What to Do If Foreigners are Suspected of Crimes in China And They Cannot Understand Chinese?

2020/1/16

Criminal proceedings in China usually go through five stages of filing, investigation, prosecution, trial and execution, which take a long time. During this period, the communication between suspects (or defendants) and public security organs, procuratorates and courts is particularly important. Many foreign criminal suspects are very worried about one problem. What should they do if their Chinese is unclear? 

First, according to relevant Chinese laws, police use Chinese characters and mandarin, not English or other languages, to handle crimes committed by foreigners. Therefore, foreign criminal suspects must have a person who is proficient in both Chinese and foreign languages to protect their legitimate rights and interests.

Second, if the foreign criminal suspect is proficient in Chinese, he can choose not to need other people's translation, but he should issue a written statement indicating that he does not need other people's translation. However, this kind of situation is a minority. We also suggest that the foreigners concerned should not be blindly confident about their Chinese proficiency. Because everyday expressions and legal terms are different, and the difference in understanding may lead to adverse situations for them.

Third, if the foreign criminal suspect is not familiar with Chinese language, the public security organs should translate for him. A foreign criminal suspect may also hire his own translator, and the translation fee shall be borne by the criminal suspect. Hiring a translator can effectively avoid the negative effects of language differences, but there is a difference between an ordinary translator and a lawyer who is proficient in a foreign language. Ordinary translators cannot understand the true meaning of legal terms, nor can they flexibly use legal terms in both Chinese and foreign languages. Lawyers, as professionals, can be proficient in legal terms in various languages and familiar with the laws of various countries, which is very conducive to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign criminal suspects.

Therefore, we suggest that if a foreigner is suspected of violating the criminal law in China, he or she should immediately hire a Chinese lawyer proficient in English or other languages, which will have a significant impact on the advancement of the case and the protection of the criminal suspect.