Call the tragedy of melamine in baby formula in China the tipping point. The results of this fraud were so horrific for parents in this one-child culture that Chinese officials had to cave to those demanding justice in court. That could bring the Chinese legal system, which is essentially government-controlled, closer to more sophisticated western models.
A case against two of the con men is now being tried in China, reports Gordon Fairclough in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. And, notes Fairclough, "the government's legal battle against those responsible appears to be gearing up, as authorities seek to reassure consumers that regulators will protect them."
Some of the best insight I've come across on the implications of the melamine crisis for Chinese justice is from the blog commentary of Bill Marler of Marler Clark Law Firm which specializes in food-borne diseases. At the time of the deaths and hospitalizations of those children, Marler was in China delivering a paper on the safety of the global food chain. He also provided interviews to this blog as well as mainstream media.
Comparative law is the hot topic on both the macro and practitioners's levels. China's system is obviously the one to watch in 2009.
Disclosure: Now and then I do digital editing for Marler Clark Law Firm.
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