I wonder how long it will take before American politicians and diplomats take heed of this advice:
To the Chinese Communist Party, “governing the country according to law†does not mean rule of law as you and I understand it. The essential element required for rule of law — using the law to limit the power of the government — stands in ideological opposition to the purpose of the party. In reality, the rule of law that the party talks about is “Lenin plus Emperor Qin Shi Huang†— modern totalitarianism combined with pre-modern Chinese “legalism.†It is nothing more than a tool to further control society. Rule of law is always superseded by the rule of the party, and there is not a shred of doubt about this.
American politicians, poor dupes that they are, tend to judge the language and actions of Chinese Communist Party leaders as though they were American politicians, too. Nothing could be further from the truth.
