A Year End Letter

Dear Friend,

As we begin the New Year, we at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute would like to express our gratitude for your continued support. We would also like to take this opportunity to provide a brief synopsis of our activities over the past year. 2016 has been a wonderful and ambitious time at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute!  

We began the year auspiciously, welcoming labor law expert Mr. Huang Leping as a Visiting Scholar for the month of February. While at NYU he studied the U.S. legal system, meeting with judges, scholars and other individuals in mutually beneficial legal exchanges. Please follow this link for more information on Mr. Huang Leping's time at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute. 
 
Spring blossomed on a high note in April with an immensely popular public dialogue with Joshua Wong, Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution Activist. He spoke about the foundation of the student activist group Scholarism in 2011, which was heavily involved in the protests against the introduction of Moral and National Education into Hong Kong school curricula in 2012. Please click here for coverage on the public dialogue with Joshua Wong. 
 
In March, we welcomed Ms. Masako Mori, Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child-Rearing in Japan, for one of our weekly lunch dialogues. In total, we held over 33 weekly lunches hosted by USALI Faculty Director Jerome A. Cohen. We also coordinated 20 special events including a conversation with Jenny Yang, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and welcomed many visiting delegations including one from East China University of Political Science and Law, led by ECUPL’s President, Professor Ye Qing. Please click this link to find out more about East China University of Political Science and Law's visit to the U.S.-Asia Law Institute. Throughout the year, Professor Cohen and USALI-affiliated scholar, NYU Adjunct Professor Peter Dutton of the U.S. Naval War College, also convened multiple meetings and roundtable discussions concerning the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the disputes in the South China and East China Seas, both anticipating and then analyzing the Philippines arbitration decision handed down July 12, 2016.
 
Over the summer we kept busy with our institute projects and finalizing the details for our forthcoming bilingual publications on best practices to avoid false confessions during police interrogation and protecting individual’s rights during pre-trial release and detention decision-making. Keep an eye on our website in the New Year for updates. We also began preparations for our workshops in China on criminal justice, labor law, anti-discrimination law and professional responsibility for lawyers, scheduled for December 2016 and January 2017.
 
We spent a productive October with a group of Chinese visiting scholars to share experiences relating to wrongful convictions in the United States, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Meetings with experts from the U.S. Innocence Project, as well as the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan, proved an excellent opportunity for U.S. and Asian experts to learn about how to prevent and redress wrongful convictions. One of the highlights of the visit was a tour of New York City’s state-of-the-art DNA laboratory. Also in October, USALI-affiliated scholar Aaron Halegua published a major report on labor rights in China. Based on over 100 interviews, observations of legal proceedings, and extensive documentary research, Who Will Represent China’s Workers? Lawyers, Legal Aid, and the Enforcement of Labor Rights examines the legal violations suffered by workers, the range of legal service providers, and how workers fare in litigation. 
 
In November, we held our 22nd Annual Timothy A. Gelatt Memorial Dialogue on the Rule of Law in East Asia. This year we focused on the recent Philippine arbitration award and invited maritime law experts from several countries to participate. USALI-affiliated scholar Professor Peter Dutton and Visiting Scholar Isaac Kardon, both of the U.S.-Naval War College, helped to steer this fascinating dialogue. Please follow this link to watch the entire 22nd Annual Timothy A. Gelatt Memorial Dialogue on the Rule of Law in East Asia. 
 
December and January have brought a series of activities, meetings, and workshops in China for the Institute. With experts including Professors Sida Liu, Randy Hertz, Paulette Caldwell, Cynthia Estlund, Erin Murphy and Brandon Garrett, we held legal exchanges with Chinese experts at Chinese law schools on labor law, anti-discrimination, professional responsibilities of lawyers, and criminal justice.
 
Lastly, this year also saw many changes at the Institute. Having completed her JSD degree at NYU, Research Scholar Ms. Yu-jie Chen became a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute, while continuing her collaboration with Professor Cohen and other USALI scholars on the role of human rights in China-Taiwan cross-strait relations, a project sponsored by the Smith Richardson Foundation. Program Assistant Jean Lee left us to enroll in Harvard Law School. We expect great things from her. In August, we welcomed Ms. JoAnn Kim as Program Assistant, and she has been doing a wonderful job coordinating Institute logistics and weekly lunches. This December we also bade farewell to Administrative and Program Director Trinh D. Eng. Trinh joined USALI in 2011, and her guidance has been instrumental in helping USALI to grow into the organization it is today. We are sad to see her go, but happy to know that she will still be in the NYU family, just a few short blocks away. Mr. Eli Blood-Patterson (J.D. ’14) took the helm of Program Manager this December, and has hit the ground running. Come January, we expect to welcome Mr. Allen Clayton-Greene (LLM ’14), as a Research Scholar. 
 
