Chinese lawyers offer coaching for when corruption busters come knocking
Zhang Dongdong has been fielding ever more requests for legal advice from jittery entrepreneurs, nervous government officials or their desperate relatives. They usually do not tell him the whole story, and sometimes say it happened “to a friend”, but most want to know the same thing: what to do when they are targeted by China’s corruption busters. “Some had received a tip-off that they were being…
Beijing-based criminal lawyer Zhang Dongdong is seeing an increase in requests for legal advice from worried businesspeople, government officials, or their loved ones. They often do not disclose the full story, instead mentioning that it happened "to a friend." Most of these individuals are concerned about how to handle a potential investigation by China's corruption watchdogs.
Zhang, a partner at Beijing Han Heng Law Firm, says that some people have been tipped off about an investigation, while others received a call from disciplinary inspectors asking for cooperation. In many cases, the suspects have already been arrested, and their families have come to seek his help.
Zhang has recently started offering consulting services for dealing with "bribery and corruption crisis response." He believes that as the authorities intensify their efforts to combat corruption, people face "unprecedented criminal, financial, and professional risks." This move comes as law enforcement agencies have made it easier to charge corruption suspects with criminal offences.
In 2022, the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate broadened the scope of suspicion, with watchdogs handing down punishments to 983,000 people and three times the number of senior officials taken down compared to 2013.
Common reactions to a potential corruption investigation include fleeing the area or denying the charges. Zhang's team can help clients present evidence, avoid detention, minimize sentences, and protect their assets. They also advise suspects on how to tell the difference between criminal and non-criminal conduct and understand how leniency works within the judicial system.
Another challenge is that suspects are often cut off from their lawyers after being detained by disciplinary authorities, leaving family members unsure about what to do next.
Zhang Qingfang, a criminal lawyer in Beijing, advises that the most valuable time to seek legal advice is before disciplinary detention. After that, a defence lawyer's options become limited, and family members should record any searches and refuse to cooperate with illegal requests such as making false confessions. Legal expert Zhang Dongdong has successfully reduced the sentences of multiple senior officials, including a vice-governor accused of abuse of power and taking large bribes.
However, even these legal professionals often cannot turn things around once the authorities have used illegal measures to extract confessions.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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