ABSTRACT
The Preamble to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims, "It is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law." During the Cultural Revolution, "Smash the police, the procuracy, and the judiciary" had been the slogan of the day, creating a situation of chaotic lawlessness in which abuses of citizens' rights were many. With the end of the Cultural Revolution and the rise of Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s, there was a shift to a pragmatic focus on economic development. While the majority of the laws were directed at economic reform, some of the legislation asserted the existence and protection of "basic rights of the person." New criminal and civil procedure codes were promulgated to regulate the prosecution of criminals and the proceedings in civil cases.
