In China, They Don't Mess Around with Corruption--or Ineptitude

When the Chinese think someone has screwed up in their government, they don't mess around. You don't get to resign. You get to die.

An excerpt from MSNBC:

"BEIJING - China's former top drug regulator was sentenced to death Tuesday for taking bribes to approve untested medicines, as the country's main quality control agency announced its first recall system targeting unsafe food products...

The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court convicted Zheng Xiaoyu for taking bribes in cash and gifts worth more than $832,000 when he was director of the State Food and Drug Administration, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The court then issued the death penalty, the report said."

If Mr. Zheng were in the Bush Administration, even if caught doing these things, he would still have his job, President Bush would be defending him, and the Right would be blaming Mr. Zheng's ineptitude on the Democrats.

My fantasy this morning is that the Bush Administration is in China. With Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court throwing down sentences like this to poor Mr. Zheng, it seems to me there would be a lot of Bushies spending some major quality time in the lovely Chinese prison system (or better yet, their even more enjoyable reeducation camps) or sitting on death row. As a former student of China and Chinese law, I'm pretty sure that they don't have no stinkin' habeas corpus either.

I mean, if the Chinese are willing to execute their FDA head for taking a few bribes and letting some tainted food and drugs get into the distribution system, imagine what they would do with officials who perpetrated illegal wars, illegal wire taps, revealed the identity of spies, gave contracts to their Haliburton cronies, and the like. Oh, and stealing an election. One wonders who would be left above the civil service level in D.C.

When I studied in China in 1983*, I was told their equivalent to burden of proof in their legal system was "truth from facts." As Mr. Zheng will attest, this is some mighty powerful truth tellin', bubba.

When the Chinese think someone has screwed up in their government, they don't mess around. You don't get to resign. You get to die.

An excerpt from MSNBC:

BEIJING - China's former top drug regulator was sentenced to death Tuesday for taking bribes to approve untested medicines, as the country's main quality control agency announced its first recall system targeting unsafe food products...

The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court convicted Zheng Xiaoyu for taking bribes in cash and gifts worth more than $832,000 when he was director of the State Food and Drug Administration, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The court then issued the death penalty, the report said.

If Mr. Zheng were in the Bush Administration, even if caught doing these things, he would still have his job, President Bush would be defending him, and the Right would be blaming Mr. Zheng's ineptitude on the Democrats.

My fantasy this morning is that the Bush Administration is in China. With Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court throwing down sentences like this to poor Mr. Zheng, it seems to me there would be a lot of Bushies spending some major quality time in the lovely Chinese prison system (or better yet, their even more enjoyable reeducation camps) or sitting on death row. As a former student of China and Chinese law, I'm pretty sure that they don't have no stinkin' habeas corpus either.

I mean, if the Chinese are willing to execute their FDA head for taking a few bribes and letting some tainted food and drugs get into the distribution system, imagine what they would do with officials who perpetrated illegal wars, illegal wire taps, revealed the identity of spies, gave contracts to their Haliburton cronies, and the like. Oh, and stealing an election. One wonders who would be left above the civil service level in D.C.

When I studied in China in 1983*, I was told their equivalent to burden of proof in their legal system was "truth from facts." As Mr. Zheng will attest, this is some mighty powerful truth tellin', bubba.

And I remind my irony and humor challenged readers-this is a fantasy. I don't think anyone should die. Having observed the Chinese legal system up close and personal and practicing law in several American courts, I much prefer our system of justice. I just think the Bush Administration should resign en mass for their many misdeeds and let Speaker Nancy Pelosi fill out the President's term until John Edwards is elected President.

Hey, a guy can dream.