follow-up note bo, about 17-20 years ago my brother had a run-in / problem in dalian with folks who turned out to be thuggish, refusing to complete payment for industrial goods delivered, wanted refund of the downpayment, and got rough w/ brother by slapping him.
brother got out of dodge, wrote a letter to bo xilai, a simple note of self intro and case detailing.
normally one would expect such a letter to fall through the cracks and nothing done.
w/i a week the thugs visited my brother's office in beijing and offered cash payment for the goods plus compensation for troubles, and sincere (almost pleading) written as well as verbal apology.
it was at once funny and better than any movie could have been, and certainly much more efficient than any common judiciary system could manage.
on the other hand, the legal system in hong kong can offer much satisfaction as long as all the i's and t's are dotted and crossed, respectively.
so, i/r/t rule of man vs law, depends on the man and at what stage of life, and depends on the law and at what stage of evolution / devolution. the thing about rule of man is that the man has opposition most of the way unless totally wiped out per non-tea-party style of cleansing revolution. the thing about law is that once devolution gets under way, hard to fix because all the prospective rulers benefits from the devolving system.
am unsure, but am willing to learn, and suspect much learning ahead. |
