The Endeavour of China's Procuratorate (I)　

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to be here!

I'm Yin Yutong, and we are all young officers from Dongcheng District People's Procuratorate of Beijing.

Good morning!

Today, we'd like to share with you "The Endeavour of China's Procuratorate". Through representative artefacts, landmark cases, stories, and practices, you will see the ninety years of development of China's procuratorial system. We'll invite you to step into 4 historical periods. This's the first one, from 1921 to 1949. Now, follow my colleage's camera to find the very origins of China's Procuratorate. Please.

Our story begins with the Chinese Soviet Republic, the first national democratic regime for workers and peasants established by the Communist Party of China. In 1931, the Central Worker-Peasant Procuratorial Affairs was established here, and we can see that its first independent office was located at this old site. 

Wait a minute, isn't that the Yang Clan Ancestral Hall? It's in my hometown, Shazhouba Village in Ruijin, Jiangxi! 

Exactly. The main gate of the Yang Clan Ancestral Hall is also known as "the First Gate of People's Procuratorate," as it has witnessed the birth and development of the procuratorial system in China.

At that time, Procuratrate for Workers and Peasants at all levels established accusation bureaus to accepted public accusations against Soviet government and economic organs, and investigated the fact of the accusation. To collect the feedback of the general public, accusation boxes have been set up to facilitate the submission of complaint letters by the public. If you could look closely at the accusation box, there are few words written around it. To make it understandable for citizens with limited literacy at that time, it uses straightforward language to tell everyone that everything could be reported. 

When I was young, my elders told me that the "accusation box" was proposed by He Shuheng, the first People's Commissar for Worker-Peasant Procuratorial Affairs. This institution relies on the power of the masses to supervise violations of law and disciplinary like corruption, extravagance, and waste. 

He Shuheng showed the spirit of a true proletarian revolutionary, he led by example, went to the grassroots, and investigated at the first hand. By day, he worked and talked with the peasants in the fields. By night, he gathered them for meeting. Bit by bit, he collected and recorded every piece of evidence. So, it's clear that procurators back then placed great importance on listening to public opinion and accepting public supervision. They were closely connected to the people.

Right. During the 1930s to 1940s, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China established judicial systems across revolutionary base areas, setting up procuratorial agencies in courts. This period saw a well-known case—the Huang Kegong Case. 

Everyone is equal before the law, regardless of past merits or accomplishments, no one is above the law.

The handling of this case fully demonstrated the seriousness, democracy and equality of the legal system, and had a profound impact on the China's legal system construction and judicial practice. 

Moreover, during this period, various regions adhered to the people-oriented principle and carried out some institutional explorations in procuratorial work, such as proposing the establishment of the procuratorial committees at all levels and the election of prosecutors by People's Congress, providing valuable historical experience for establishing China's procuratorial system.

Thank you. From the very beginning, the China's procuratorial system has distinctly shown its fundamental characteristics: from the people, for the people, and by the people. 

On October 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. 

This is our second period, from 1949 to 1978. On 22 October, the Supreme People's Procuratorate was formally established. Luo Ronghuan served as General Procurator. He led Li Liuru, Lan Gongwu, and others to draft China's first dedicated regulation on the procuratorial system—the Provisional Regulations on the Organisation of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the Central People's Government. This laid the cornerstone of the socialist procuratorial cause. As early as the founding of the People's Republic, the Chinese procuratorial organs focused on key categories of crime such as embezzlement, handled the very first major corruption case of New China — the Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan case. Both men had once made outstanding contributions in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and in the War of Liberation. But in time of peace, they grew arrogant on their merits, slid into corruption. They abused their power for private gains. The public funds they embezzled, at the time, could buy twenty million jin of grain and eight million Chinese feet of cotton cloth — enough food and clothing for more than half a million people, for an entire month. The Hebei Province People's Procuratorate prosecuted the case. The court made a ruling on the spot. Both men were sentenced to death. Two months later, New China issued its first dedicated anti-corruption law — the Ordinance on the Punishment of Embezzlement of the People's Republic of China. By cracking down criminal activities in accordance with the law, the procuratorates took an active role in defending state power, protecting the rights of the people, and upholding the unity of the legal order.

In 1954, the first Constitution of the People's Republic of China was adopted. It confirmed the constitutional status of the procuratorate. At the same time, the Organic Law of the People's Procuratorates was enacted, setting out its structure and duties. Together, these two laws renamed the "People's Procuratorate Office" as the "People's Procuratorate." This marked the formation of the "the government and the judiciary" system under the National People's Congress, and opened a new chapter in the history of the procuratorates.

Today, in sharing with you the history of our system, we open not only a window for display, but also a bridge for dialogue. Though we come from different nations and diverse legal traditions, fairness and justice remain our common language; the pursuit of an ideal society remains our shared conviction. Let us stride forward together; let us learn from one another; and in that spirit of exchange, let us help build a world more just, more fair, more radiant with the rule of law.

Thank you!