User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: 谋杀案三

@Panshan

A good run-down and interesting insights.  You say that all laws were set aside during the Cultural Revolution - for a more nuanced view you could have a look at Dutton, Michael (2005) Policing Chinese Politics: A History, Durham & London: Duke University Press.  You'll find that in practice this happened much earlier.  Believe it or not it is a gripping read mainly because of original source material.  

Also interesting coverage of the period following in Dutton, Michael & Lee Tianfu (1993) ‘Missing the Target? Policing Strategies in the Period of Economic Reform’, Crime and Delinquency, Vol. 39, No.3, pp.316-336. 

@lujiben

The judiciary are a part of Government (no separation as in eg. US and Australia), so it should be no surprise that judges are in the civil service system.  There has apparently been a concerted effort to resource the judiciary, hence just 'take the exam'. A friend's mother was manager of a large shopping complex while at the same time working as a judge.  She must have 'taken the exam'.    

Posted on: Visiting a Friend at the Hospital

Cornelia

It is very hard to generalise, both between cities and within the one city - can you generalise this way in the city you come from? 

There is a wide range of health services in China, with greater variation than there is in Australia. And no doubt a range of insurance options.  The kind of service and the extent of taxpayer subsidy varies as well.  

I have been (in a city of about 7 or 8 million) to community health centres (for vaccinations, and dressing a wound) as well as the reputedly 'best' hospital in town - there is a big difference between the two.  But I have found that all levels do their job - it seems to me a pretty efficient way to deliver health services.

I can tell you that where I live now there are little local hospitals or clinics, with just one 'ward' and the beds are all visible from the street! I can also tell you that Chinese families with someone in hospital  take their responsibilities seriously.  Leave requests for 'looking after a relative' are common.  I can also tell you that there is heavy advertising of hospital options - sometimes I think that more than half the ads on TV concern hospitals or pharmaceuticals.

Posted on: 谋杀案三

@lujiben

Very interesting experience - brings to mind the documentary I was referring to.  I have heard somewhere else about judgements taking a long time - but that can happen in the West as well.  

Do you have any views on the efficiency and effectiveness of the system?  I have wondered about the numbers of judges employed compared to the West.  But to compare costs you need to add up the entire costs of the system - East and West - and compare them.  This is difficult, to say the least, not least because Chinese people are not as litigious as we are in the West, yet anyway.  

I did have an interesting evening with a judge's associate last year - I have talked about that previously on these boards so I won't repeat myself.

Another thing I have raised is the seemingly high success of the prosecution in China compared to Australia (but this is again difficult to compare without taking into account settlements, dismissals etc. in either system.)  

Most of the comments on these boards about the legal system (here and in other posts I have seen) seem to presume a lot about both our own system and about the Chinese system.  Much of what I read I could take issue with - except that I agree that the systems are very different.  

My reading of it is that fifty or sixty years ago crime as we understand it was very rare in China.  (Data on this is now available.)  And crime that did exist was not treated as crime is in the West, not least because there was no criminal law as such.  There has been an explosion in crime in recent decades in parallel with the explosion in legislation.  And still China has low crime rates compared to the West.  Even policing as we know it is quite recent history here.

Not only are the institutions different, cultural concepts of guilt and shame are entirely different as well. Many of the vast differences in our cultural values are exemplified in the legal system.  

But I would imagine that commercial law here is beginning to look a bit like it does in the West?         

Posted on: Applying for a Loan

@podster

Your English translation of 不良贷款 as 'non-performing loan' reminds me of how much we English speakers love euphemism.  The Chinese does not strike me as a euphemism - a native speaker may correct me.  To me it suggests something more toxic.  

In a business (or Government) context, euphemisms can be described as 'weasel words'.  An Australian writer coined this lovely descriptive term.  'Non-performing loan' is a weasel word; bureaucratic.    

On the other hand the Chinese language is full of euphemisms about sex.   Even more than English.  

Posted on: Visiting a Friend at the Hospital

John

祝你早日康复吧!  (Hope I caught the right level of formality with 祝..)  

Posted on: 谋杀案三

I saw a courtroom drama quite recently on Chinese TV (a period drama) - not a lot can be taken out of that I think, particularly about current practice. 

A few years ago I saw a BBC(?) documentary about the legal system set, I think, in Sichuan.  It did show court cases in session, including a murder trial with a row of judges (I think five in all) and minor contract matters being settled in a rural setting (the case was heard out of doors.)  Anyone else see the documentary?  

I don't think the Chinese legal system is at all impressed with our jury system - so no scope for a Boston Legal type dramatisation (or even one lacking in humour.)  

Posted on: Visiting a Friend at the Hospital

@Changye

Thanks for the explanation on 祝 - I get what you mean now.  I will be listening in future for the use of 祝 in conversation.  To me (my hearing is ailing anyway) the first character is often dispensable so I will have to listen carefully.  And often it is na, na, na  na, anyway.. :-)  

Posted on: Which Time Zone?

@frognotinawell

下午四点五分 xiàwǔsìdiǎnwǔfēn (4:05 pm)  

火车下午四点五分钟出发, 可是公交车内满了人的时出发。 huoche xiàwǔsìdiǎnwǔfēn chūfā, kěshì gōngjiāochē nèi mǎn le rén de shí chūfā.  

(The train leaves at 4:05 pm. However the bus leaves when it is full of people.)   :-) 

Posted on: Visiting a Friend at the Hospital

@Zhen

I absolutely agree with you, that is why I am pressing on the question of how it is best used orally.  Clearly the lesson provides an oral example, but I wonder how common this is?  The situation in the lesson did not sound overly formal to me; hence my surprise at the use of 祝。 (We learn something new every day - actually every hour or two if we're lucky.) 

Posted on: Are You Busy?

It seems to me that 有事 does not really translate well into English, because of our different cultures.  In an English speaking country you say that you have something to do, it could invite questions about what that 'something' is.  My impression of 有事 used in this context is that it closes off conversation.  Neither scenarios are intended to offend anyone - but the Chinese approach might seem abrupt in an English-speaking culture, and the 'carry-on' in an English speaking culture could be confusing for a native Chinese speaker.  

Making arrangements in these two cultures is done differently. Both approaches work fine once you understand what is going on.  One is not ruder or less refined than the other.