Reborn in 2000: I'm the Boss's Driver

Tuesday, April 2010, 1.

At 7:30 a.m., the conference room of the Gangcheng Municipal Party Committee's Political and Legal Affairs Commission was already full. Around the oval conference table, Zhang Jianjun, Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau; Chen Guoqiang, President of the Municipal Court; Sun Ming, Chief Prosecutor of the Municipal Procuratorate; and Li Jianhua, Director of the Municipal Justice Bureau, were seated in order, each with a notebook open in front of them and a serious expression. Along the wall, more than ten people, including the directors of various departments of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the office director Lin Fan, and secretary Li Ming, were also present.

The meeting room was quiet, with only the low hum of the air conditioner vents. The sky outside was overcast, and the weather forecast predicted light snow for the day.

At 7:40, the conference room door opened, and Zhou Wenyuan walked in. He was wearing a dark blue suit today, without a tie, and his expression was more serious than usual. Lin Fan noticed that Zhou Wenyuan was carrying a thick folder, which contained materials he had stayed up all night to organize.

"Everyone's here, let's begin." Zhou Wenyuan sat down in the main seat and, without any pleasantries, went straight to the point.

Everyone in the conference room straightened their backs a bit.

"Today's meeting has only one theme." Zhou Wenyuan looked around at everyone present, "The work of the political and legal system ultimately boils down to two words—fairness. The police investigation must be fair, the procuratorate's prosecution must be fair, the court's trial must be fair, and the enforcement of the judiciary must also be fair."

He paused, then opened the folder in front of him: "However, justice cannot remain just a slogan; it must be reflected in every case and every step. Therefore, I have invited everyone here today to deploy two key tasks."

All eyes turned to them.

"The first item is a review of the quality of cases handled by the public security system." Zhou Wenyuan's voice was calm, but every word struck a chord. "The focus is on three questions: Are there any wrongful convictions? Was there any torture or forced confession? Is there any disproportionate punishment?"

Director Zhang Jianjun's face instantly tightened.

"The second item is the enforcement campaign within the court system." Zhou Wenyuan turned to President Chen Guoqiang, "The focus is on cracking down on debtors who refuse to pay their debts, recovering losses for ordinary people and businesses, and upholding the authority of effective judgments."

Chen Guoqiang nodded, his expression equally serious.

"These two tasks are the top priorities of this year's political and legal work." Zhou Wenyuan closed the folder. "I have instructed that the public security system spend three months conducting a comprehensive review of all criminal cases handled in the past five years. The court system will spend three months focusing on tackling cases where enforcement has not been completed."

A low gasp filled the conference room. How many criminal cases have there been in the last five years? There are over three thousand cases where the judgments haven't been fully enforced!

"I know the task is arduous and the pressure is immense," Zhou Wenyuan said, looking at everyone. "But it is precisely because it is arduous and difficult that it must be done. If the political and legal system cannot purify and improve itself, how can it gain the trust of the people? How can it uphold fairness and justice?"

He looked at Zhang Jianjun: "Director Zhang, you'll take the lead in the police department. Establish a case quality investigation leading group, with you as the group leader. Develop a detailed plan, clearly defining the scope, standards, and procedures for the investigation. Focus on investigating several types of cases: homicide cases, cases involving organized crime, major economic crimes, and cases where the parties have filed long-term appeals and expressed strong concerns."

Zhang Jianjun stood up: "Secretary Zhou, rest assured, the Public Security Bureau will resolutely implement this! I will make arrangements as soon as I get back and come up with a plan within a week."

"Okay." Zhou Wenyuan then looked at Chen Guoqiang. "President Chen, you take the lead on the court's side. Establish an enforcement task force. We must be serious and use tough measures. For those who have the ability to fulfill their obligations but refuse to do so, those who should be detained should be detained, those who should be fined should be fined, and those with serious circumstances should be held criminally liable. We must create a deterrent effect so that those who refuse to fulfill their obligations dare not, cannot, and do not want to do so."

Chen Guoqiang also stood up: "Secretary Zhou, the court system will definitely go all out! I suggest that we can unite the public security, procuratorial, and judicial departments to establish an enforcement linkage mechanism and form a joint force."

