One of the most complex topics in contemporary international relations is the status of the self-governing entity of Taiwan and its government in Taipei. In this November 6, 2025 talk, Pasha Hsieh, a law professor at Singapore Management University, explains how states that lack formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan nonetheless enter into trade and bilateral investment agreements with it, blurring the line between recognition and non-recognition.
On April 2, 2025, US President Trump declared “Liberation Day” and launched a tariff war against the entire world, including key American trade partners in East Asia. In this April 8, 2026 talk, Henry Gao, law professor at Singapore Management University and a trade expert, argues that the Liberation Day tariffs were simply leverage to force other countries to halt disguised transshipment of Chinese goods to the United States. Going forward, Professor Gao calls for rethinking some fundamental rules of the current global trade system, such as most-favored nation status.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development identifies ensuring equal access to justice for all as one of its specific goals, aligning with the rights proclaimed in multiple international human rights treaties. Taking “equal access to justice” as an entry point, Yizhi Huang’s article compares the 2030 Agenda and international human rights treaties across three dimensions: background, content framework, and monitoring mechanisms. It argues that it is necessary to integrate the human rights mechanisms with the 2030 Agenda and coordinate both approaches in order to enhance judicial protection for vulnerable groups and achieve judicial justice for all.
May 03– May 09
A Chinese military court sentences two former defense ministers to death with reprieve for corruption; Hong Kong announces plans to require physical door handles on new vehicles from 2027; Japan agrees to negotiate the transfer of demobilized Japanese warships to the Philippines as both countries step up their security arrangements; North Korea revises its constitution to remove longstanding references to reunification with South Korea; South Korea's National Assembly tries but fails to approve a constitutional amendment transferring martial law authority from the president to the legislature; after months of wrangling, Taiwan's opposition-controlled legislature approves a special defense budget that is 40 percent smaller than President Lai Ching-te requested.
April 26– May 02
Chinese market regulators order Meta to unwind its $2 billion-plus acquisition of agentic AI startup Manus despite Manus’ reincorporation in Singapore; Hong Kong presses criminal charges against two men accused of posting social media calls to boycott last year’s Legislative Council elections; Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi convenes an expert panel to review Japan's defense policies and spending levels; former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, both receive longer prison terms from an appellate court; a Taiwan court sentences a former TSMC engineer to ten years in prison for passing chip secrets to an equipment supplier.
April 19– April 25
China threatens retaliatory measures if the European Union adopts a proposed cybersecurity law that could push Chinese firms out of the region’s telecommunications networks and other critical infrastructure; Hong Kong's government proposes closer oversight of contractors with respect to fire safety; Japan lifts its own ban on selling lethal weapons to other countries; South Korean prosecutors seek a thirty-year prison term for ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol for allegedly trying to escalate tensions with North Korea in 2024 by sending drones over Pyongyang; Taiwan’s opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan announces plans to hold a roll-call vote May 19 on a motion to impeach President Lai Ching-te, the culmination of a partisan power struggle that began with Lai’s 2024 inauguration.
Program on International Law & Relations in Asia