As we begin 2017, we remain committed to our mission to promote constructive engagement with Asian partners to advocate for legal reform in Asia and the United States.  This goal can only be accomplished with the support and active participation of our colleagues and friends around the globe. Please consider making a gift to the U.S.-Asia Law Institute.

With your continued support, we look forward to another successful year!
 
Warm regards,
 
Ira Belkin
Executive Director
U.S.-Asia Law Institute
 

International Human Rights Day

International Human Rights Day

Saturday, December 10, 2016

By Jerome A. Cohen

Reports about human rights advocates in China suffering in detention and abuse such as this one on Hada, an Inner Mongolian dissident and this one on rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang certainly inspire feelings of sadness and even hopelessness. Yet the odd thing is that many Chinese human rights lawyers and other advocates continue to enter the fray, even though now fully aware of the potential consequences. Efforts are gradually being made to learn what makes them tick. Infectious Western political ideology? Religion, Eastern or Western? The psychology of martyrdom?

Some even now maintain that the numbers of human rights activists are growing, a claim that is plainly difficult to verify. It all reminds me of the situation in South Korea in the ‘70s under General Park while China was still in Cultural Revolution. The late Kim Dae-jung seemed to be motivated by Jeffersonian democracy, indeed believed that the tree of liberty has to be periodically nourished by the blood of patriots, and was prepared to die for the cause, as he almost did on at least three occasions. He was also a devout Roman Catholic and strongly supported by his highly religious wife. South Korea, well over a decade later, experienced a stressful but largely peaceful revolution, and Dae-jung was liberated, vindicated and empowered.

Prospects for his Chinese heirs seem very gloomy at present. Yet, as we mark International Human Rights Day today, we should admire them, wish them well and hope that the UN Declaration on Human Rights, which was adopted with considerable pre-1949 Chinese input, will soon prevail in China too.

China Talk Interview: Jerome A. Cohen and Scott Scavitt

Crashing the Party: An American Reporter in China is Scott Savitt’s singular account as one of the first Americans in post-Mao China. Arriving in Beijing in 1983 as an exchange student from Duke University, Scott stepped into an environment rife with political unrest and had the rare opportunity to witness a nation on the brink of monumental change. Join us at China Institute on Tuesday, November 22, where Mr. Savitt will tell stories of his experiences living through and reporting on China’s historic transformation, including his founding of Beijing Scene, China’s first independent weekly newspaper; befriending and working with a legendary group of Chinese artists, writers, and musicians; interactions with Chinese and American politics; and his time in prison.

Part I

Discussion held with Scott Savitt, discussing his book "Crashing the Party". Moderated by Jerome A. Cohen

Part II

Part III

Experts explore implications of Philippine arbitration award at 2016 Gelatt Memorial Dialogue

On November 10, Jerome Cohen, professor of law and co-director of the US-Asia Law Institute (USALI), convened a panel of international experts for the annual Timothy A. Gelatt Memorial Dialogue on the Rule of Law in East Asia. The topic was “Implications of the Philippine Arbitration Award,” focusing on the outcome of a recent dispute between the Phillipines and China over sovereignty in the South China Sea.

The area has emerged as a major flashpoint in international relations, not only for countries in the region, but also for its potential to spark a showdown between the US and China. Cohen has written on the outcome of the Philippine arbitration and spoken on the situation in the South China sea more generally. Please click this link to access Professor Cohen's Wall Street Journal article "The Wisdom of the Hague's South China Sea decision" or click this link to listen to Professor Cohen's talk "Working Towards Peace in the South China Sea."

The first panel, “The Path to a Just and Lasting Peace in the South China Sea,” was introduced by Paul Reichler, counsel for the Philippines at the law firm Foley Hoag. He spoke about details of the arbitration and its implications. The second panel focused on exclusive economic zones, which confer the right to marine resources around a landmass. The discussion was introduced by Professor Bernard Oxman, director of the Graduate Program in Maritime Law at the University of Miami.

The Gelatt Dialogue was established in 1994 by the US-Asia Law Institute in memory of the former NYU law professor and avid Asian law scholar.

