A Study On The System Of Investigating And Punishing Obscene Publications During The Period Of Nanjing Nationalist Government

At the end of the Qing Dynasty,when western missionaries brought advanced printing technology,the advanced thoughts poured into the country.The concession provided soil and space for the growth of the new culture,and the constitutional documents gave the citizens freedom of speech.All these factors contributed to the rapid development of the press and publishing industry in China.The Investigation and punishment of obscene publications has a long history in China and will exist for a long time.During the period of the Nanjing nationalist government,the government attached great importance to the press and publication industry in order to control public opinion.During the period of its rule from 1927 to 1948,the government published many laws and regulations on press and publication,mainly including three press laws,1930 press law 1935 press law and 1937 press law.Correspondingly,the issue of investigation and punishment of obscene publications related to the social atmosphere during this period also received official attention.The legislation on the investigation and punishment of obscene publications was rich in content and the legislative process was tortuous.With the development of the society,the problems existing in practice can be considered by the legislature when amending the law,so as to make the law more targeted and feasible.However,due to the legislators’ consideration of the disconnection between theory and practice,and the inevitable lag of laws,these laws also inevitably had loopholes and flaws.During the period of Nanjing nationalist government,the work of investigation and punishment of obscene publications was complicated.The party,the government,social organizations,public institutions and other diverse subjects participated together,and when they encounter particularly complex cases in practice,they will also take the form of multi-subject joint law enforcement.In order to seek illegal profits,booksellers often took risks and fight wits with the inspectors.In practice,there are various types of obscene publications.There were even foreign traffickers and the import of obscene publications,and in the more developed port cities,obscenepublications targeted at foreigners have been seized.The government had invested a lot of manpower and resources to uproot the industry chain of obscene publications.In the official efforts to suppress the investigation and punishment of obscene publications,public opinion also held different attitudes,most of the public supported to strictly ban pornographic publications,in order to correct the decadent social ethos.There were also enlightened people who advocate dialectical treatment of obscene publications,cannot be generalized,which had scientific and artistic value of the publications were not banned.Law is the last line of defense for social equity and justice,according to the relevant legislation of the Nanjing nationalist government.After the seizure of obscene publications,the procuratorial organ shall bring a suit to the court,and the case shall be tried by the judge.Through the study of many specific cases that actually happened in this period,some characteristics are summarized: firstly,the applicable law in judicial practice was not unified,and there were often some flaws and errors;secondly,although there were various kinds of punishment,the majority of the court’s judgment was property punishment,and the imprisonment was only applicable when the case is serious;finally,the judgment of the court was fair to some extent.In the face of the pressure from administrative organs,judges can basically maintain their independence and judge cases based on facts.The legal system of investigation and punishment of obscene publications in the period of Nanjing nationalist government did not achieve the expected effect,but it still has certain reference value to our country.China urgently needs to adjust the current situation of investigation and punishment of obscene publications.We should promote the improvement of legislation and clearly define the standards and definitions of important concepts such as "obscenity".To add special policies for minors and adjust the setting of criminal liability.We should strengthen the industry self-discipline,imitate the book industry and learn from foreign experience,encourage the publishing industry self-management,self-purification.