"That's a good suggestion." Zhou Wenyuan nodded. "Lin Fan, write this down: coordinate the establishment of a joint enforcement mechanism among political and legal organs, with the Political and Legal Affairs Commission taking the lead and the four agencies participating."

"Okay." Lin Fan quickly wrote it down in his notebook.

"For both tasks, we need to establish special teams and report regularly," Zhou Wenyuan concluded. "Every Friday afternoon, I will receive a progress report. Every month, we need to submit a special report to the municipal party committee. At the end of the year, we need to deliver results and demonstrate effectiveness."

The meeting lasted until 9:30. After the meeting, Zhou Wenyuan called Lin Fan to his office.

"Lin Fan, you'll be in charge of these two tasks," Zhou Wenyuan said. "You'll be following up on the police investigation and the court's intensive work from start to finish. You'll be responsible for compiling the weekly reports, and you'll report any important issues to me promptly."

"Understood, Secretary Zhou." Lin Fan nodded. "I plan to go to the Public Security Bureau tomorrow to find out about their deployment."

"Okay." Zhou Wenyuan handed over a list. "These are clues I obtained from departments such as petitions and disciplinary inspection. Some cases may have questions. Take this with you and investigate discreetly, but don't alert the suspects."

Lin Fan took the list, which contained more than a dozen names, each with a brief note indicating the cause of the case and points of suspicion.

"Secretary Zhou, these..."

"Get the information first, don't express your opinion yet." Zhou Wenyuan interrupted him. "The investigation must be based on facts. We must not overlook any problems, but we also cannot exaggerate them. Your task is to grasp the true situation and help the public security system to do its work thoroughly and meticulously."

"I see."

After leaving Zhou Wenyuan's office, Lin Fan returned to his own. He opened the list and carefully examined each name.

"Wang Jianguo was sentenced to three years in prison for theft in 2008. He has appealed multiple times, claiming that he was tortured into confessing..."

"Li Xiuying was sentenced to five years in prison in 2007 for intentional injury. Her family believes the sentence is too harsh..."

"Zhao Zhigang, the main culprit in the 2009 organized crime case, has had his evidence questioned by his lawyer..."

Behind each name lies a family, a life story. Lin Fan took a deep breath and closed the list. He knew this work was of great responsibility and allowed no room for carelessness.

---

The next day, July 6th.

At 8:30 a.m., Lin Fan brought Li Ming to the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Director Zhang Jianjun was already waiting in the conference room, along with the deputy director in charge of criminal investigation, the director of the legal department, the director of the supervision department, and seven or eight other people.

"Director Lin, welcome!" Zhang Jianjun said warmly. "We attach great importance to the work assigned by Secretary Zhou. We held a Party Committee meeting yesterday afternoon and established a leading group. I am the group leader, and Lao Liu and Lao Chen are the deputy group leaders."

He introduced the two deputy directors beside him. Old Liu was in charge of criminal investigation, and Old Chen was in charge of legal affairs.

"Director Zhang is very quick." Lin Fan sat down. "Secretary Zhou requested a plan within a week, it seems the Public Security Bureau is preparing to finish ahead of schedule."

"Absolutely." Zhang Jianjun said solemnly, "As Secretary Zhou said at the political and legal work conference last week, what political and legal work needs most is the courage for self-revolution. Our public security system must first and foremost be brave enough to examine and correct itself."

"Alright, then Director Zhang, please share your initial thoughts."

Zhang Jianjun asked the head of the legal affairs department to report. The head of the legal affairs department was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing glasses and looking very serious.

"Director Lin, our initial plan is to conduct the investigation in four steps." The head of the legal department opened his notebook. "The first step is self-examination and self-correction. Each case-handling unit will conduct a comprehensive review of the cases handled in the past five years, fill out a self-examination form, and proactively report any problems found."

"The second step is cross-review. Key personnel are drawn from various branches and detachments to form review teams to conduct cross-reviews of key cases."

"The third step is expert consultation. We invite representatives from the National People's Congress, members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, lawyers, and legal experts to conduct consultations on difficult and complex cases."

"The fourth step is rectification and implementation. Problems discovered will be handled in categories: those with procedural flaws will be supplemented and improved; those with insufficient evidence will be reinvestigated; and those with confirmed problems will be corrected in accordance with the law."

Lin Fan listened and took notes: "What's the schedule?"

