The Real Police State (3/4)

August 10, 2010

Some of the crimes one may be sent to jail for in the US are shocking like the 65 year-old American who went to prison for 17 months because he bought orchids from South America because the company in South America that shipped the orchids was sloppy with the paperwork. Prosecutors described this man as the “Kingpin” of an international smuggling ring when he was earning less than 20 thousand from his orchid business.

The Economist says, America has “a long love affair with lock and key.  Justice is harsher in America than any other rich country.” There are more than 4,000 federal crimes, and many times that number of regulations that carry criminal penalties.

Did you know that failing to prevent your employees from breaking federal regulations you have never heard of could send you to jail? One American went to jail for six months because one of his workers accidently broke a pipe, causing oil to spill into a river.

See Growing China’s Legal System or return to The Real Police State – Part 2

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Real Police State (2/4)

August 10, 2010

No one knows for sure how many criminals are executed in China.  Amnesty International says the numbers are in the thousands.

I find it interesting that no one in the West has studied China to see if there is a link between the way China treats convicted criminals and a culture that has survived for several thousand years. I’m sure there are Americans who might not want to know the results.

The United States may not execute as many as China does, but the US locks up more people than any country—more than twice that of China, a country with almost five times the population.

In fact, The Economist published an interesting piece about America called Rough Justice.

The Economist says, “Conservatives and liberals will always feud about the right level of punishment.…  As a result, American prisons are now packed not only with thugs and rapists but also with petty thieves, minor drug dealers and criminals, who, though scary when they were young and strong, are now too grey and arthritic to pose a threat. Some 200,000 inmates are over 50—roughly as many as there were prisoners of all ages in 1970.”

See Officer in Action or return to The Real Police State – Part 1

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Leave a Comment » | America, American culture, China, Chinese Culture, cultural differences | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse