Chapter 282: The Interview

Although there was no sentencing in court, the Law Society had already reached a general consensus on the sentence: guilty, with a sentence of seven years in prison. Because she was pregnant, another three years of probation were added. In addition, she was to compensate the General Office with a certain amount of circulation coupons. Following the opinion of the General Office, the slave status of Yang Jihong and Lin Xiaoya was not emphasized, so Yang Jihong’s master, Yang Xinwu, was not held responsible for civil compensation; she was to bear it herself. The compensation was also called a “training fee,” not “body price.”

As for the arrangements during and after the probation period, Ma Jia had already assigned the people from the Law Society to conduct specific research. They were to strive to draft the relevant regulations, not only to satisfy Yang Xinwu as much as possible—the Law Society had been harassed by his sorrowful face many times, earning him the nickname “Yang Bailao”—but also to have a “legal basis.”

All the legal documents were already locked in the safe in the judge’s office of this courtroom, just waiting for the formality of tomorrow. In a sense, this was a carefully rehearsed “performance,” but Ma Jia believed that such a performance was necessary. The naturalized citizens and natives could learn about the Elder Council’s legal philosophy through this exemplary trial.

“Master, have some tea,” a naturalized citizen staff member from the Dongmen City court brought tea.

“Good.” Ma Jia took the teacup and took a sip. The tea was neither hot nor cold, just lukewarm and pleasant. He had just let out a contented sigh when a staff member knocked and entered:

“Master, Master Panpan from the Lingao Times is here. She wants to interview you.”

“Please let her in.” Ma Jia raised his eyebrows slightly. This Western woman had been very active recently, publishing many articles in the Lingao Times and Weekly News that sang to a certain tune. And she was very close to Cheng Yongxin. Someone had reported that Panpan had also leaked some information to her that should have been kept confidential.

Panpan walked in. Ma Jia noticed that her complexion was ashen, her eyelids were swollen, and her once shiny blonde hair had begun to dull. And her figure, which had once made the male Elders drool, was showing signs of increasing in size. Time was indeed a butcher’s knife: in the blink of an eye, this lively and youthful American student was almost thirty.

However, her exhausted appearance indicated that her state of mind had been very complicated recently. Ma Jia knew that in the web woven by that “darling Cheng Cheng,” Panpan occupied an important position.

“Welcome,” Ma Jia stood up and raised his hands in greeting. “I knew you would come here.”

“Of course, the significance of this trial is different,” Panpan said, shaking his hand perfunctorily. “Even if Ding Ding hadn’t asked me to come, I would have.”

Panpan sat down opposite him and declined the tea.

“I’m here for an interview.”

“I know. Which media outlet are you interviewing for?”

“Lingao Times, Weekly News, and Morning Star.”

“My goodness, all three,” Ma Jia smiled and took a few pages of paper from the drawer. “This is the draft material our Law Society has prepared for this case. You can use it directly in the Lingao Times. It’s an excellent case for legal education.”

Panpan took it and glanced at it cursorily. “Is it required to be published as is, or is it just for reference when writing the article?”

“It’s best to publish it as is. The purpose of the article is to use the report on this case to promote the Elder Council’s new legal philosophy. Of course, I don’t object to you making some polishing and deletions.”

“OK,” Panpan nodded and put the article into her interview bag. Then she took out an interview recorder. “Next, I’m going to do an interview for Weekly News. You don’t mind if I record, do you?”

“Of course not.”

Panpan began by asking a few routine questions, all of which were within Ma Jia’s expectations. He answered them one by one according to his preparations.

“Actually, in the Elder Council, including the suspect’s master, Yang Xinwu, there is a certain idea: that maids are slaves and can be tried on the principle of intentional destruction of property. This way, she can be tried for destruction of property instead of intentional injury or murder. What does the Law Society think about this?”

Ma Jia coughed lightly. “It is true that maids are the private property of the Elders. However, in legal terms, private property is also divided into inanimate objects like real estate and utensils, and living things like poultry and livestock. The two cannot be equated in law. Secondly, the concept of ‘slaves are talking tools’ only existed in early slavery systems. In subsequent historical periods, including the one we are in now, both the East and the West recognized slaves as ‘people,’ just ‘people’ with different civil rights. As the representative of the advanced productive forces in this time and space, the Elder Council is bound to abolish slavery, so it is not appropriate to introduce this legal concept in the trial of this case.”

“So you’re saying that both Yang Jihong and Lin Xiaoya are equal in status to naturalized citizens.”

“That is correct.”