"Three months. January for self-inspection, February for cross-inspection, and March for expert consultation and rectification," said the head of the legal affairs department. "We report progress to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission every Friday."

"What's the scope? All criminal cases in the last five years?"

"Yes. But the focus is on homicide cases, organized crime cases, economic crime cases, and cases where the parties have been appealing for a long time."

Lin Fan thought for a moment: "The design of the self-assessment form is very important. It must accurately reflect the problems and not just be a formality."

"We've already designed a draft." The head of the legal department handed over a form.

Lin Fan examined it carefully. The table was very detailed, including more than a dozen aspects such as basic case information, case handling procedures, evidence materials, applicable laws, and feedback from the parties involved. At the end, there were also columns such as "Existing Problems" and "Suggestions for Rectification".

"Sure, but we need to add one more condition," Lin Fan said. "The signatures of the person in charge and the unit leader must be handwritten. Those who sign must be responsible."

"Okay, let's add it."

Next, Deputy Director Liu, who is in charge of criminal investigation, reported on the review of key cases: "We have initially identified 37 key cases, including eight homicide cases, six cases involving organized crime, twelve cases of economic crimes, and eleven other cases. These cases will be the first batch of cases to be cross-examined."

Lin Fan took the list and immediately spotted several names on the list Zhou Wenyuan had given him. He remained calm and asked, "Are the case files for these cases ready?"

"We're retrieving them now. Some are quite old and need to be found in the archives."

"Okay." Lin Fan closed his notebook. "Director Zhang, everyone, the investigation within the public security system is of great significance. This is not only about completing the task assigned by Secretary Zhou, but also a comprehensive check-up of our public security work. If we do it well, the public will trust us more; if we do it poorly, it will damage the credibility of the entire political and legal system."

"Director Lin is right," Zhang Jianjun stated. "We will definitely take this seriously, and we will never cover up for anyone or be perfunctory."

It was already 11:00 AM when Lin Fan left the Public Security Bureau. He told Li Ming to go back to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission to report first, and then drove to a place—the Gangcheng City No. 1 Detention Center.

This was something he had planned yesterday. He wanted to see for himself the situation of the detainees and hear the voices from the grassroots.

The detention center was located in the suburbs, with high walls and electric fences, and was heavily guarded. Upon hearing that the director of the Municipal Political and Legal Affairs Commission's office had arrived, the warden quickly came out to greet him.

"Director Lin, what brings you here? You didn't even give me a heads-up."

"I just came to take a look and get a feel for the situation," Lin Fan said. "No need to disturb anyone, I'm just taking a stroll."

After touring the detention center, Lin Fan asked to speak with a few of the detainees. The warden hesitated, "Director Lin, well... according to regulations..."

"I'll just chat casually to get a feel for their mindset," Lin Fan said. "You can arrange for a few of them to perform well."

The warden had no choice but to make arrangements. The first person he spoke to was a man in his forties who had been brought in for theft and was serving a two-year sentence.

"How are you doing inside? Are you eating well? Is anyone bullying you?" Lin Fan asked calmly.

"It's alright, I'm well-fed, and no one's bullying me." The man lowered his head. "It's just... I feel wronged."

"How can you be wronged?"

"I'd only had a few drinks that day, and I found a bag on the street. Before I even opened it, the police showed up and accused me of theft. I really didn't intend to steal it..."

Lin Fan noted down his name and case number.

The second one was a young man in his early twenties who was in jail for fighting and was sentenced to a year and a half.

Why are you fighting?

"They insulted my mother." The young man's eyes reddened. "My mother is in poor health, and the insults they hurled at me were so vile that I couldn't hold back..."

"Do you think the verdict is too harsh?"

"That's serious. I only threw a few punches, and the other person wasn't even seriously injured, but they got a year and a half in prison. I heard they have connections in their family..."

Lin Fan wrote it down again.

Lin Fan spoke with five people. Two felt the sentences were too harsh, one felt there were problems with the case handling procedures, and the other two pleaded guilty and accepted their sentences. Lin Fan listened carefully to everyone's words and took detailed notes.

It was already 1 p.m. when Lin Fan came out of the detention center. He ate a bowl of noodles at a roadside stall and then drove to the city's legal aid center.

