China's Changing Constitution 801 longer feasible to argue against Party interference in the determination of concrete cases,as some courageous officials had done.Nor was there further talk of implementing the rights enshrined in Articles 75 and 76: that an accused is entitled to make a defence,in a public trial,before a tribunal that includes representatives of the people called assessors as well as a professional judge. Of course,little effort had ever been made to implement some provisions of the constitution.For example,during the spring of 1957, during that brief,heady period when it was Party policy to "Let a hundred flowers bloom,''a well-known Shanghai lawyer and journalist, Ku Chih-chung,was one of many who assailed the Party for disregarding the constitutional guaranties of equality before the law,freedom from arrest except with the approval of a court or procuracy,and freedom of speech,press,assembly and association.Actually,some legislative and administrative steps had been taken to protect citizens against arbitrary arrest,but these had only proven partially successful.22 The Hundred Flowers period itself might be regarded as a limited experiment with free speech,but it was soon ended by the"anti-rightist "campaign that was launched shortly after Ku Chih-chung's speech.The Party struck back at its critics.As one Party authority put it: Ku Chih-chung made a shameless attack on the constitution.He will learn that the constitution protects the freedom of the people;but he will be disappointed if he hopes that the constitution will protect the freedom of speech,press and assembly of traitors,counter-revolutionaries and rightist elements.? Ku and his ilk were plainly not considered to be among"the people." The Cultural Revolution of 1966-69,which was nothing less than a disabling attack by Party Chairman Mao upon both the Party and government organizations,left the remaining vestiges of the constitution inoperative.This became evident when the president of the People's Republic,Liu Shao-ch'i,was stripped of his office even though the National People's Congress (NPC),the only organ authorized to take this action,had not met.Indeed,the failure to convene the NPC year after year throughout the entire decade 1965-75,despite the constitutional requirement of annual sessions,was a glaring embarrassment.As the terror of the Red Guards receded and the People's Liberation Army restored order,pressures grew in many quarters for a new constitution.Some groups hoped thereby to introduce a new era of stability,civilian government and greater protection for individual rights.Others,particularly those that had improved their status during the power shifts of the Cultural Revolution,wanted a document that would take account of the vast changes that had occurred 21.See Ten years of the Chinese people's constitution,''Bulletin of the International Commission of Jurists,Vol.1,No.20(1964),pp.22,28. 22.See,e.g.,Cohen,The Criminal Process in the People's Republic of China, pp.11-18,25-35,354-64. 23.Quoted inTen years of the Chinese people's constitution,"p.28.China's Changing Constitution 801 longer feasible to argue against Party interference in the determination of concrete cases, as some courageous officials had done. Nor was there further talk of implementing the rights enshrined in Articles 75 and 76: that an accused is entitled to make a defence, in a public trial, before a tribunal that includes representatives of the people called " assessors " as well as a professional judge. Of course, little effort had ever been made to implement some provisions of the constitution. For example, during the spring of 1957, during that brief, heady period when it was Party policy to " Let a hundred Rowers bloom," a well-known Shanghai lawyer and journalist, Ku Chih-chung, was one of many who assailed the Party for disregarding the constitutional guaranties of equality before the law, freedom from arrest except with the approval of a court or procuracy, and freedom of speech, press, assembly and association. 21 Actually, some legislative and administrative steps had been taken to protect citizens against arbitrary arrest, but these had only proven partially successful.22 The Hundred Flowers period itself might be regarded as a limited experiment with free speech, but it was soon ended by the " anti-rightist " campaign that was launched shortly after Ku Chih-chung's speech. The Party struck back at its critics. As one Party authority put it: Ku Chih-chung made a shameless attack on the constitution. He will learn that the constitution protects the freedom of the people; but he will be disappointed if he hopes that the constitution will protect the freedom of speech, press and assembly of traitors, counter-revolutionaries and rightist elements. 2 3 Ku and his ilk were plainly not considered to be among " the people." The Cultural Revolution of 1966-69, which was nothing less than a disabling attack by Party Chairman Mao upon both the Party alid government organizations, left the remaining vestiges of the constitution inoperative. This became evident when the president of the People's Republic, Liu Shao-ch'i, was stripped of his office even though the National People's Congress (NPC), the only organ authorized to take this action, had not met. Indeed, the failure to convene the NPC year after year throughout the entire decade 1965-75, despite the constitutional requirement of annual sessions, was a glaring embarrassment. As the terror of the Red Guards receded and the People's Liberation Army restored order, pressures grew in many quarters for a new constitution. Some groups hoped thereby to introduce a new era of stability, civilian government and greater protection for individual rights. Others, particularly those that had improved their status during the power shifts of the Cultural Revolution, wanted a document that would take account of the vast changes that had occurred 21. See " Ten years of the Chinese people's constitution," Bulletin of the International Commission of Jurists, Vol. 1, No. 20 (1964), pp. 22, 28. 22. See, e.g., Cohen, The Criminal Process in the People's Republic of China, pp. 11-18,25-35,354-64. 2 3. Quoted in " Ten years of the Chinese people's constitution," p. 28