The legal issues evoked by cross-border crime in Hong Kong and China are sparse and what does exist is mostly in Chinese. This book provides the first systematic, comprehensive, and in-depth analysis of how Chinese, British, Hong Kong, and international law were applied in the Big Spender case. Kam C. Wong outlines the respective positions of various parties to the dispute. Part of the case's fascination involves competing interests, and that political clout counted for more than legal theory.Big Spender may be little known outside Hong Kong and China, but he made history there. It was the first time a Hong Kong legal resident had been prosecuted, tried, and ultimately executed in China for acts largely perpetrated in Hong Kong. The case tested the limits of the one-country, two-systems approach under which Hong Kong and China coexist. It also forced politicians, government officials, and the public in both Hong Kong and China to come to terms with the legal and policy issues related to cross-border crime.Wong sees the Big Spender case as making clear the dire need for both sides to find workable solutions to concurrent jurisdiction, police cooperation, and judicial assistance. Until there is an acceptable arrangement governing the rendition of offenders between Hong Kong and mainland China, the one- country, two-systems formula cannot be stabilized. This is a case study in large-scale terms.

In recent years law, crime and justice have become increasingly politicised in Hong Kong. Understanding Criminal Justice in Hong Kong, 2nd Edition offers a detailed and comprehensive overview of and introduction to the criminal justice system in Hong Kong, building upon recent events and controversies. This book provides a much-needed overview of the criminal justice system in Hong Kong, including new chapters on criminological research methods, defining crime, fear of crime, the criminal court system, police power and discretion, and plea bargaining. This revised and expanded second edition: Outlines the basic concepts of criminal law in Hong Kong, Analyses the process of the criminal justice system, ranging from the reporting of a crime through to the correctional system, Examines how criminal justice personnel work in practice, and how they deal with the offenders and victims during the criminal justice process, Invites readers to consider arguments and debates that surround the controversial issues in the Hong Kong criminal justice system. This book is a comprehensive resource for students studying this subject as part of a wider course in criminal justice, police studies, law or social work, and for practitioners working in Hong Kong in the police, prisons, probation, voluntary agencies and other criminal justice personnel. Text features include review questions, lists of cases cited, and useful websites.

Containing a wealth of archival material and statistical data on crime and criminal justice, Criminal Justice in Hong Kong presents a detailed evaluation of Hong Kong’s criminal justice system, both past and present. Exploring the justice system and the perceptions of popular culture, this book demonstrates how the current criminal justice system has been influenced and shaped over time by Hong Kong’s historical position between ‘East’ and ‘West’. Jones and Vagg’s examination of the justice system not only takes into account geographical changes, like the erection of the border with communist China in 1950 but also insists that any deep understanding of the current system requires a dialogue with the rich and complex narratives of Hong Kong’s history. It explores a range of questions, including: How were Hong Kong's criminal justice institutions and practices formed? What has been its experience of law and order? How has Hong Kong's status as between 'East' and 'West' affected its social, political and legal institutions? Careful and detailed, this analysis of one of the most economically successful, politically stable and safe yet frequently misrepresented cities, is a valuable addition to the bookshelves of all undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Asian law.

This book is a full-length study of the agencies charged with the control and management of crime in Hong Kong during the final years of British rule. Discussing agencies such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Judiciary and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force this book provides a solid introduction to the current criminal justice system and a sound basis for comparative analysis of possible legal and organizational innovations within the post-1997 Hong Kong criminal justice system.

Under the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong the previous capitalist system and life-style shall remain unchanged for 50 years. This concept has been embedded in the Basic Law of Hong Kong. The future of the Common Law judicial system in Hong Kong depends on the perceptions of it by Hong Kong's Chinese population; judicial developments prior to July 1, 1997, when Hong Kong passes from British to Chinese control; and the Basic Law itself. All of these critical issues are addressed in this book. It applies survey and statistical analysis to the study of the attitudes toward, and the values inherent to, the Common Law judicial system in the unique cultural and economic milieu of Hong Kong in transition.

In a groundbreaking work, Klaus Muhlhahn offers a comprehensive examination of the criminal justice system in modern China, an institution deeply rooted in politics, society, and culture. In late imperial China, flogging, tattooing, torture, and servitude were routine punishments. Sentences, including executions, were generally carried out in public. After 1905, in a drive to build a strong state and curtail pressure from the West, Chinese officials initiated major legal reforms. Physical punishments were replaced by fines and imprisonment. Capital punishment, though removed from the public sphere, remained in force for the worst crimes. Trials no longer relied on confessions obtained through torture but were instead held in open court and based on evidence. Prison reform became the centerpiece of an ambitious social-improvement program. After 1949, the Chinese communists developed their own definitions of criminality and new forms of punishment. People's tribunals were convened before large crowds, which often participated in the proceedings. At the center of the socialist system was reform through labor, and thousands of camps administered prison sentences. Eventually, the communist leadership used the camps to detain anyone who offended against the new society, and the crime of counterrevolution was born. Muhlhahn reveals the broad contours of criminal justice from late imperial China to the Deng reform era and details the underlying values, successes and failures, and ultimate human costs of the system. Based on unprecedented research in Chinese archives and incorporating prisoner testimonies, witness reports, and interviews, this book is essential reading for understanding modern China.