Lawyers across China are up in arms over what they say&nbsp;is 'blatant sabotage'&nbsp;of the legal system as they stage a rare protest on Chinese social media.&nbsp;This&nbsp;happened after advocates at the Tianjun county court in Haixi&nbsp;Mongol&nbsp;caught the presiding judge red-handed receiving real-time instructions on WeChat group, a Chinese messaging app.

The lawyers posted a lengthy letter on X-like Chinese social media platform Weibo&nbsp;and explained&nbsp;in detail what transpired on May 11 in the court located in the northwestern province of Qinghai.

<h2>What happened in the courtroom?</h2>

As per the letter, the judge suddenly adjourned the proceedings in a case.&nbsp;

“Afterwards, we accidentally found the criminal court judge of the Haixi intermediate court and the director of the Tianjun county court were remotely giving instructions in a WeChat group,”&nbsp;the letter said.

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As it happened, Liu Zheng of the Beijing Zebo Law Firm took a photo of the computer screen of the presiding judge, which laid bare the unofficial WeChat group that had several judicial officers and staff of local courts as its members.

The photo also captured some communication happening between the judge and his seniors.

County court director Fan Xuhua can&nbsp;be seen&nbsp;saying in the group chat:&nbsp;“You&nbsp;don’t&nbsp;have to communicate with him about it.”

The photo then shows Hasi Chaolu, president of the criminal court at Haixi Intermediate Court – the court that will hear the case if it&nbsp;is appealed—directing the presiding judge to&nbsp;“be tough,&nbsp;don’t&nbsp;speak randomly”.

“Their actions blatantly sabotage our legal system where the appeal&nbsp;court’s&nbsp;decision is the final one, and those involved should be probed for malpractice or even criminal activity,”&nbsp;the public letter said.

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The lawyers also complained about the incident to the Qinghai Provincial Prosecutor’s office and the Qinghai Higher&nbsp;People’s&nbsp;Court. Both of them said they had opened an investigation into the case.

As per the letter, the lawyers have&nbsp;filed a request with the county court to&nbsp;transfer the case for trial outside of Haixi.

Responding to the incident, Xu Xin, a prominent lawyer in China, said on WeChat that such incidents were quite common in the communist country.

(With inputs from agencies)

Lawyers across China are up in arms over what they say is 'blatant sabotage' of the legal system as they stage a rare protest on Chinese social media. This happened after advocates at the Tianjun county court in Haixi Mongol caught the presiding judge red-handed receiving real-time instructions on WeChat group, a Chinese messaging app.

Lawyers across China are up in arms over what they say is 'blatant sabotage' of the legal system as they stage a rare protest on Chinese social media. This happened after advocates at the Tianjun county court in Haixi Mongol caught the presiding judge red-handed receiving real-time instructions on WeChat group, a Chinese messaging app. The lawyers posted a lengthy letter on X-like Chinese social media platform Weibo and explained in detail what transpired on May 11 in the court located in the northwestern province of Qinghai. What happened in the courtroom? As per the letter, the judge suddenly adjourned the proceedings in a case. “Afterwards, we accidentally found the criminal court judge of the Haixi intermediate court and the director of the Tianjun county court were remotely giving instructions in a WeChat group,” the letter said. Also read: What India can learn from China on manufacturing vs services led growth debate As it happened, Liu Zheng of the Beijing Zebo Law Firm took a photo of the computer screen of the presiding judge, which laid bare the unofficial WeChat group that had several judicial officers and staff of local courts as its members. The photo also captured some communication happening between the judge and his seniors. County court director Fan Xuhua can be seen saying in the group chat: “You don’t have to communicate with him about it.” The photo then shows Hasi Chaolu, president of the criminal court at Haixi Intermediate Court – the court that will hear the case if it is appealed—directing the presiding judge to “be tough, don’t speak randomly”. “Their actions blatantly sabotage our legal system where the appeal court’s decision is the final one, and those involved should be probed for malpractice or even criminal activity,” the public letter said. Also read: Russia, China have their differences but Putin and Xi are not talking about them The lawyers also complained about the incident to the Qinghai Provincial Prosecutor’s office and the Qinghai Higher People’s Court. Both of them said they had opened an investigation into the case. As per the letter, the lawyers have filed a request with the county court to transfer the case for trial outside of Haixi. Responding to the incident, Xu Xin, a prominent lawyer in China, said on WeChat that such incidents were quite common in the communist country. (With inputs from agencies)

Chinese lawyers up in arms after they caught judge receiving instructions on WeChat

President Xi Jinping has raised concerns about&nbsp;China's lack of legal talents needed to protect its growing interests, calling it a ''security risk'' for the nation.

“A large amount of foreign-related affairs of Chinese companies are in the hands of European and US-based law firms, and there’s a very big security risk in this,'' Jinping said in a statement.

