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 launches an anti-trust investigation into the nation’s largest academic database; Tokyo municipality prepares to recognize same-sex partnerships; Hong Kong police arrest four prominent pro-democracy figures who were trustees of a fund that helped accused 2019 protesters; Taiwan’s legislature considers amending two laws to increase protection of businesses and key technologies from China.
China’s legislature releases its 2022 legislative plan; Japan’s Supreme Court plans to digitalize civil judicial procedures; South Korea’s departing president further strips prosecutors of investigation powers; Hong Kong’s global rank in press freedoms plummets; Taiwan announces its first national human rights action plan.
Chinese courts are ending the practice of “same life, different price”; the Hong Kong government acknowledges delays in handling cases related to the 2019 protests; an OECD working group expresses concern over the South Korean ruling party’s bid to strip prosecutors of investigatory powers; trade unions in Taiwan say employers should be held accountable for occupational injuries.
Chinese prosecutors pull back on arrests, prosecutions, and detentions; Hong Kong prepares to establish reciprocity with the mainland in civil and commercial judgments; South Korea’s prosecutor general fights Democratic Party’s last-minute attack on prosecutorial powers; Taiwan courts begin recruiting lay judges to participate in homicide cases.
New Zealand’s Supreme Court greenlights the extradition of a permanent resident to China to face a murder charge; a Hong Kong veteran journalist is accused of conspiring to publish seditious materials; Japan expands the scope of rescue activities of its Self-Defense Forces; Taipei city councilors say the government gave recordings of residents’ hotline calls to a private software firm without their permission.
Institute affiliated scholar Aaron Halegua’s research report has been cited in the Congressional-Executive Commission on China’s most recent report on human rights in China.
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.