Please click this link to view Professor Cohen's biography or click this link to visit the U.S.-Asia Law Institute's website. 

Watch Video of the Panels

The Path to a Just and Lasting Peace in the South China Sea (2h, 26min)

When is an island entitled to an EEZ? (1h, 59min)

Published on December 6, 2016

Congratulations to the Taiwan Association for Innocence

The U.S.-Asia Law Institute congratulates the Taiwan Association for Innocence for their recent legislative accomplishment: the passage of a new law allowing post-conviction DNA testing. This is a victory for the innocence movement and will provide potential xonerees access to critical evidence to prove their innocence.  We are grateful for TIFA’s continued partnership with us and we wish them continued success.

East China University of Political Science and Law Delegation Visits USALI

On June 1, 2016, a delegation from Shanghai visited the U.S.-Asia Law Institute (USALI). Led by Professor Ye Qing, President of East China University of Political Science and Law, this delegation sought to learn more about institutional and legal mechanisms securing the independence of prosecutors and judges in the U.S. and Canada. USALI Executive Director Ira Belkin and Faculty Director Professor Jerome Cohen both introduced the U.S. prosecutorial system to the delegation, discussing how the principle of checks and balances helps to harness prosecutorial discretion. 

Our guests also reviewed recent reforms within the Chinese judiciary system, including moves to decoupling local government from the procuratorate and court in matters of finance and human resources. These measures ensure independence and personal responsibility for individual judges, promoting the central role the trial plays in the proceedings. 

Exchange between top US and Hong Kong anti-discrimination officials arranged by USALI

U.S.-Asia Law Institute research fellow, Aaron Halegua, organized a meeting between Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and American anti-discrimination officials and experts on May 3, 2016. Participants from the United States included David Lopez, General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Richard Fincher, a professional mediator and arbitrator of labor and employment disputes, and Mr. Halegua. The group met with Professor Alfred Chan, the recently appointed Chairperson of the EOC, and members of his staff. The participants discussed the legal framework for anti-discrimination protections in both jurisdictions and the various institutions and procedures for resolving allegations of discrimination. Mr. Lopez also introduced the history of the Civil Rights Act and EEOC as well as more recent developments in protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation and religion, including decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court.

A Conversation with Joshua Wong

April 18, 2016 - Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution Activist Joshua Wong spoke at New York University about the foundation of the student activist group Scholarism in 2011, which was heavily involved in the protests against the introduction of Moral and National Education into Hong Kong school curricula in 2012. He also spoke about the Umbrella Movement pro-democracy protests of 2014.  Joshua Wong was one of Time Magazine's 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014 and one of Fortune Magazine's World's 50 Greatest Leaders of 2015.  He is a founder of the political party Demosisto, which is expected to contest the upcoming Hong Kong Legislative Council elections in September 2016.

Meeting with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair

On Saturday, April 9, 2016 the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at NYU Law School hosted a meeting between Jenny Yang, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Aaron Halegua, a research fellow at the Institute, and several leading Chinese anti-discrimination advocates. Chair Yang introduced the structure of EEOC and the many functions it performs, including investigating claims of discrimination, collecting data from employers, issuing guidance documents, and litigating cases in federal court. The participants also discussed various forms of discrimination that are found in both countries, such as discrimination based on sexual orientation, pregnancy, and disability, as well as strategies for combating discrimination.

Visit from Scholar Fabian Duessel and a Discussion on An International Bill of the Rights of Man

On Thursday, April 7, 2016 USALI hosted Fabian Duessel, a research fellow at the Chair of Constitutional Law, Public International Law and Human Rights Law at the University of Tuebingen.  The aim of this presentation is to assess to what extent Sir Hersch Lauterpacht’s revolutionary work, An International Bill of the Rights of Man, published in 1945, may be applicable to the 21st century Asian context. Lauterpacht’s book was written at a time when the notion of international human rights protection was in its infancy. However, his analysis proved to be an invaluable handbook for architects of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Two points are of special interest. First, Lauterpacht strategically situated his project within Western notions of the law of nature, natural rights and international law. He also specifically addressed difficulties presented by particular constitutional cultures, such as the uncodified British constitution. Similarly, one must consider to what extent an Asian human rights mechanism may be dependent on specific philosophical legacies and constitutional peculiarities in the region. Second, Lauterpacht strongly argued against the use of a system of international judicial review, and thus did not support the establishment of a purely international judicial enforcement mechanism. His thoughts on enforcement may thus be of value in the current Asian political context, where flexibility and elasticity may be more appropriate.

