ABSTRACT
In the last chapter, I outlined the dramatic changes that occurred in the economic structure of China after 1978. In this chapter, I move on to examine changes at the political and legal level in the new era. Along with economic changes, the Chinese legal system also changed its role. Serving immediate economic needs, the rebuilding of the legal system has been emphasized and accelerated in recent years. As a result, we witnessed the systemization and bureaucratization of the legal system (in a Weberian sense), even though the process was definitely colored by Chinese characteristics. In this legalization process, various legal branches such as the court, the procuratorate, and the lawyers were (re)established and strengthened; legal study and education were restored and encouraged; and new notions such as legal professionalism and rule of law were proposed and put into practice.
