What Do Chinese Lawyers Want? Political Values and Legal Practice

Using data from a national survey we conducted in 2009 of about 1,500 lawyers and non-lawyers working in China’s legal system, we measure the political values of Chinese lawyers, compare them to various reference populations, and identify some of their sources. We find that, on the whole, Chinese lawyers are strongly inclined toward political reform, attach far greater importance to political rights than to economic rights, and are profoundly discontented with the political status quo. The extent of their political discontent and aspirations for political rights and reform are extreme compared to (1) the general Chinese population, (2) other actors in China’s legal system, and (3) citizens of over 40 different countries. However, we find that Chinese lawyers are not intrinsically predisposed to politically radical values. Rather, their politically radical values are explained in large measure by their economic and institutional vulnerabilities, including deadbeat clients who fail to pay their legal fees, exploitative employers who fail to support their professional work and to protect their social security, and, above all, state actors who interfere with and obstruct their work. In the absence of these sources of vulnerability, Chinese lawyers’ political values are no different from those of the general Chinese population. * We thank Jianling Jiang and Huiguo Liu for their help with survey preparations and Lily Liang for her editorial assistance. Above all, we are grateful to all the people who participated in the survey whose time and trust made this research possible.