Without ignoring recent international, regional and sub-regional developments, it is hoped that by “going back to basics”, applying the most fundamental principles to the contemporary context, progress can be made in furthering international human rights protection in Asia.

About Fabian:

Fabian Duessel is currently a research fellow at the Chair of Constitutional Law, Public International Law and Human Rights Law at the University of Tuebingen. He holds an LL.B. from the London School of Economics (2010) and is currently an LL.M. candidate at the University of Tuebingen. He also holds an M.A. in Governance from the University of Hagen (2015). At the University of Tuebingen he regularly teaches UK public law (since 2012) and occasionally gives lectures on public international law (since 2014). As visiting scholar at National Taiwan University he co-taught an intensive course on international human rights law with Prof. Jau-Yuan Hwang (2014) and Prof. Jochen von Bernstorff (2015). At the 6th Asian Constitutional Law Forum (2015), held at the National University of Singapore, he presented a paper comparing regional human rights protection in Europe and Asia. He is particularly interested in the development of constitutionalism and human rights in East Asia. His other research interests include international organisations and global governance. Having lived extensively in the UK, Germany and Taiwan, he speaks fluent English, German and Mandarin. 

Huang Leping Visits USALI

For the month of February 2016, USALI is pleased to welcome Mr. Huang Leping as a Visiting Scholar. Huang will be studying  the American legal system, meeting with judges and other individuals for legal exchange. 

Huang Leping is a labor law expert and has a Ph.D in Law. He serves as Director of Beijing Yilian Legal Aid and Research Center of Labor and Director of the Beijing Yixian Law Firm. He is also a member of the China National Occupational Diseases Classification and Catalogue Expert Committee, Executive Director of the Labor Economy and Domestic Labor Dispatch Professional Committee under the China Association for Labor Studies, Deputy Director of Labor and Social Security Professional Committee under Beijing Lawyers Association, and an arbitrator of Beijing Labor Dispute Arbitration Committee. Mr. Huang was awarded, among others, “National Outstanding Lawyer in Protecting Workers’ Rights and Interests” and “National May 1st Labor Medal”.

After suffering from a workplace injury in 2003, he began his career studying and practicing labor and social security law. He has provided legal aid for thousands of labor disputes, some of which have established national judicial precedents. He founded Beijing Yilian Legal Aid and Research Center of Labor, which is the first professional labor law legal aid organization in China. Yilian has provided legal services for more than 130 thousand workers and has helped nearly 7000 workers receive a total of RMB190 million of compensation. Yilian was awarded “Beijing Excellent Organization in Charity and Public Interest Activities”, and was invited to participate in labor legislation by the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of NPC, Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Jerome A. Cohen Speaks at AALS meeting on East Asian Law & Society.

On January 7, 2016 Professor Jerome A. Cohen spoke at the Association of American Law Schools in Tokyo. He spoke at the Section on East Asian Law and Society, which promotes learning about East Asian law and society, particularly in a comparative context; collaborates with other Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Sections on matters of common interest related to globalization and legal education; and facilitates the communication of ideas, interests and activities among members concerning legal systems in East Asia.

2015 Year End Letter from Ira Belkin

Dear Friend,
 
We are writing to wish you a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year!  As we prepare to close the books on 2015, we would like to express our gratitude for your continued support and provide a snapshot of our activities over the past year.
 
2015 has been a momentous year here at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute!  This spring we organized workshops in China with Chinese experts and lawyers on overcoming challenges to the implementation of workplace safety laws and employment discrimination prohibitions.  We also brought the founders of the American and Taiwanese Innocence Projects to speak at the Chinese Public Security University and Beijing’s leading law schools. They discussed their experiences securing exonerations and bringing about positive reforms in their respective criminal justice systems. As always, our goal is to foster constructive international legal exchange and our events in China have continued to advance that goal.
 
Throughout the year, we have continued working with colleagues from China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea to learn more about international developments and share our expertise. We also continued our weekly lunch forum, which offers a unique perspective into the careers and ideas of notable figures in the field of Asian Legal studies. Among this year’s guests were Hon. Dennis Tang of the Grand Council of Justices in Taiwan; Professor Carma Hinton, a native Beijinger who came of age during the Cultural Revolution and who screened for us her renowned film, Gate of Heavenly Peace; Steve Orlins, the President of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations; and many, many more. 
 
