财经金融新闻 政府与法律之间的界限在哪里（在线收听）

New regulations meant to promote “social stability” in Shaanxi province could mean trouble for Chinese lawyers. The Shaanxi Bar Association recently created a working group to deal with “persons of interest,” a euphemism for the renegade human rights lawyers subject to government scrutiny. Attorneys say the new rules unfairly limit lawyers' independence.

陕西省旨在促进“社会稳定”的新法规对中国律师而言可能是一个麻烦。陕西律师协会最近成立了一个工作小组，来处理“警察感兴趣的人”，即受政府监视的人权律师叛徒。

The “working group for maintaining social stability” is led by several bar association higher-ups, including association president Zhao Liming, according to a document obtained by Caixin. Lawyers and law firms in Shaanxi province should report all “large-scale, sensitive or societally significant cases” to the working group, a bar association statement said. Such cases include those that involve national security, terrorism or organized crime, major bribery and corruption, or any issues that “may have a serious impact on the social order,” according to an earlier announcement by the Bar Association.

财新获得的一份文件表明，“维护社会稳定工作小组”是由律师协会的几个上级人物领导的，包括协会会长赵黎明。律师协会的一项声明称，陕西省的律师及律师事务所应该向工作小组汇报所有“大规模、敏感或者有社会重要性的案例”。律师协会此前发表的公告表示，这些案例包括涉及国家安全、恐怖主义或组织犯罪、重大受贿及腐败案例，或者任何“可能对社会秩序造成严重影响”的事件。

The new regulations also urged the creation of a system for “managing and educating persons of interest.” A politics and law professor who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter told Caixin the term is usually used in reference to human rights lawyers and lawyers and litigants involved in politically sensitive cases.

新法规也敦促成立“管理和教育警方感兴趣的人”的系统。因为事件的敏感性，一位请求匿名的政治学及法律教授告诉财新报，这个术语通常用来指人权律师以及涉及政治敏感性案例的律师和诉讼当事人。

Several others told Caixin that the main function of Chinese bar associations is protecting the independence of the legal profession. They called the Shaanxi bar association's push toward “social stability” an inappropriate overreach of power.

另有几人告诉财新报，中国律师协会的主要功能是保护法律行业的独立性。他们认为陕西律师协会推动“社会稳定”的行为是不合适的越权行为。

The Chinese legal system is jointly led by government justice departments and bar associations. Formally, the government is responsible for supervision, while the bar association is responsible for maintaining professionalism and self-regulation in the legal field. But the anonymous law professor told Caixin that in many provinces, the line between the two organizations has blurred so much that justice departments and bar associations often share members. Thus, when the government decides to shift focus to societal order, bar association leaders often follow suit.

中国的法律体系由政府司法部门和律师协会共同领导。通常来讲，政府负责监督，律师协会负责保持专业性以及法律领域内的自动调节。但是那位匿名法律教授告诉财新报，在很多省份，这两个组织之间的界限十分迷糊，以至于司法部门和律师协会经常共享成员。所以，当政府决定将关注点转移到社会秩序上时，律师协会的领导便见样学样。

Government suspicion of lawyers is nothing new in China. Last September, a group led by President Xi Jinping released a document acknowledging the plight of lawyers. But in Shaanxi province and elsewhere, Chinese lawyers worried about losing their freedom remain on high alert. “How can lawyers practice effectively with this hanging over their heads?” one lawyer said.

政府对律师的怀疑在中国司空见惯。去年9月，由习近平主席领导的团队发布了一份文件，承认了律师所处的两难境地。但是在陕西省和其他地方，担心失去自由的中国律师们都处于高度警戒状态。一位律师说，“有这些东西压在他们头上，律师们怎么可能进行有效的实践呢？”