Western media and critics have been quick to act on China's detainment of a group of lawyers suspected of disrupting public order and obstructing justice, accusing China of undermining human rights.
However, they should take note of two things. First, are these lawyers true "defenders of human rights," as they claim to be? Second, they should refrain from slipping into their stereotype that China disrespects human rights.
As a developing country with the world's largest population, China does not have a perfect human rights record. However, it has been adopting various policies and social development measures to advance human rights, especially during the three-or-so decades following reform and opening-up.
On the legal front, China has made legal protection of human rights an important objective of the country's rule-of-law blueprint, which was carved out at the fourth plenary session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in October 2014.
China has written "effective respect and protection of human rights" together with "implementation of rule-of-law," "law-respecting government" and "higher judicial credibility" into its targets to be hit by 2020, when the country is aiming to have built a moderately prosperous society.
Big picture aside, China has taken concrete steps to champion legal protection of human rights.
In March 2014, new rules prohibited putting petitioners, those who see injustice in land acquisition, social security, education, healthcare or environmental protection, under any form of confinement.
The general offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council obliged political and legal organs to "resolutely avoid blocking the people from normal petitioning by any means."
China has been working to protect lawyers' rights. In December 2014, the Supreme People's Procuratorate released a regulation to better protect lawyers' rights to meet suspects and read case files.
The regulation upholds that lawyers are eligible to meet suspects at the investigation stage, and procuratorate authority representatives must not attend the meetings between lawyers and suspects nor monitor the meetings in any way.
Top prosecutor Cao Jianming in March urged prosecutors to guarantee lawyers' rights in meeting with their clients, collecting evidence or browsing interrogation records.
From this trail of moves, it is clear China upholds law-abiding petitions and lawyers' rights in their lawful practices. The rationale behind the moves is that the rights of the accused can be better protected if lawyers who represent them enjoy guaranteed rights, and that petitioners' human rights can be better protected if their grievances are heard and addressed.
However, in the case of the detained lawyers, they are suspected of seeking profit by illegally organizing paid protests, and hyping controversies to sway court decisions.
Their acts also included insulting judges and police at court, forcing trials to a halt.
They are no "defenders of human rights," but phonies who seek personal fame and economic gain.
Putting them under investigation has nothing to do with jeopardizing human rights, but with clearing the way for the rule of law and effective legal protection of human rights.
