Media Advisory: Criminal Justice in China to be Discussed at UB on Oct. 7

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- "Finding a New Foundation for Justice in China," a talk by Flora Sapio, PhD, a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Rights and Justice, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and an expert in Chinese criminal law, will be presented at the University at Buffalo on Oct. 7 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

The presentation will be held in the Cellino and Barnes Conference Center, 509 O'Brian Hall, UB North Campus. It is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided at no cost.

Sapio, the author of "Sovereign Power and the Law in China" (Brill 2010), will discuss how Chinese political-legal slogans translate into action and produce legal effects. The notorious slogan "leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist confession," for instance, has attached itself to many trials of public interest in China.

Sapio says, "As a performative utterance, 'leniency for those who confess' affects the bodies and minds of alleged offenders. (It) indicates nothing less than a presumption of guilt and depriving criminal suspects of their right to silence, had tangible legal consequences."

She notes that political struggles in China have given rise to "new" slogans, such as "tempering leniency with severity" and have led to further reforms in criminal justice. By tracing the genesis of "tempering leniency with severity" and examining its usage in contemporary China, Sapio will examine how the "new" slogan fulfills a key symbolic function.

The event is a special presentation in the UB Asian Studies Program's Asia at Noon forum, co-sponsored by the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, University at Buffalo Law School. For more information, contact asian-studies@buffalo.edu or 645-0763.