前言：
期待新中國到來，台灣有路可走，中共能於內部做人權、法制的改革，台灣的軍力足以抗衡大陸威脅，而美國必須適時“硬”起來。
March 12, 2001 ---
China's top judge came under fire from legislators over standards in the legal system and human rights.
Xiao Yang, president of the Supreme People's Court, was given a rough ride by delegates from the southern province of Guangdong during a meeting on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament, the National People's Congress.
“Every year the poor quality of officials is listed as an ongoing problem in the work reports of both the judicial and the procuratorate,”delegate Li Yongzhong told Xiao.
“Every year it is brought up and we see that nothing changes. This must mean that it is a problem with the system,”he said.
Li said that only about 20 percent of China's judicial officials had college education and he called for all judicial officials to have professional training as lawyers“like it is done in the West.”
Another delegate, Chen Lili, complained that a lack of respect for human rights in China's legal system was a growing problem and that the government's 19-month crackdown on the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual group was full of“sharp contradictions.”
“Deng Xiaoping said we must seize our work with both hands. We have done a pretty good job with the economy, but with politics and in many other social areas we have not done a good job at all,”Chen said.
Meanwhile, the vice chairman of Guangdong's People's Congress called for clearer regulations on the establishment of judicial independence.
In his report to the NPC on Saturday, Xiao Yang admitted that protectionism by lower courts had led to a rise in violence against the police and a chronic lack of enforcement of verdicts.
He also said major reforms were needed to the recruitment system which allowed unqualified people to become judges and prevented bad apples being fired.
NPC delegates have never voted against government policy, but in recent years they have showed their displeasure with the judicial system by giving it relatively low approval ratings.
北京「兩會」的信號
每年的「兩會」，有心總能從其中捕捉到一些微妙的信號。今年北京「兩會」，因為有濃厚的「十六大」因素影響，這樣的信號格外引人注目。所有的信號都集中在一種解讀，即：江澤民的權威正在受到挑戰。
北京現在正在召開全國人民代表大會、全國人民政治協商會議（俗稱「兩會」），這在大陸是一年一度的慣例。除去五年一次的換廟大會外，其他五年的「兩會」只是例會，通常不具備多麼重要的政治意義，充其量從形式上把中共高層制定的政策合法化一下而已。不過，每年的「兩會」，各路政治人物比較集中地在鏡頭前亮相，有心人仍能從其中捕捉到一些微妙的信號。今年北京「兩會」，因為有濃厚的「十六大」因素影響，這樣的信號格外多一些，也格外引人注目。所有的信號都集中在一種解讀，即：江澤民的權威正在受到挑戰。
在全國政協開幕前夕，江澤民的老對手，全國政協主席，同時也是政治局七名常委之一的李瑞環再度向江發難，他在會上說，新世紀之交搞了一些慶祝活動，這是必要的，但更重要的是紮紮實實地推進改革；批判西方資產階級民主是必要的，但更重要的是建設社會主義民主（大意）。這一套「必要……但更重要」的語氣明顯是對江澤民好大喜功、不務實際的工作作風的批評。在他的授意下，政協把明年的任務，定位在「團結與民主」兩大主題上，這是李瑞環一貫展現開明形象的做法，客觀上會更凸顯出江澤民的保守落後。
在「兩會」前夕，中共元老、前全國人大委員長萬里的內部講話在香港媒體披露，他主張「以聯邦制搞統一，並非不可。」在中共官方已經多次明確表示不接受「聯邦制」主張的情況下，萬里的表態不僅表現中共內部的分歧，更說明萬里等元老並不把江澤民當作一言九鼎的真正「核心」。這種不同的聲音在「兩會」前夕披露，其時機的選擇也頗有可琢磨之處。
另外一件引起關注的事是「兩會」上的身體語言。在全國人大開幕式結束以後，主席台上的領導人準備退場。江澤民動作較慢，仍然在收拾桌上的文件，此時李鵬、朱鎔基已經收拾好，他們看了江一眼，竟不再等他，逕自揚長而去了。熟悉共產黨內部政治「行規」的人都知道，在這種眾目睽睽的正式場合，領導人入場、退場的順序是很有講究的，一把手一定要走在最前面。事實上，記者們注意到，尉健行、李嵐清、胡錦濤等其他幾名政治局常委，僅管已收拾好東西，但仍按規矩等到江澤民收拾好之後才尾隨他退出。雖然，李鵬、朱鎔基並不把江澤民放在眼裏，更不覺得自己應當追隨在江澤民之後。其實，北京早就有政治局開會，出現拍桌子對 罵的傳言，現在從這番沉默中的身體語言，外界可以看到江澤民雖然身兼中共總書記、國家主席、軍委主席三職，但其權威遠不如當初並未如此集權的鄧小平。鄧小平的晚年，只要出現在公眾場合，沒有哪一個中共領導人敢走在他前面的。
北京「兩會」剛剛開始，已經有這麼多微小但意味深長的信號出現，這使得議程極為平淡的「兩會」仍然吸引了不少中外記者。在未來10天的會議中，誰知道還會有什麼熱鬧呢？
