Chinese universities conduct a nationwide audit of retracted academic papers; Hong Kong courts sentence more defendants in cases stemming from the 2019 protests; LGBTQ activists in Japan advocate for equal marriage rights on Valentine’s Day; South Korea convicts three former police officers for destroying evidence linked to a fatal crowd crush in Seoul on Halloween 2022; Taiwan solicits public input for the next phase of its Open Government National Action Plan.
USALI Faculty Director José E. Alvarez has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the oldest and most prestigious learned societies in the United States. He is among 252 new members announced on April 22, and one of only five law professors who were chosen.
This 10-session seminar will introduce the legal system of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – in practice as well as theory – with an emphasis on institutions, norms, procedures, personnel and ideology relating to constitutional law, criminal justice and human rights. We will view the contemporary legal process against the background of China’s legal traditions and pre-Communist efforts to develop a modern legal system. We will also consider the relevant experiences of Chinese societies in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Pioneering scholar of Chinese law, Professor Jerome Alan Cohen has taught and mentored countless others in a field he helped establish in this country. A courageous voice for those whose voices have been silenced, Professor Cohen defends human rights around the globe. Bold trailblazer and advocate, for using his many talents to create a more just world, Yale is proud to present Professor Jerome Alan Cohen with his third Yale degree, Doctor of Laws.
From USALI Faculty Director Emeritus Jerome A. Cohen: “Here’s a draft of a new article that in a way is my Apologia Pro Vita Sua. There have been some debates about whether those of us who tried to help China build its legal system in the decade beginning in 1979 committed a mistake. I offer my thoughts in the article from a frank, close-up, first-hand perspective. I hope they will be useful for people thinking about our China policy and for anyone interested in recent Chinese history.”
China increases judicial financial assistance to women in need and punishes local officials in Shaanxi for ignoring human trafficking; Hong Kong courts complete 80% of cases that have been brought to them in connection with the 2019 protest; Japan lowers the age of majority in the criminal justice system and promptly releases the name of a 19-year old suspect; Taiwan police prepare to enforce a new stalking law.
A retired Chinese Supreme People’s Court judge is under investigation; a Japanese court dismisses a lawsuit by ethnic Koreans and Japanese who say they were fraudulently lured to North Korea decades ago; Taiwan legislators approve lowering the voting age from 20 to 18, setting the stage for a public referendum.
Institute affiliated scholar Aaron Halegua testified on March 1, 2022 before the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China at a hearing on The Future of Women in China: #MeToo, Censorship, and Gender Inequality.
China’s Supreme People’s Court releases typical cases involving the protection of minors; Hong Kong police warn the U.K. NGO Hong Kong Watch and its chief executive that they could be deemed in violation of the National Security Law; a senior economist at the OECD says it would be premature for South Korea’s president-elect to disband the Ministry of Gender Equality.
Institute affiliated scholar Aaron Halegua testified on March 1, 2022 before the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China at a hearing on The Future of Women in China: #MeToo, Censorship, and Gender Inequality.
USALI affiliated scholar Michael C. Davis published a new article on Hong Kong’s evolving constitutional situation, in the Journal of Democracy, titled “Hong Kong: How Beijing Perfected Repression,” in January 2022. Read it here.
ABC Australia interviewed USALI affiliated scholar Aaron Halegua about his report on workplace gender-based violence in China and its relation to Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai
USALI Executive Director Katherine Wilhelm recently published a commentary as part of a ChinaFile Conversation titled “What Future for International NGOs in China?” Wilhelm wrote:
No organization should compromise its mission in order to keep a China program active. And virtually no one would consciously do that: It could alienate staff and key stakeholders and court public controversy. Staying in China is not an end in itself. At the same time, it is difficult for large organizations to completely ignore China given its impact on the planet. The real dilemma, therefore, is figuring out how to achieve the organizational mission as it applies to China.
The Human Trafficking Legal Center has named USALI affiliated scholar Aaron Halegua the On My Side 2021 Litigator of the Year for his “enormously impactful civil trafficking case on behalf of Chinese construction workers trafficked to Saipan to build casinos.” Mr. Halegua assisted more than 2,400 Chinese construction workers trafficked to Saipan to recover $14 million in back pay through the U.S. Department of Labor, and in May 2021 obtained a $5.9 million judgment from the U.S. district court in Saipan for the forced labor claims of seven of those workers. The Center said: “The case is the largest construction worker civil trafficking case ever seen in the federal courts. Aaron is a skilled and courageous leader in the anti-trafficking civil litigation field.” Register here to attend the Sept. 22 award ceremony.
Institute affiliated scholar Michael C. Davis, a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, will give testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on September 8, 2021 on the subject of “Beijing’s Assertion of ‘Complete Jurisdiction’ over Hong Kong. He will be part of an all-day hearing titled: “U.S.-China Relations in 2021: Emerging Risks.” Other topics to be discussed include markets, data, and export controls. A link to a livestream of the hearing is provided here. Mr. Davis’ written testimony can be found here.
USALI is seeking a Communications & Administration Manager for an amazing opportunity to partner with the Executive Director in developing and executing a comprehensive communications strategy. The manager will maintain USALI social media accounts, expand USALI’s presence on social media platforms, enhance its website and external communications, coordinate online programs, promote activities across multiple platforms, and provide other critical administrative support to a small institute in a large university that is on the frontlines of US-Asia relations.
This week’s highlights include: China implements comprehensive revisions to its Administrative Penalties Law; Hong Kong police will be empowered to make arrests without warrants under a proposed new anti-doxxing law; Japanese prosecutors drop charges against 100 accused bribe recipients in a case involving the former justice minister; South Korea defends its Anti-Leafleting Law; Taiwan’s National Human Rights Commission releases its first report.
This week’s highlights include: Shenzhen promulgates China’s first comprehensive local-level data protection regulation; Hong Kong police arrest nine in alleged bomb plot; Japan’s #MeToo icon, journalist Shiori Ito, wins a defamation case against a former professor; South Korea’s government promises legal action against trade unionists who rallied for better work conditions despite pandemic restrictions; Taiwan lawmakers block efforts to allow absentee voting in referendums.
This week’s highlights include: China’s updated provisional sentencing guidelines take effect; a domestic worker in Hong Kong challenges the city’s response to human trafficking; France names a Japanese law professor a Knight of the French National Order of Merit; South Korea carries out a major reorganization of its police system; Taiwan legislators call for an absentee voting law.
This week’s highlights include: Shanghai’s Pudong New Area gains special legislative powers; a Hong Kong court opens the first trial under the National Security Law; Japan’s Supreme Court says that requiring married couples to register the same surname is constitutional; a South Korean court schedules a hearing date for the comfort women’s appeal; Taiwan denies that data from a COVID contact-tracing SMS service is being used in criminal investigations.
