July 9th, Buxi posted a story about Yang Jia. I think many of us were hoping that his trail would have been public, would have been transparent. But it wasn’t. Rather it was done in closed session.
Chronicle of a death foretold – guardian.co.uk
Man gets death penalty for killing six police in Shanghai
Too bad.
Netizen K says
I think Yang Jia deserves the death penalty. The fact some Chinese have bizarre mentality and think he is some of hero is no surprise too me. That’s why I think democracy should go slow in China. Closed session? If there are wackos there who may make a scene of a sad situation, I’ll say it’s small compromise.
MutantJedi says
Yang Jia is no hero. He should not get any sort of “hero” attention. His story is unfortunate and, while I am a small bit sympathetic, there are so many other people who have had worse but have chosen better. He does not deserve his liberty. As for the sentence, while on one hand I can understand execution, I oppose it.
But the sentencing isn’t the issue. Within the Chinese context of the day, it is a reasonable sentence. I expect that it will get reviewed but in the end it will just as quietly be done.
This issue has nothing do with democracy. I too think that any sort of “democratic” reform should be done slowly.
What the point is that an open and transparent judicial process protects you, the citizen. When we look at the due process for Yang Jia, we need to remember that it could very easily be one of us, one of our family or one of our friends. I’m not saying that we’re about to do what he did. But we could easily wake up to a knock on our door to be suddenly taken up into the jaws of a criminal justice system.
I for one hope if that ever happens it will not be a closed session.
Wukailong says
@MutantJedi: Yeah, one thing that’s often forgotten with criminals is that there is (almost always) a family for each one of them, a family for which a tragedy has happened. They are victims too in a sense.
BMY says
I agree with MutantJedi. This guy deserve the sentence under current legal system but it should have been a open case.
I am not quiet sure how Yang Jia’s mum and the killed police men’s wives and kids would have to go through in the rest of their life. just because of a license of a bike in the beginning.
herogoinpeace says
the shanghai police is so terrible, its amazing how covered up this case has been. Hero Yang Jia will always be remembered. So remembered and closedly observed is the chinese legal system as well as china’s propoganda system.
MutantJedi says
Just to wrap up the story: Killer of six Chinese police executed in Shanghai