Question: According to the website of the People’s Government of Hainan Province, the General Office of the People’s Government of Hainan Province recently issued the “Several Measures on Supporting the Development of the Private Economy.” The article mentions that a fair, just, and rule-of-law environment should be created. Special actions should be carried out to supervise the filing of cases involving private enterprises and review the necessity of detention, to identify and correct cases that infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of private enterprises and entrepreneurs. The criminal justice policy of less arrest, cautious prosecution, and cautious detention should be implemented, and for personnel involved in cases of private entrepreneurs, those who can avoid arrest should not be arrested, those who can avoid prosecution should not be prosecuted, those who can avoid imprisonment should not be sentenced to imprisonment, and those who can avoid continued detention should be released or have their compulsory measures changed in a timely manner.
At the Central Political and Legal Work Conference held at the beginning of this year, it was proposed to improve the property rights protection system based on fairness, increase the protection of intellectual property rights, and protect the property rights and legitimate rights and interests of all types of market entities equally according to law. Explore the establishment of a modern enterprise compliance judicial system with Chinese characteristics, standardize the case filing and review mechanism for economic crimes, so that enterprises can operate with peace of mind and focus on entrepreneurship.
At the press conference held by the State Council Information Office today, the Cyberspace Administration of China stated that for various types of false and untrue information that damages the brand image of enterprises, infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of entrepreneurs, and even affects the normal production and operation of enterprises, the Cyberspace Administration of China will focus on safeguarding the legitimate online rights and interests of enterprises and entrepreneurs, and govern the online chaos of fabricating and spreading false and untrue information.
Related reading: Just now, Hainan has made a big move! It has launched the “Four No Principles” for private entrepreneurs, those who can avoid arrest should not be arrested, those who can avoid prosecution should not be prosecuted…
Jiang Yuan: There is a cliché that says “the rule of law protects and escorts the market economy.” And “those who can avoid arrest should not be arrested, those who can avoid prosecution should not be prosecuted” is a typical example of not understanding the rule of law or the market economy.
The reason why the rule of law can protect the market economy, in the most colloquial terms, is that the rule of law can crack down on “bad people” and protect “good people.” Enterprises that evade taxes are bad people, and enterprises that pay taxes according to law are good people. Enterprises that pollute the environment are bad people, and enterprises that operate environmental protection facilities are good people. Enterprises that force employees to work 996 are bad people, and enterprises that allow employees to leave work and take holidays as they should are good people. Bad people who substitute inferior products for good ones, and good people whose products meet the standards. Enterprises that steal the intellectual property of others are bad people, and enterprises that independently develop intellectual property are good people. Enterprises that bribe officials are bad people, and enterprises that do not bribe officials are good people. Only by clearly, accurately, and timely punishing enterprises that violate the law, and curbing enterprises from seeking profits and reducing costs through various illegal acts, can we protect and encourage enterprises that do not violate the law; and only when enterprises that operate according to law are protected and encouraged, can many enterprises constitute a prosperous and orderly market. Therefore, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers and strictly cracking down on enterprises that violate labor laws is not to dampen the enthusiasm of enterprises and打击企业自主经营的行为, but rather to maintain and build the market economy.
The principle of distinguishing between good people and bad people, and cracking down on bad people to protect good people, can be understood by children of four or five years old. So why does a policy like “those who can avoid arrest should not be arrested, those who can avoid prosecution should not be prosecuted” still appear? Behind this is a long-standing management idea that has been tacitly understood by the Chinese government and many ordinary citizens: the state and market entities are in an opposing relationship, and the state only has two states in dealing with market entities: “arrest” and “release.” “Arrest” is an overall attitude, and whether to use the procuratorate to arrest, the tax bureau to arrest, the fire bureau to arrest, or the environmental protection bureau to arrest are just different specific means. Conversely, “release” is also an overall attitude, whether to release financial subsidies, release environmental protection, release labor supervision, release land indicators, or release loan quotas, are also differences in means. Under this guiding ideology, the professionalism and seriousness of law, environmental protection, fire protection, labor supervision, credit, etc. are subordinate to the policy considerations of “arrest” and “release”, and even the personal preferences of the leaders, and the rule of law and the market economy naturally become nonsense.
