Renowned Chinese legal scholar Guo Daohui passed away last weekend at the age of 98 due to illness. The “Chinese Law” WeChat public account issued an obituary on the 12th, stating that Guo Daohui, former director of the Research Department of the China Law Society and former editor-in-chief of the “Chinese Law” magazine, passed away in Beijing on April 11th at 5:33 am due to an incurable illness. The funeral service will be held in the Lan Hall of the Babaoshan Funeral Home on April 15th.
Public information shows that Guo Daohui was born in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. He was a schoolmate of former Chinese State Council Premier Zhu Rongji during their high school years. They became classmates again after entering Tsinghua University and eventually became close friends due to their similar personalities.
In July 1951, after graduating, Guo Daohui stayed at Tsinghua University to work and held positions such as member of the Party Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department, as well as editor-in-chief of the campus magazine “New Tsinghua.”
In 1979, at the age of 51, Guo Daohui transitioned to the field of law and became the Deputy Director of the Legislative Work Committee of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. In 1987, he served as the Director of the Research Department of the China Law Society. In 1989, Guo Daohui became the editor-in-chief of the “Chinese Law” magazine, during which time the publication began to boldly discuss issues such as human rights. In 1994, he proposed the theory of “constraining state power with social power” and advocated for the establishment of a true rule of law society. Along with Jiang Ping, former president of the China University of Political Science and Law, and Li Buyun, professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, he was dubbed the “Three Legal Elders.”
On December 18, 2018, during the commemoration of the “40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening Up” by the Chinese Communist Party, the three legal scholars once questioned the CCP’s concept of “rule of law,” believing that strengthening “Party leadership” should not replace governance and law. As of today, all three legal scholars have passed away. On December 19, 2023, Jiang Ping, who dedicated his life to advocating for property rights, passed away in Beijing at the age of 94. Li Buyun passed away in January this year at the age of 92.