“In that case, what about the slave labor in Sanya?”

“That is irrelevant to this case. I can choose not to answer you. But simply put, the phenomenon in Sanya is only temporary, not a institutionalized norm. It is a temporary and emergency measure we adopted during our initial period.”

“Is this not a form of hypocrisy?”

“My personal view is that the Elder Council is not being hypocritical in its use of slave labor. We need not mince words: slaves are the ‘fuel’ or ‘consumables’ in the Elder Council’s industrialization process. The Elder Council has neither claimed to save their souls nor said that they are incompletely evolved humans.”

“There is also the argument that maids, as the Elders’ closest life partners, should enjoy certain legal privileges. After all, the Elder Council’s philosophy is that ‘Elders are more equal.’ What is the legal department’s view on this?”

“That is clearly inappropriate. ‘All men are equal, but Elders are more equal’—that is our philosophy.”

“I am not denying the laws you have made, but raising a practical issue. This so-called ‘more equal’ actually acknowledges that people are not equal. If people are not equal, then their punishments will also be tiered. The fact that an Elder’s crime can be pardoned is clearly written in the Common Program. Then, as the most trusted and intimate people around the Elders, who are in fact slaves completely dependent on the Elders, shouldn’t their punishments also be tiered? By extension, does the phrase ‘All men are equal, but Elders are more equal’ apply only to the first generation of Elders or to all subsequent generations?”

Here’s the crucial point, Ma Jia thought. These were all sensitive issues. If she caught him on a technicality, she could concoct another wonderful article full of venomous fangs. Speaking of which, Panpan’s Chinese writing skills had “skyrocketed” recently. Ma Jia strongly suspected that someone was ghostwriting for her, or rather, that someone was using her name to write articles.

There had been many such articles recently, which worried Ma Jia greatly. In his view, such articles deliberately emphasized “you” and “me,” highlighting group differences and having the potential to divide the group.

“Regarding whether the principle of ‘Elders are more equal’ should be extended to the next generation, that is for the Elder Council to decide…”

“What is your own opinion?”

“My opinion is that the privileges of the Elders should be gradually reduced starting from the second generation, at least to the point where they are not explicitly stipulated in the law. After all, there is a lot of room for maneuver within the legal framework. As for your previous question, my view is that granting them certain privileges is dangerous. If we grant some preferential treatment in the Yang Jihong case, it will inevitably create a ‘Booi class’ in our new society. Do you know what a Booi is?”

“Similar to the Mamluks, I suppose.”

“Roughly so.”

“The Booi or Mamluks of Lingao will inevitably become arrogant and domineering, lording over all the naturalized citizens. In fact, this trend is already emerging. Do you think the originator will lack followers? Because by doing so, you are acknowledging that they are the first privileged class under the Elders…”

“A privileged class that is enslaved?”

“There are many who wish to be enslaved but cannot,” Ma Jia said. “The Egyptian Mamluks, the Turkish Janissaries, and the Manchu Booi, though slaves, were all privileged slaves who stood above the common people. I don’t think you are very familiar with the Booi, but you should be well aware of the historical role of the Mamluks and the Turkish Janissaries. I sincerely do not think this is a good system.”

“Some Elders may believe that not giving the maids certain special treatment in this case is an offense to the dignity and privileges of the Elders. How do you view this issue?”

Ma Jia smiled and took a sip of tea. “It’s true that Elders are more equal, but the person involved is not an Elder. The person was not killed by an Elder, nor was it ordered by an Elder. Leaving that aside for now, the key is that the privileges of an Elder belong to the individual Elder. The rights of Elders stipulated in the Common Program are the foundation of our nation, a matter of great importance, and cannot be arbitrarily granted to anyone other than an Elder. If a precedent is set in the Yang Jihong case today, then our future process of legalization will be completely powerless. An Elder is a social person, and he inevitably has to interact with many people and establish social relationships. If ‘those close to an Elder’ can receive special treatment, then this loophole is too wide and difficult to define. Therefore, I personally, and the Law Society, advocate that the privileges of an Elder are limited to the individual, not the people around the Elder. Otherwise, the future would be unimaginable. The more strictly we handle the Yang Jihong case according to the law today, the easier it will be to prevent similar incidents in the future. Otherwise, how many similar ‘property damage cases’ are you prepared to see in the future?”

“Your insight is very reasonable,” Panpan said. Ma Jia realized she was speaking from the heart.

“To rule the country by law has always been the tenet of our Elder Council and the goal pursued by our legal department.”