“The relevant departments must come up with a solution and resolve to tackle the problem'' Xi added.

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Jinping&nbsp;said that there were fewer than 600 Chinese lawyers who could independently handle the most trade disputes such as anti-dumping and anti-subsidies cases and only about half of them were qualified enough on World Trade Organization's appeal body.

With Chinese companies facing increased scrutiny and bruising overseas legal battles, defending the country's interests has become a pressing issue for the Communist Party.

China’s Ministry of Commerce on Saturday published new rules for countering “unjustified” laws and restrictions imposed by foreign countries on Chinese companies and citizens, as economic relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorate.

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The rules on “unjustified extra-territorial application of foreign legislation” were posted on department’s website and established a “working mechanism” to assess the legal implications of such incidents.

According to the notice, a Chinese person or organisation that is restricted by foreign legislation from “engaging in normal economic, trade and related activity with a third State or its citizens,” may report it to the commerce department within 30 days.

The commerce department will then assess a case for its potential violation of international law, impact on China’s sovereignty and national security, and impact on Chinese citizens.

When a citizen or other organisation “suffers significant losses” from non-compliance with foreign legislation, “relevant government departments may provide necessary support”, the notice says.

The Chinese government might also enact “necessary counter-measures” in response.

The new rules come amid an ongoing backlash against various Chinese companies from foreign governments, especially the United States.

Last year Washington, citing national security concerns, imposed restrictions on Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a telecom and consumer hardware giant, that deprive it of critical components and threaten to cripple its smartphone business.

Social media giants ByteDance has also been caught in Washington’s crosshairs, when last autumn the Trump Administration attempted to force it to sell the U.S. division of its popular app TikTok.

The New York Stock Exchange this week said it will delist three Chinese telecom companies following an order from U.S. President Donald Trump in November barring U.S. persons from investing in publicly traded companies Washington deems to be tied to the Chinese military.

The Trump administration is considering adding tech giants Alibaba and Tencent to a blacklist of firms allegedly owned or controlled by the Chinese military, two people familiar with the matter said.

President Xi Jinping has raised concerns about China's lack of legal talents needed to protect its growing interests, calling it a ''security risk'' for the nation.

President Xi Jinping has raised concerns about China's lack of legal talents needed to protect its growing interests, calling it a ''security risk'' for the nation. “A large amount of foreign-related affairs of Chinese companies are in the hands of European and US-based law firms, and there’s a very big security risk in this,'' Jinping said in a statement. “The relevant departments must come up with a solution and resolve to tackle the problem'' Xi added. Also read: China is using coronavirus to block journalists' freedom: Media group Jinping said that there were fewer than 600 Chinese lawyers who could independently handle the most trade disputes such as anti-dumping and anti-subsidies cases and only about half of them were qualified enough on World Trade Organization's appeal body. With Chinese companies facing increased scrutiny and bruising overseas legal battles, defending the country's interests has become a pressing issue for the Communist Party. China’s Ministry of Commerce on Saturday published new rules for countering “unjustified” laws and restrictions imposed by foreign countries on Chinese companies and citizens, as economic relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorate. The rules on “unjustified extra-territorial application of foreign legislation” were posted on department’s website and established a “working mechanism” to assess the legal implications of such incidents. According to the notice, a Chinese person or organisation that is restricted by foreign legislation from “engaging in normal economic, trade and related activity with a third State or its citizens,” may report it to the commerce department within 30 days. The commerce department will then assess a case for its potential violation of international law, impact on China’s sovereignty and national security, and impact on Chinese citizens. When a citizen or other organisation “suffers significant losses” from non-compliance with foreign legislation, “relevant government departments may provide necessary support”, the notice says. The Chinese government might also enact “necessary counter-measures” in response. The new rules come amid an ongoing backlash against various Chinese companies from foreign governments, especially the United States. Last year Washington, citing national security concerns, imposed restrictions on Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a telecom and consumer hardware giant, that deprive it of critical components and threaten to cripple its smartphone business. Social media giants ByteDance has also been caught in Washington’s crosshairs, when last autumn the Trump Administration attempted to force it to sell the U.S. division of its popular app TikTok. The New York Stock Exchange this week said it will delist three Chinese telecom companies following an order from U.S. President Donald Trump in November barring U.S. persons from investing in publicly traded companies Washington deems to be tied to the Chinese military. The Trump administration is considering adding tech giants Alibaba and Tencent to a blacklist of firms allegedly owned or controlled by the Chinese military, two people familiar with the matter said.

China facing legal talent crisis for protecting growing interests, says Xi Jinping

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Chinese lawyers up in arms after they caught judge receiving instructions on WeChat

China facing legal talent crisis for protecting growing interests, says Xi Jinping