

In one case, some of the suspects allegedly hosted a funeral for a living judge at the front gate of a court. Such behaviors not only violate the lawyers' professional ethics, but also infringe on the personal rights and privacy of normal citizens, challenging the recognized mores of society.

China pledged to advance the rule of law, which naturally requires strict enforcement of law with no exception.

With the investigation and proceedings of cases like Zhou Yongkang's and other senior officials who broke the law, the principle that all people are equal before the law was clearly demonstrated.

While senior officials have no prerogative impunity to law enforcement and punishment, it is also true for other citizens, regardless of their career and ideological status.

Days before the lawyers' case, China announced Xi Xiaoming, vice president of the Supreme People's Court, was under investigation for "serious violations of discipline and laws."

Unfortunately, some Western media reports have criticized Chinese authorities' lawful investigation as "crackdown on justice defenders" and as a "step back for rule of law."

It seems that they have turned a blind eye to the fact, neglectfully or intentionally, that the lawyers under investigation are suspected of obstructing justice, not defending it.

It also worth mentioning that the recent investigation is not targeting Chinese lawyers as a whole, but a handful of unethical practitioners that by no means represent the mainstream of China's 270,000 lawyers.

Cleaning up the "black sheep" among the lawyers will promote, not hinder, the development of the profession. Only by doing so can a clean and professional environment be protected and those who practice the law in righteous manners be encouraged.

That is why strict scrutiny of practitioners and serious punishment for wayward lawyers are common practices not only in China, but also in the United States and other countries.

Moreover, with vigorous efforts to reform the judicial system, China is doing its best to safeguard lawyers' legitimate rights in their work.

Lawyers are an important and indispensable part of China's efforts to promote rule of law. However, their bar membership never terminates their citizenship, which grants them equal protection by Chinese law but does not include impunity. Endi