We also recently convened the 21st Annual Timothy A. Gelatt Dialogue on the Rule of Law in East Asia. This year we focused on the question of Due Process for Foreign Businesses in China.  Our guests included U.S. and Chinese experts and practitioners who analyzed several of the high-profile cases, including the Anti-Monopoly case against Qualcomm and the criminal prosecution of ChinaWhys founder Peter Humphrey. Through these programs we play an effective role in helping China and other countries improve their legal systems while serving as a bridge between American and Asian legal experts.
 
Our founder and faculty director, Professor Jerome A. Cohen, published many editorials in leading news outlets in English and Chinese on subjects ranging from cross-strait relations to the disputes in the South and East China Seas, China’s Draft Foreign NGO Law, the Obama-Xi Summit, the situation in Hong Kong, and U.S.-China Cyber Security Perspectives. Please click this link to access Professor Cohen's 2015 editorials. Professor Cohen and I also published an op-ed for the New York Times. Please click this link to access Professor Cohen and I's op-ed on the draft for China’s foreign NGO Management Law. The Institute’s Research Scholars have also been busy publishing their work. Please click this link to access the U.S.-Asia Law Institute's website where you can find our 2015 highlights.
 
We have welcomed new Research Scholars Elias Blood-Patterson, Yuan (Amy) Gao, and Alvin Cheung. We are also pleased to have Professor Sida Liu of the University of Wisconsin to support our work on the legal profession in China. We have also welcomed our new Program Coordinator Alexis Agliano Sanborn and Program Assistant Jean Lee.
 
As we look towards 2016, we remain committed to our mission to promote constructive engagement with Asian partners to advocate for legal reform in Asia and the United States.  These goals are admittedly ambitious and can only be accomplished with the support and active participation of our colleagues and friends around the globe. Please consider making a gift to the U.S.-Asia Law Institute.
 
With your continued support, we look forward to another successful year!
 
Warm regards, 

Ira Belkin
Executive Director
U.S.-Asia Law Institute

USALI Hosts Delegation from China's Ministry of Land and Resources on Urban Planning Study Tour

In late November, 2013, the U.S.-Asia Law Institute welcomed a delegation of Chinese government officials from the Ministry of Land and Resources interested in learning more about urban planning from U.S. academics and practitioners in New York City.

Over the course of a two-day visit organized by Professor Frank Upham, USALI co-director and Wilf Family Professor of Property Law, Mr. Shitong Qiao, USALI Research Scholar and J.S.D. candidate at Yale Law School, and Ms. Heather Han (LL.M. ’10), USALI Research Scholar, the officials met with several members of the NYU community and beyond to discuss theoretical and practical approaches to urban planning.

Presentations featured Professor Vicki Been, Boxer Family Professor of Law and Director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at the NYU School of Law, who discussed transferable development rights; Professor Zhan Guo, Assistant Professor at the Wagner School at NYU, who spoke about development conflict resolution in New York City; Mr. Stephen Louis, Chief of the Legal Counsel Division of the NYC Law Department, who discussed the city’s government structure; Ms. Lisa Bova-Hiatt, Deputy Chief of the NYC Law Department, who highlighted the eminent domain issues in the city; Winston Von Engel, Deputy Director of the Brooklyn Office at the NYC Department of City Planning, who introduced the history of urban planning in NYC; and Professor Gerald Korngold, Professor of Law at New York Law School, who presented on U.S. Real Estate Transactions and Finance.

In addition, the delegation took a tour of City Hall and witnessed a public hearing at the NYC Department of City Planning.

In a letter written upon his return to China, delegation leader Mr. Lu Jing complimented the USALI team on the relevancy of the topics to the delegation’s interests, the comprehensive nature of the academics’ and practitioners’ presentations, and the overall tone of the meetings, which Mr. Lu described as “free and harmonious.”

USALI’s involvement in the organization of the delegation visit is representative of the Institute’s greater effort to increase intellectual exchanges between Chinese and American practitioners and scholars.

Asia Law Society's Legal Mandarin Class Now Available Online

The U.S.-Asia Law Institute and the Asia Law Society (ALS) at NYU Law are excited to announce the weekly posting of ALS's Fall 2013 Legal Mandarin Class, which takes place on Wednesdays from 6-7:30pm in Furman Hall, Room 120. Please click this link to access recordings of the Asia Law Society's Fall 2013 Legal Mandarin Class.  

