Political priority over rule of law

The majority of ethnic conflicts have nothing to do with ideology, values or even religions that threaten the unity and integrity of the state. Such conflicts concerning ethnic groups always manifest themselves in civil disputes or criminal problems with no aim to change legal regulations or overturn the current political system. Local governments in China empirically mix them up without distinction, and prefer to rate the disturbances as political issues; accordingly they adopt political approaches, such as following the instructions of leaders, referring to case precedent and resorting to local policies. Coining the term of political priority over rule of law, the author argues that political consideration of ethnic conflicts is determined by the logic of ethnic revolution, and results in a series of negative derivative results, which do harm to the rule of law and its fulfillment in the process of governing.

(The author is a Professor at East China University of Political Science and Law.)