On November 21, the Guangzhou Lawyers Association convened a meeting of all law firm directors and disseminated the following orders issued “from higher authorities.” These law firm directors were required to then pass on the following points to all the lawyers they employ. The instructions were that from November 21 till December 15, inappropriate remarks are not allowed, and lawyers and the directors of their law firms would be punished for any violations of the following: Lawyers are not permitted to express opinions different from those of the Party on the Hong Kong issue; Lawyers must maintain discipline, and even trivial matters of everyday life must be brought under moral supervision; If you read Xi Jinping’s quotations, join the Party, set up a Party branch in your law firm and follow the Party’s policies, then you could obtain work providing legal advice to government entities, and many other benefits; Being a lawyer in China means that your livelihood depends on the Party, so you must obey the Party. The basic conditions for being a lawyer are to love the Party and socialism; and Those Chinese lawyers who like the American judicial system should leave and go practice in the United States. The instructions were issued in connection with the upcoming “Global Lawyers Forum” (shijie lüshi dahui / 世界律师大会) to be held on December 9-10, in Guangzhou. China has invited “more than 600 important international guests from governments, judicial departments, financial circles, international lawyers’ associations, other bar associations and well-known law firms, etc.” The conference is sponsored by the All China Lawyers Association under the guidance and support of the P.R.C.’s Ministry of Justice.
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