The director of the legal aid center is a woman in her fifties surnamed Wang, and she is very enthusiastic.

"Director Lin, what brings you here?"

"Director Wang, I would like to know what the most frequent issues raised by the public regarding the work of the public security and the courts have been in recent years."

"There are many problems," Director Wang said with a wry smile. "The biggest problem is the difficulty in enforcement; even if you win a judgment, you can't get the money. The second biggest problem is feeling that the sentence is too harsh, or that the case was handled unfairly."

She took out several thick registers: "These are records of visits from the public. Look, on this page, this person complained that his son was detained for fighting, and later, when he was released on bail, the police station asked him to pay a bail bond of 50,000 yuan, which he felt was unreasonable..."

Lin Fan flipped through the pages one by one. The visit records were very detailed, including the time, the reason for the visit, and how it was handled. Some of the issues did indeed deserve attention.

"Director Wang, may I make a copy of these materials?"

"Yes, of course. I'll have someone make a copy for you."

Carrying a thick stack of photocopied materials, Lin Fan returned to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission at four o'clock in the afternoon. Without taking a break, he immediately began to organize the information he had gathered that day.

The police investigation plan, the feedback from detainees in the detention center, the records from the legal aid center... all these pieces of information came together to give him a more intuitive understanding of the potential problems within the public security system.

At 7 p.m., Lin Fan was still in his office. Li Ming knocked on the door and came in: "Director Lin, it's time for dinner."

"You go eat first, I'll finish tidying up this."

"Then... shall I bring some back for you?"

"No need, I'll go to the cafeteria myself in a bit."

After Li Ming left, Lin Fan continued his work. He categorized the information he had gathered that day: issues with case handling procedures, evidence, sentencing, and appeals by the parties involved... Each category was accompanied by specific case examples.

Lin Fan finished tidying up at nine o'clock in the evening. He stood up and stretched his stiff neck. He walked to the window, and sure enough, it was snowing lightly outside, with fine snowflakes dancing in the glow of the streetlights.

He recalled the young man he had seen in the detention center during the day; he was only twenty years old and, due to a moment of impulsiveness, would have to spend a year and a half there. If the sentence was truly too harsh, that year and a half could ruin a young man's life.

And what about those litigants who can't get their money because of the difficulty in enforcement? They may win the case but lose their livelihood. How much trust can they still have in the law?

Lin Fan took a deep breath. He knew that these two tasks assigned by Zhou Wenyuan, seemingly business-related, were in fact projects to win the hearts and minds of the people. If done well, the people's trust in the political and legal system would increase; if done poorly, it would damage the image of the Party and the government.

His responsibility was to help Zhou Wenyuan ensure that this work was carried out effectively and efficiently.

My phone rang; it was Wang Juan calling.

"Still working overtime?"

"Okay, it'll be over soon."

"It's snowing, be careful on the road."

"Okay. Are the children asleep?"

"Just fell asleep. The baby said 'daddy' today, although it wasn't very clear, but it was definitely said."

Lin Fan felt a warmth in his heart: "Really? I'll go back this weekend and listen carefully."

"Okay, come back soon."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Fan packed his things, turned off the lights, and locked the door. The corridor was quiet; the lights in the other offices were all off.

As I walked downstairs, snowflakes landed on my face, feeling cool. In the parking lot, a thin layer of snow had already accumulated on his white Lexus.

I started the car, turned on the wipers, and cleared the snow from the windshield. The headlights illuminated the road ahead, and snowflakes danced in the beams of light.

Along the way, from the Finance Bureau to Tu County, and then to the Municipal Political and Legal Affairs Commission, he followed Zhou Wenyuan, doing practical things and solving difficult problems.

Now, another tough battle has begun.

The investigation of cases by the public security system and the enforcement of judgments by the court system are both difficult, but each one is of great importance.

But he was confident. This was because of Zhou Wenyuan's leadership, the efforts of his colleagues in the political and legal system, and the expectations of the people.

The car drove out of the municipal government compound and merged into the nighttime traffic. The shops lining the streets were still lit, and pedestrians hurried by. The city's night remained vibrant and full of hope.

Lin Fan knew that everything he did was to make the city fairer, safer, and better.

This is enough.

The next three months will be a period of self-revolution for the political and legal system.

And he will play an important role in it.

He is ready.