From the Asia Law Society:

The purpose of the Legal Mandarin classes is to both increase students’ knowledge of Chinese and Taiwanese law and to improve their Mandarin skills. Therefore, we’re hoping that classes will be interactive, and have allotted time each week for students to ask questions and discuss the materials. Because the class will be entirely in Mandarin, proficiency in the language is recommended. Nonetheless, you do not need to participate in the discussion if you don’t want to, so students with more beginner-level skills who are interested in the class should definitely come check it out.

Here is our current curriculum for the classes we will be holding this semester:

Weekly Curriculum:

1. History of Chinese Law - Kai-chih (9/11) 2. Family Law & Gender Equality - Sylvia (9/18) 3. Human Rights - Shang-yun (9/25) 4. Criminal Law - Luping (10/2) 5. Constitutional/Administrative Law - Xiaoyi (10/9) 6. Tort Law - Yingjun (10/16) 7. Contracts - Jean (10/23) 8. Labor & Competitions - Longtao (10/30) 9. International Relations - Kai-chih (11/6) 10. IP Law - Sylvia (11/13) 11. Marriage Law - Meng (11/20) 12. Negotiations workshop - Zhouzhang (11/27)

Please click this link to shoot the Asia Law Society an email if you have any questions.

USALI Hosts Visiting Delegation of Judges from Taiwan Studying Jury Trials

In late October, 2013, the U.S.-Asia Law Institute welcomed a delegation of nine judges from Taiwan’s Judicial Yuan, High and District Courts, and Judges Academy interested in studying the American jury trial system as a possible model for citizen participation in Taiwan’s judicial system.

Over the course of a three-day visit organized by Ms. Yu-Jie Chen, USALI Research Scholar and J.S.D. candidate at the NYU School of Law, the judges held in depth discussions regarding the American jury trial system with Jerome Cohen, USALI Co-Director and Professor of Law at NYU; Ira Belkin, USALI Executive Director and Adjunct Professor of Law at NYU; James B. Jacobs,  Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Professor of Constitutional Law and the Courts at NYU; Margaret K. Lewis, USALI Affiliated Scholar and Associate Professor of Law at Seton Hall School of Law; and Andrew Schaffer, Adjunct Professor of Law at NYU and former Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters for the New York City Police Department.

In addition, the delegation visited New York federal and state courts. While at the courthouses, the delegation observed a probation violation hearing and jury trial, met with United States District Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York and Judge Martin Marcus of the Bronx County Supreme Court, and discussed the American jury system with a representative of the Commissioner of Jurors.

USALI’s involvement in the organization of the delegation visit is representative of the Institute’s greater effort to increase intellectual exchanges between Taiwan and American practitioners and scholars. USALI’s recently launched Taiwan Rule of Law Initiative intends on accomplishing this through the following activities:

• Publish scholarly books, articles and op-eds on Taiwan’s legal development and current legal debates;

• Host visiting scholars and practitioners from Taiwan who are researching various aspects of Taiwan’s legal system, including criminal justice, human rights, legal institutions and public interest law;

• Hold Chinese and English-language workshops and public programs about Taiwan’s legal development for NYU law students and faculty as well as the wider intellectual community;

• Organize conferences that feature exchanges among experts from the United States, China and Taiwan on issues of common interest; and

• Facilitate issue-focused study tours for Taiwanese scholars and legal professionals who visit the United States.

US State Department Invites Ira Belkin to Participate in U.S.-China Legal Experts Dialogue

On November 7-8, 2013, USALI Executive Director Ira Belkin took part in the sixth U.S.-China Legal Experts Dialogue, an event that brings together government and non-government experts from the United States and China to discuss the benefits and practical implementation of the rule of law. Belkin led the discussion concerning the role of lawyers in promoting the rule of law and emphasized the need for protected space for lawyers to represent unpopular causes and unpopular clients.

Please see below for the official announcement.

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

November 5, 2013

The U.S.-China Legal Experts Dialogue will take place in Charlottesville, Virginia, November 7-8, 2013. Acting Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Uzra Zeya and Acting Legal Adviser Mary McLeod will lead the U.S. delegation. Supreme People’s Court Senior Judge Hu Yunteng will lead the Chinese delegation.

This is the 6th Legal Experts Dialogue and the third since President Obama and then-President Hu Jintao agreed in 2009 on the importance of resuming the dialogue. The dialogue brings together government and non-government experts from the United States and China to discuss the benefits and practical implementation of the rule of law.

Please follow this link for the original media note on the U.S.-China Legal Experts Dialogue from the Office of the Spokesperson.