The fox who peeked at the cat drinking water: I advise all entrepreneurs, this place can today cross the principle of equality under the law, and “those who can avoid arrest” for entrepreneurs, tomorrow he can also make a decision and change it to “arrest as much as possible” for entrepreneurs.
And entrepreneurs also have levels. If you are an entrepreneur with tens of millions of assets and offend an entrepreneur with assets of over 100 million, then the one who enjoys “those who can avoid arrest” can only be the other party, not you, and you will become the object of “arrest as much as possible” at that time.
Chi Yilan Cang: The point of this matter, the outrageous point is not the avoidance of arrest and prosecution, but that the [Government Office] requires the avoidance of arrest and prosecution.
According to this year’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate work report, at the latest in 2018, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate has already clearly proposed the judicial policy of not arresting and not prosecuting:
However, approval for arrest, prosecution, and judgment are exclusive judicial powers. How can administrative organs have the power to issue orders to the courts and procuratorates?
Administrative organs brazenly regard the courts and procuratorates as “responsible units” to implement their will. This matter can actually happen in the year 3202, and it is still done by a provincial-level administrative organ. Do you dare to believe it?
But it just happened.
Mint Candy: It’s equivalent to, you go to Sanya to have a seafood feast, the menu starts at 1,000 yuan, and the boss finally charges 3,000. You are not satisfied, and the boss slaps you. You call the police, and the police say you should pay the money and forget about it, don’t make a fuss here.
It’s equivalent to, you go to Hainan and go out with a rich second generation who has a company to solicit prostitutes, and you are accidentally caught by the police station. The police station detained you for a week, and your rich second-generation friend was released home that day.
It’s equivalent to, you lend 50,000 yuan to a boss in Sanya, and he delays in repaying it. You appeal to the court, and the court tells you that this matter, the other person used your 50,000 yuan to open a sole proprietorship, don’t worry, wait until the other person makes money.
Tokamak Crown: Since ancient times, how many people who have received a death-exemption gold medal have not died? The iron certificate is the most dangerous reminder of death. This is a basic experience that Chinese history tells us.
In addition, this matter reflects a deep-seated problem: many people who eat public meals do not understand a truth, that is, between the two extremes of arrogance and subservience, there is also a gear called neither humble nor overbearing, and doing things according to public affairs.
The reason why Hainan gives the “Four No Principles” is nothing more than to attract investment and boost the economy in the unfavorable economic environment, but since it is attracting investment, it must respect the general laws of the market economy and cannot arbitrarily disrupt and destroy the market order.
What is a market economy? The focus of the market economy is the spirit of contract and the business environment, of which the focus of the business environment is not extraterritorial rights and super-national treatment, but the stability and predictability of the macro environment. For businessmen, the most terrifying thing is not risk, but the unknown. A bad, high-risk, but relatively stable and predictable environment is far better than an environment that seems low-risk, seems friendly, but is unstable and has an unpredictable future.
Because even if an environment is very risky and the business environment is very bad, as long as the general environment is predictable and relatively stable, then as a businessman, I can always find ways to avoid those risks that are dangerous but relatively “fixed”, and then find economic opportunities, engage in commercial activities, and finally obtain stable income.
For example, I open a shop on a commercial street. This commercial street has two gangs. They fight every Friday night on time, and usually collect protection fees at a fixed percentage. They don’t come out to cause trouble, and they don’t make things difficult for you when they meet and hand you a cigarette. Is this kind of environment bad? Bad. But business can be done completely. As long as I close my shop before they fight every Friday night, I usually count the protection fees as part of the operating costs, say hello when I meet them, and send some fruit during the New Year and holidays, this business can be done completely.
Risk in business is not a problem. Adapting to the environment is part of the basic business of the businessman, it is the job, and businessmen live on this meal.
