China's Supreme People's Court reports on key judicial achievements in 2024

The Supreme People's Court released its annual work report in Beijing on Saturday, highlighting judicial efforts in maintaining national security, cracking down on crime and corruption, strengthening market regulation, and enhancing legal protection for citizens and businesses.

The work report, delivered by Zhang Jun, president and chief justice of the Supreme People's Court, to the second plenary meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation, revealed that China's top court accepted 34,898 cases and concluded 32,539 in 2024, while courts nationwide handled 46.018 million cases and concluded 45.419 million.

The report underlined the importance of firmly safeguarding national political security, and a set of guidelines on imposing criminal punishments on Taiwan separatist forces for conducting or inciting secession was jointly issued and implemented last year by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the ministries of Public Security, State Security, and Justice.

The report noted that the Supreme People's Court has cracked down on serious crimes that have disrupted social order, with a notable 26.7-percent increase in concluded cases of telecom and online fraud, totaling 40,000 cases, including cross-border scams linked to northern Myanmar.

In 2024, China enhanced judicial efforts in the fight against corruption, as Chinese courts punished both those who took bribes and those who offered them, according to the report.

It also highlighted a series of corruption cases involving high-ranking sports officials, including Li Tie, former head coach of the national men's football team, who received a 20-year prison sentence.

The report emphasized the Supreme People's Court's role in supporting a unified national market and developing new quality productive forces. A total of 10,000 cases related to anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition, including encroaching commercial secret and bid-rigging, were concluded.

The top court also addressed legal issues concerning the artificial intelligence (AI) by handling AI-related disputes, penalizing AI-driven intellectual property violations, and fostering responsible innovation to promote an orderly development.

To promote a business environment under the rule of law, the report said, the Supreme People's Court focused on protecting the legitimate rights of businesses and entrepreneurs by stepping up oversight of illicit cross-region and profit-driven law enforcement, and strictly preventing the misuse of criminal measures in economic disputes.

The report noted that 46 cases involving property rights were retried and corrected by courts in 2024, acquitting 13 out of 72 people involved in these cases.

It also included the judicial efforts made by the top court to build a "Beautiful China." Working along with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Supreme People's Court carried out a special campaign against fraudulent practices in third-party environmental protection service agencies.

In regard to pursuing higher standard opening-up, the report said the Supreme People's Court published typical cases of protecting the rights and interests of foreign investors in accordance with the law to create a favorable investment environment.

The report underscored the Supreme People's Court's commitment to addressing everyday legal concerns of citizens by issuing legal interpretations under the Civil Code and publishing key rulings on elder care service disputes. These measures aimed to ensure that nursing homes fulfill their safety obligations and improve age-friendly infrastructure to enhance living conditions for seniors.

Protecting minors was a significant focus in the report. In 2024, 40,000 cases involving crimes against minors, with 41,000 individuals involved, were concluded by Chinese courts. Severe punishments were handed down in cases of extreme cruelty, such as toward Yu Huaying, a child trafficker who was given death penalty.

In implementing and improving the judicial responsibility system, the report also noted that 2950 cases of new types and with guiding significance being tried by higher-level courts, an increase of 33.8 percent.

The report also said the top court has strengthened the management of trial quality by streamlining and optimizing management indicators to effectively reduce the burden on grassroots courts.

China's Supreme People's Court reports on key judicial achievements in 2024

The annual number of inbound and outbound travelers passing through Hong Kong's West Kowloon Station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link exceeded 30 million for the first time on Sunday, fueled by accelerated regional integration and relaxed visa policies.

The daily average number of border crossings through West Kowloon Station reached 85,000 this year, while the highest single-day figure hit 136,000, according to the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection in south China's Guangdong Province.

The West Kowloon Station connects Hong Kong with 96 stations in 19 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland.

"We mainly want to visit the Canton Tower in Guangzhou and experience the cruise on the Pearl River," said Mr. Sun, a Hong Kong resident, at the station.

The accelerated integration is also boosting study trips between Hong Kong and Guangdong Province.

"Today we will go to Xingning in Meizhou to film our Classical Prose Recitation Competition. We hope that during this trip, students will be able to learn about the culture of our motherland," said Lin Qing, a teacher at Hong Kong's South Yuen Long Government Primary School.

"I'm really looking forward to this trip because we can learn about Guangzhou, and also about some of the development and culture of the Maritime Silk Road," said a student from Hong Kong's Tseung Kwan O Government Secondary School.

This year, nearly 1.4 million foreign tourists have made entry and exit trips via West Kowloon Station, up 24 percent year on year.

China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) in November expanded the country's 240-hour visa-free transit program to five additional ports, including West Kowloon Station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

"We want to go to Guangzhou and to Shenzhen. Guangzhou -- we know a little bit about older culture -- and Shenzhen I know a little bit because it's a tech hub. I love tech, so I really want to see more," said a tourist from the Netherlands at West Kowloon Station.

"We are going to Huizhou, and also to Shenzhen. Yeah," said a tourist from Spain.

"Because also we are content creators about drones. I think China brands are innovating in the technology world. So it's incredible, because I love to fly drones and try new technology," another Spanish tourist said.

China's new policy introduced in November raised the total number of ports eligible for the 240-hour visa-free transit from 60 to 65.

Under the policy, travelers from 55 eligible countries who meet certain criteria can enter China through any of these ports in 24 provincial-level regions and stay for up to 240 hours, or 10 days, without a visa before heading to a third destination, according to the NIA.

HK's West Kowloon Station sees annual passenger flow exceed 30 million