The 21st Prosecutors General Conference of the SCO Member States is held in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Nov 8.
Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People's Republic of China, delivers a keynote speech on the theme of "the Role of Procuratorial Organs in Serving National Modernization" at the 21st Prosecutors General Conference of the SCO Member States held in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Nov 8.
"Development is the eternal theme of human society, and achieving modernization is the common vision of people in all countries. The rule of law is an important guarantee for development, providing a solid foundation, lasting momentum, and a fair environment for the modernization drive," Ying Yong, Chief Grand Prosecutor and Prosecutor General of China's Supreme People's Procuratorate, said in a keynote speech delivered at the 21st Prosecutors General Conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States, which concluded in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Nov 8.
In his keynote speech themed on "the Role of Procuratorial Organs in Serving National Modernization", Ying said that regardless of the judicial system, procuratorial organs are important forces in the construction of the rule of law and play a significant role in a country's economic and social development. He noted that Chinese procuratorial organs are willing to work together with their counterparts of the member states to implement the consensus of the Council of Heads of Member States of the SCO, jointly serve regional security, stability, and prosperity, and enhance the modernization level of prosecutorial work, so as to provide strong judicial guarantees for promoting sustainable economic and social development and further enhance the well-being and living standards of the people in the SCO region.
"Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed out that the choice of a country's path to modernization is determined by many factors such as its historical traditions, social systems, development conditions, and external environment. Different national conditions will lead to different paths to modernization," Ying said, adding that since its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has united and led the people of all ethnic groups in China in finding a Chinese path to modernization, which is in line with the country's national conditions and exhibits distinctive Chinese characteristics, through long and arduous exploration.
Chinese procuratorial organs, as the legal supervision organs of the country and the judicial organs that ensure the unified and correct implementation of the nation's laws, are important participants and active promoters of the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country under the rule of law, he said. Currently, Chinese procuratorial organs are continuing to implement the plans and requirements of the 20th CPC National Congress, serving Chinese-style modernization with modernized procuratorial work.
"We are fully and accurately implementing the policy of leniency combined with strictness in criminal justice and punishment for various criminal offenses in accordance with the law, promoting social harmony and stability and maintaining national security and people's well-being," Ying said. Today, China is one of the countries with the lowest crime rate, the lowest homicide rate, and the least number of firearms and explosives cases in the world. Chinese procuratorial organs adhere to both punishment of crimes and protection of human rights, firmly establish the concept of "evidence-based judgment", uphold the principle of presumption of innocence, accurately apply detention measures and prosecutorial discretion, and respect and protect human rights.
Ying said that Chinese procuratorial organs fulfill their legal supervision duties in accordance with the law, make efforts to strengthen the supervision of litigation activities, and effectively safeguard the fairness and justice of law enforcement and judicature. "Through highlighting the concept that 'the rule of law is the best business environment', we have strengthened the equal protection of various market entities in accordance with the law, explored efforts to establish a Chinese-style judicial system for compliance of enterprises involved in legal cases, and continuously promoted comprehensive judicial protection of intellectual property rights. We also shoulder the sacred responsibilities as the 'representatives of public interests', serving China's high-quality economic and social development through public interest litigation prosecution," Ying added.
Ying went on to say that only by strengthening cooperation can different countries share opportunities and only by working together can they address the challenges. He noted that Chinese procuratorial organs are willing to actively advance work together with their counterparts of other countries in order to promote sustainable economic and social development and improve the well-being and living standards of the people in the SCO region, with a focus on the following three aspects.
First, thoroughly implement the New Delhi Declaration of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and jointly safeguard and develop the international organizations and conference mechanisms joined in by the SCO member states for the purpose of economic development and improvement of people's livelihoods in order to promote SCO cooperation in various fields to a new level.
Second, actively carry out prosecutorial cooperation under the SCO framework, and vigorously combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as drug smuggling, cybercrime, and transnational organized crime, within the statutory scope of responsibilities of the procuratorial organs of each country and in accordance with the laws and regulations of each country. Efforts are needed to strengthen cooperation in cracking down on financial crimes, optimization of the business environment, and protection of the ecological environment, establish cooperation mechanisms between local procuratorial agencies and procuratorial agencies in border regions, promote the synergy between the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road and the development strategies of various countries and regional cooperation initiatives in a bid to firmly support the modernization of all countries.
Third, learn from each other through promoting high-level visits, exchanges of prosecutors, and theoretical and practical discussions on a regular basis. It is needed to establish sound mechanisms for communication and training, develop cooperation among educational and training institutions of procuratorial organs, and strengthen the exchange of experiences and training of skills in serving the modernization of various countries. Efforts are also needed to jointly tackle the key and difficult issues encountered in procuratorial practice and case handling, and collectively enhance the level of modernization of procuratorial work.