What do businessmen fear most? They fear the kind of environment that is dark and unclear, changes three times a day, and has multiple policies. The biggest problem with this kind of environment is not the high risk, but the uncontrollability. Because clear and fixed risks are not actually risks, but part of the cost, but the uncontrollable and ever-changing general environment is the most dangerous situation for businessmen, because in this case, the costs and benefits are completely unpredictable, and all economic activities are always in the expectation of loss, and you don’t know which cloud will rain.
For example, on a commercial street, the gangs fight irregularly, and the protection fees are also unstable. Sometimes they don’t fight for half a month, sometimes they fight three times a day, and the protection fees are also not fixed. Sometimes they don’t collect a penny, and they also help you wash the windows and attract customers. Sometimes they come to your door and ask for a year’s fee in advance. Sometimes the gang members don’t take your cigarettes when they meet, but give you cigarettes. Sometimes they punch and kick you without saying a word when they meet.
If you are the one who opens a shop, would you like to open a shop in this kind of place?
The people who formulated the “Four No Principles” did not understand a truth, you think you are giving super-national treatment, giving extraterritorial rights, but in the eyes of businessmen, this is completely letting them open blind boxes and draw prizes, because super-national treatment and extraterritorial rights are seriously questionable in terms of compliance, whether to give it or not is up to you, I invest in your place to set up a factory, my life and death depend on your words, you can give me super-national treatment in the name of attracting investment today, and tomorrow you can confiscate my home and take people in the name of appeasing public grievances, you are attentive and considerate when you need me, and you are a prisoner when you don’t need me.
I am here to invest in a factory, not to spend money to buy sleepless nights and three shocks a day.
In this kind of general environment that is a sliding rheostat between the two extremes of arrogance and subservience, smart businessmen can avoid it as far as possible, because no matter how big the benefits you give, who knows if it is a bait to lure you into the trap, don’t let me be the one who seeks your interest and you seek my principal in a pig-butchering scheme.
What is a truly good business environment? It is that there are laws to follow, laws must be followed, law enforcement must be strict, laws cannot be changed arbitrarily, everyone is treated equally, and things are done according to public affairs. Because compared to a rigorous, predictable, and relatively stable legal and policy environment, how the laws and policies themselves are stipulated is a secondary contradiction.
Laws and policies have clear, stable, and predictable regulations for all entities participating in market operations, what can be done and what cannot be done, these restrictions must be clear, open, and stable, even if the restrictions are very strict and harsh, it is better than being loose and tight, changing three times a day, and not being negligent because I am a start-up enterprise, a small shop, or a small factory, nor because I am an industry leader, a market giant, and treat me like a god, if I violate the rules, the king of heaven cannot save me, if I do not violate the rules, the king of heaven cannot hurt me, the sky is big and the earth is big, the contract is the biggest, this is a high-quality market environment.
This is the spirit of contract.
This can attract huge investments.
This can bring prosperity.
To put it bluntly, it is still a matter of credit, and the core of politics is credit.
Some people may say, you have given such good treatment to businessmen, isn’t this the market economy you have always advocated, isn’t it mercantilism?
Wrong, on the contrary, because these super-national treatments and extraterritorial rights are not the result of market choices and the law of value, not the institutional arrangements of laws, regulations, and contractual terms, but the privileges bestowed by public power with a single word, this is precisely the excessive intervention of administrative orders in market order, the result of public power rather than the market determining resource allocation, this kind of preferential treatment from the sky can be established with a single word, and can be abolished with a single word, lacking the most basic social foundation, not recognized by consumers and the market public, is a mechanical god descending above society, the core logic is still the same as the one that monopolizes everything and purchases and sells in a unified manner, this is precisely the situation caused by the lack of a market economy.
A stable, even if harsh, environment is better than an environment that seems easy and friendly, but is actually changing three times a day, and the four no principles, which use extraterritorial rights to exchange for investment attraction, seem to give a lot of benefits, but in fact, none of them can be implemented for a long time, and none of them can stand the test of time, because as long as society is slightly unstable, you who hold the iron certificate are the best target for transferring contradictions, this kind of policy can only attract short-term speculators, and cannot attract real commercial investment.
