China would be ill-advised to adopt caning

Cruel corporal punishment is inadvisable but we should learn from Singapore to enhance strict law enforcement, according to an article in China Youth Daily.

Here are excerpts:

Chen Weicai, a deputy to the National People's Congress, has proposed that China introduce caning to punish male criminals.

His suggestion, made at the annual session of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress on Wednesday, triggered heated public discussion.

Chen suggested China can learn from Singapore in introducing caning as a punishment, and believes it can act as a long-term deterrent to criminals.

But caning is too cruel and goes against the process of the rule of law and civilization. It is inappropriate to advance such a proposal on a serious public political platform without scientific research and investigation.

Caning is seldom adopted worldwide. In modern civil society, severe corporal punishment is brutal and uncivilized.

Throughout history there have been countless cruel punishments in China, but most of them have been abandoned in the modern era. People realize social administration should not rely on cruel corporal punishment. Chen's suggestion comes more as a joke than a serious proposal.

It is also unreasonable to attribute Singapore's good record on social order solely to severe corporal punishment. Strict law enforcement may contribute more to the island state's successful social administration, which is what China lacks.

There are plenty of laws and regulations in China, but the problem is they have not been strictly enforced.

Chen only sees the severity of corporal punishment, but neglects the authority of law enforcement in Singapore. What we should learn from Singapore is to strictly strengthen our law enforcement, rather than adopting cruel corporal punishment.