Excerpted from The Independent:
Sharon Hom, executive director of HRIC, said the report would "tunnel down and look at the state secret system and see what is its impact on policy and the practice of the rule of law and governance."
"In these cases, the state secrets charge opened the door," said Ms Hom. "The scope and comprehensiveness and retroactivity of this system is not really known. Environment issues, natural disasters, population statistics, health hazards – all of these can be swept in and retrospectively classified as state secrets."
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For more information on this issue:
- HRIC Report:
State Secrets: China's Legal Labyrinth - HRIC Press Release:
HRIC Report Details State Secrets System - China Rights Forum, No.2 2007:
Legal Reform and Accountability - HRIC Trends Bulletin:
Setback for the Rule of Law – Lawyers Under Attack in China - China Rights Forum, No.2 2005:
Law and Justice - China Rights Forum, No.2 2003:
Rule of Law