U.S.-Asia Law Institute 2015 Selected Publications

The following is a selected sampling of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute’s publication for the year of 2015. 

Professor Jerome A. Cohen

• His most recent publications, op-eds and blogs can be found on his website.

Professor Ira Belkin & Jerome A. Cohen

• "Will China Close Its Doors?" New York Times, June 1, 2015.

Professor Frank Upham:

• “China’s Changing Property Law Landscape,” Research Handbook on Comparative Property Law, Edward Elgar Publishing, Winter 2015.

• “The Evolution of Relational Property Rights: A Case of Chinese Rural Land Reform,” Iowa Law Review, May 2015.

• “The Paradoxical Roles of Property Rights in Growth and Development,” Law and Development Review, Winter 2015.
  

• “Lessons from Chinese Growth: Re-Thinking the Role of Property Rights in Development,” The Beijing Consensus? How China has Changed Western Ideas of Law and Economic Development, Cambridge University Press.

For a complete listing of Professor Upham’s publications, please visit here.

Yu-Jie Chen:

• “Human Rights in China–Taiwan Relations: How Taiwan Can Engage China” , Hong Kong Law Journal 565, 2015.

Sida Liu:

• “The Fall and Rise of Law and Social Science in China,” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 11: 373-394, 2015. (Sida Liu and Zhizhou Wang)

• “Advocates, Experts, and Suspects: Three Images of Lawyers in Chinese Media Reports,” International Journal of the Legal Profession 21(2): 195-212, 2015. (Cheng-Tong Lir Wang, Sida Liu, and Terence C. Halliday)

• “Law’s Social Forms: A Powerless Approach to the Sociology of Law,” Law & Social Inquiry 40(1): 1-28, 2015.

• “Boundary Work and Exchange: The Formation of a Professional Service Market,” Symbolic Interaction 38(1): 1-21, 2015.

Chi Yin:

• "Lack of due process mars China's war on drugs", East Asia Forum, July 2015.

Alvin Y. H. Cheung

• “Intra-Executive Policy Laundering: A New Look at an Old Problem,” 41 N.C. J. INT'L L. (forthcoming).

• “Road to Nowhere: Hong Kong's Democratization and China's Obligations Under Public International Law,” 40 BROOK. J. INT’L L. 465, 2015.

• “Shifting Ideologies Threaten Hong Kong’s Academic Freedom,”K. FREE PRESS, Oct. 25, 2015.

• A Mockery of China’s Pledge on Rule of Law, S. CHINA MORNING POST (Sept. 26, 2015)

• “The Metastasis of ‘National Security’ in China,” INT’L J. CONST. L. BLOG . August 6, 2015.

• “Does Hong Kong Need a Mayor?,” INT’L J. CONST. L. BLOG (Apr. 1, 2015),

• “A Spectre Resurfaces: Chinese National Security Legislation and Hong Kong,” INT’L J. CONST. L. BLOG, Feb. 12, 2015.

For a complete listing of Alvin’s articles and publications, please visit here.

Elias Blood-Patterson

•  "Fish Story: Analysts See Nations' Misue of Rational Use When it Comes to Fishing Rights," New York University, August 2015.

2013 Year End Letter

Dear Friend of USALI,

Thank you for your support of NYU’s U.S.-Asia Law Institute (USALI) this past year. 2013 was a great year and we expect the coming year will be even better. 明年会更好！ Here is a quick summary of our accomplishments for the year.

Public Events

This year, USALI organized nearly sixty events at the law school, including:

• The Nineteenth Annual Timothy A. Gelatt Dialogue on the Rule of Law in Asia, featuring seven members of NYU’s law faculty in an informal discussion of academic engagement with China

• Expert speaker events with Evan Osnos, former China correspondent for The New Yorker; He Weifang, one of China’s leading public intellectuals and legal scholars; Zhou Dan, Chinese lawyer and LGBT rights advocate; and Guo Jianmei, China’s leading women’s rights lawyer

• Roundtables with key participants in the East and South China Sea disputes, including Annette Lu, former Vice President of Taiwan; Francis Jardeleza, the Solicitor General of the Philippines; and representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Viet Nam and the People’s Republic of China

Expert Support of Legal Reform in China 

We also directly participated in legal reform workshops in Beijing, Chengdu, Fuzhou, Wuhan, and Xi’an through our three-year project on Criminal Procedure Reform.  This year we focused on implementation of the new provisions in Chinese law designed to prevent torture and coercion during police interrogations.  To that end, we shared with our Chinese colleagues world-renowned expertise and best practices in interrogation as well as the award-winning documentary, Central Park Five, which showed the grave injustice that false confessions may lead to.

