The "Sea Palace" Case: Settlement and Withdrawal of Lawsuit — The Ultimate Revelation of the "Sea Palace" Case (Serial 24)
Part Two: Chivalrous Lawyer: Legal Rescue of the "Sea Palace"
10. Settlement and Withdrawal of the Lawsuit
On December 30, 2011, the Dapeng New District of Shenzhen, which governs the Nanao Dongshan Bay area where the 'Maritime Palace' is located, was officially established. The 'Maritime Palace' case, which had been delayed for half a year, still had no verdict.
In May 2012, He Yongzhi, the former director of the Shenzhen Marine Bureau, was transferred to serve as the director of the Administrative Committee of Dapeng New District. At this time, in order to align with the innovative development of Dapeng New District, the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government decided to adjust the strategic positioning of Dapeng New District, changing it from a 'world-class ecological coastal city' to a 'world-class coastal eco-tourism resort area.' Meanwhile, the waters of Nan'ao Dongshan Bay were also planned as a high-end tourism area, and the zoning of its marine areas naturally needed to be changed from near-shore aquaculture zones to offshore leisure and entertainment functional zones in accordance with the provisions of the Marine Area Use Management Law. There would be no legal obstacles for the 'Marine Palace' to obtain the marine area use right certificate! Considering the course of history and the changes in circumstances, should we marvel at Mr. Guo's foresight and creativity at the time, praise Wang Tengfeng for his insightful analysis during the trial, or ridicule the public and media for the stubbornness and shortsightedness they exhibited back then?
There were no surprises in the events that followed. Through court mediation, the Shenzhen Municipal Government Ocean Bureau, Longgang District Economic Promotion Bureau, Dapeng New District Administrative Committee, and others participated in the mediation, ultimately reaching a private settlement with Guo: 'Sea Palace' would no longer be demolished, but would be allowed to seek healthy development under the new management framework in accordance with the law; Guo would withdraw the lawsuit and relinquish the right to compensation; all parties would maintain a low-key and pragmatic approach to avoid attracting public criticism again.
On May 24, 2012, Shenzhen Maritime Elite Entertainment Co., Ltd. entrusted lawyer Wang Tengfeng to draft a written withdrawal application, formally applying to the court to withdraw three administrative litigation cases, and on the same day, the Longgang District People's Court issued three 'Administrative Rulings' allowing the withdrawal!
Figure 89: This is the first page of the "Administrative Ruling" issued by the Longgang District Court regarding the withdrawal of the plaintiff in Case No. 45. The "Administrative Rulings" for Case Nos. 47 and 53 are similar to this.
Figure 90: This is the second page of the 'Administrative Ruling' made by the Longgang District Court regarding the plaintiff's withdrawal of Case No. 45. The 'Administrative Rulings' for Case Nos. 47 and 53 are similar to this.
Resolving the 'Sea Palace' case through the very 'Chinese-characteristic' method of withdrawing a lawsuit by reconciliation inevitably gives people a sense of disappointment, as if a climax has abruptly fallen. Although it is firmly believed that if the 'Sea Palace' case could be concluded according to the law, it would certainly set a model for the administrative litigation system, establish a benchmark for government administration according to law, and leave a milestone for the construction of a rule-of-law country, as the entrusted agent, lawyer Wang Tengfeng must also respect the decision of the client, Mr. Guo, and can only helplessly accept this imperfect administrative litigation outcome determined by a system where administrative power dominates and judicial power is weak.
Figure 91: After reaching an intention to settle in the "Maritime Palace" case, Guo XX specially went to Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm to present a banner to express respect and gratitude.
However, the significant impact and importance of Lawyer Wang Tengfeng handling the "Sea Palace" case contrasts sharply with the low-key conclusion of the case. The paradox between grassroots innovation and government regulation and legal norms, the positive interaction between media supervision and law-based administration, the dialectical relationship between entrepreneurs’ wealth-creating abilities and social fairness and justice… each major proposition can find vivid arguments and evidence in the "Sea Palace" case. Due to the book’s theme and limited space, it only touches on these points briefly, and they will not be further elaborated here. But no matter how much we emphasize it, the role and impact of this case in promoting government law-based administration cannot be overstated. Particularly, Lawyer Wang Tengfeng’s precise grasp of the key issue in the case—the legality of administrative actions—and his courageous advocacy for rights, fearlessly challenging powerful government departments without ever compromising, amounted to a serious lesson for the government departments, leaving a profound teaching that still serves as a warning to officials at all levels in Shenzhen today. On June 13, 2014, the "A6 News" section of the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily published a report by journalists Zhu Liangjun and Zhao Xinming titled "Court President Opens Door to Explain the Law, Public Asks Questions on the Spot." The report stated that Comrade Fu Xinjiang, who was the Deputy District Mayor of Longgang District at the time of the "Sea Palace" case and is currently the Vice President of the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, when attending a themed speech event in Futian District on "Legal Thinking and Law-Based Administration," used the highly publicized "Sea Palace" case from his time as Deputy District Mayor as an example to explain the connotation of legal thinking in a clear and accessible manner: "The government abides by the law and administers according to the law!" At the same time, Comrade Fu Xinjiang, drawing on his own governance experience, warned the attending leaders at all levels to "constantly remind themselves to solve problems through legal means." This shows that administrative litigation cases such as the "Sea Palace" case have played an immeasurable role in promoting the construction of a law-based country, a law-based government, and a law-based society in China.
Figure 92: Partial electronic version of the 'A6 News' section of the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, June 13, 2014.
(待续)
