Over the weekend there has been much hype among Western public opinion over the anniversary of the so-called "709 mass detentions of rights layers" in China. The US, Germany and Britain on July 9 issued their statement either through foreign affairs authorities or embassies in China, demanding the release of the involved lawyers. Some Western lawyer organizations published an open letter to pressure the Chinese government. The  American Bar Association  granted Chinese lawyer Wang Yu, who was detained on July 9 last year, its first International Human Rights Award.

According to the West, "23 lawyers and activists" held on July 9, 2015 and in subsequent detentions remain unreleased. China has hundreds of thousands of lawyers and activists of the same number, the detention of 23 within a year is not a proportion that is large enough to prove a certain group has been specially targeted.

The West has not been bothered by other arrests by China's public security organs in the past year. Why have they made an issue of the detentions of some lawyers? Is that because the arrests of lawyers could better prove the absence of the rule of law in China? Their concentration on human rights lawyers is abnormal. This has nothing to do with the principle of equality before the law, but they are making a misperception that human rights lawyers deserve immunity from prosecution. 

Beijing Fengrui law firm had long transcended its own profession by hyping sensitive cases and challenging judicial order. Politically it caters to the West's needs. In a gigantic society like China, there are many judicial cases every year. But the West only reprimands China when it comes to cases involving  "democratic activists" or "dissidents."

The West always accuses China of capturing political offenders. In fact, the West makes an issue of some criminal cases by exaggerating their political elements. They are replacing law with politics. Political ideologies and values are allowed to differ, but everyone has to abide by the bottom line of the law. This is the prime principle of a society governed by the rule of law.

The lawyers from Fengrui have been detained for a year and their case has not yet been heard in court. The procedure is slower than expected. Calling for quickening the judicial process is understandable, so are the concerns of the involved families.

However, some Western countries and overseas lawyers' associations are not helping China with its rule of law. They are backing up those who politically confront the Chinese mainland. The Chinese don't want a disordered society. Anyone who jeopardizes the legal order should be punished.