Publications

This past year, USALI staff published fourteen academic articles and op-eds on legal reform in China, as well as Challenge to China: How Taiwan Abolished Its Version of Re-Education Through Labor (Berkshire), a book co-authored by USALI Co-Director Professor Jerome Cohen and USALI Affiliated Scholar Professor Margaret K. Lewis on Taiwan’s abolition of police-imposed punishment.

Awards

Professor Cohen’s work as a pioneer in the field of East Asian Legal Studies was acknowledged this year though a Lifetime Achievement Award granted by the American Association of Comparative Law, the Pacific Century Institute’s Building Bridges Award, established to honor people who have enhanced relations between Americans and Asians, and The American Lawyer magazine’s “Top 50 Innovators” award, given in recognition of Professor Cohen’s innovative work in the field of international law over the last five decades.

Expert Advice

Throughout the year, our staff was frequently called on as experts in various human rights and legal expert dialogues and as witnesses in Congressional hearings:

• USALI Co-Director and Professor Frank Upham and Research Scholar Qiao Shitong organized a training on property rights for a delegation from China’s Ministry of Land and Resources

• USALI organized a training for a delegation of judges from Taiwan studying the American jury system

• Professor Cohen and I participated in the National Committee on U.S. China Relations Human Rights Dialogue

• Maggie Lewis and I were asked to give testimony to Congress on the prospects for reforming Re-Education Through Labor

• I was invited by the U.S. State Department to participate in the 6th annual U.S.-China Legal Experts Dialogue

We expect that next year will be another banner year for us.  Here are a few things we are looking forward to:

• Shanghai Semester Abroad Program – USALI Co-Director Frank Upham has organized the first semester abroad program in Shanghai, and he and I will teach a winter session course at NYU Shanghai entitled, “An Introduction to Chinese Law”

• Criminal Justice Reform – We will continue to focus on the new provisions of China’s amended Criminal Procedure Law regarding investigative techniques, detention and charging decisions

• Public Interest Law Projects – We will continue work on the development of public interest law in China, especially in the areas of labor law, land rights and anti-discrimination law

• Taiwan Rule of Law Initiative – We will continue to learn and share information about Taiwan’s transformation from martial law to democracy and the rule of law

USALI would not have been able to accomplish all that it has this year without the financial support of our friends.  We are grateful for your support. Please consider making a donation that will go toward next year’s activities. Click this link to donate to USALI's webpage.

We wish you happy holidays and a happy New Year and hope to see you at as many USALI events as you can attend in the coming year.

Warmest wishes,

Ira Belkin
Executive Director

Professor Frank Upham and Shitong Qiao of USALI Discuss Property Rights in China

On Thursday, October 31, 2013 Professor Cohen sat down with Professor Frank Upham, Wilf Family Professor of Property Law and USALI co-director at the NYU School of Law, and Mr. Shitong Qiao, USALI Research Scholar and J.S.D. Candidate at Yale Law School, to discuss their views on contemporary Chinese property rights topics and property law in general.

During the lunch, Professor Upham described how he became interested in Chinese property rights. The turn toward China marks his latest focus of inquiry in a career-long interest in law and society, particularly the extent to which global practice can help us rethink existing theory on the relationship between property rights and the law. Having studied many diverse regions, including Japan, Cambodia and China, he is now working on a book that investigates the evolution of property law across many regions, beginning with the enclosure movement in England in the sixteenth century.

Mr. Shitong Qiao, who is now in his fourth year in Yale’s J.S.D. program, introduced his fieldwork in Shenzhen, the birthplace of China's market economy and urban land use reform. Mr. Qiao advised the Shenzhen municipal government on land reform and urbanization during his one-year fieldwork there. His research on small properties in Shenzhen has been accepted by the Canadian Journal of Law and Society and as a book chapter to be published by Cambridge University Press. He also detailed his approach toward studying Chinese property rights, which combines law and economic theories with on-the-ground observation and participation.

In addition, Professor Upham and Mr. Qiao discussed their ongoing collaboration, a project that examines the evolution of land rights in a rapidly changing world. In answering questions from the audience, both speakers proposed an integrated and dynamic approach to understanding property rights in China, which emphasizes the crucial roles of community-building and the establishment of political power for all stakeholders involved in the process of owning and transferring land.