The peasants won. The police chief was judged responsible and later executed. Although the newspaper dragged out the case for years, the court ultimately ruled in Xi's favor and ordered that her job and reputation be restored. The cases were all possible because of changes to China's legal code in 1990 and 1991 that for the first time spelled out procedures for citizens to sue government bodies. About 100,000 such lawsuits were filed last year.
Analysts warn that China's judicial system remains largely a political tool.
Still, that citizens now have an avenue to challenge the authorities, even at fairly low levels, represents a major step forward, advocates say. China's economic reforms have brought more personal wealth and freedom than ever before, freeing up millions of Chinese from the absolute control of their work units and making them more vocal in defending their rights, from land use to personal injury to consumer protection. Here in Heze, a prefecture of 8 million people in the west of Shandong province, Wang Xiulian is eager to reclaim a parcel of land she had agreed to let her production team leader rent for eight years. But the team leader, a Communist Party cadre, refuses to budge. Justice, however, is often elusive in a judicial system plagued with problems ranging from a lack of qualified legal personnel to the way the courts are set up and funded.