CNBawg.com - Hydwin China Blawg: Chinese Law, and the Congress, Court, Government and Society of China

The Birth of Biopolitics: Reading Group

sampsung@hotmail.com (Administrator) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:44:17 +0000

In light of considerable interest in the term “neo‐liberalism”, its historical origins, and its uses and misuses – including its use by Australian Prime Minster Kevin Rudd – we have decided to get together an informal working group to discuss how the term was developed by the French philosopher Michel Foucault.

Foucault’s lectures at the College de France in 1978‐79 have only now been translated and published. In these lectures he traces a history of liberalism as an “art of government”, and its relationship to political economy and to government policy.

In the lectures, Foucault focuses upon the origins of the term “neo‐liberalism” among the Freiberg School of German social thinkers, and its later uses by the Chicago School of American political economists. This is traced to changing ideas about the relationship between the individual, the state, society and economy.

The first meeting will focus upon how the idea of neo‐liberalism was developed in Germany and applied through the “social market economy” in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Later meetings will consider American neo‐liberalism as developed by Milton Freidman, Gary Becker and others, and contrasts between the neo‐liberal “art of government” and alternative approaches. Professor Terry Flew from the Creative Industries Faculty will lead the first discussion.

‘Positive Noises’ On Resuming Talks On WIPO Audiovisual Performances Treaty

sampsung@hotmail.com (William New, IP Wacht) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:14:25 +0000

The World Intellectual Property Organization this week may have witnessed the beginnings of a resumption of high-level negotiations on an international treaty on the protection of audiovisual performances.

Informal open-ended consultations on protection of audiovisual performances were held in the context of a 7-9 September WIPO meeting on the half-century-old International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, known as the Rome Convention of 1961.

A high-level negotiation – known as a diplomatic conference – held in the year 2000 collapsed in disagreement and has not been able to be restarted by proponents. Until now.

"Everyone seems to be keen to start discussing negotiations," a European private-sector participant said after the consultation. Another participant said, "There was a general attitude of encouraging [talks], positive noises."

A third was more cautious, saying only that some participants “saw a glimmer and are trying to make fire.”

And a WIPO official concluded, “There’s a scale of enthusiasm. [But] nobody spoke against agreement.”

He Weifang versus China's legal establishment on the "Three Supremes

sampsung@hotmail.com (Donald Clarke) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:11:33 +0000

An interesting debate is going on over the doctrine of the "Three Supremes". This is the doctrine, credited to Hu Jintao and propagated by the new Supreme Court President Wang Shengjun, that political-legal work should uphold the supremacy of the Party's work, the supremacy of the people's interests, and the supremacy of the constitution and the law.

On June 25 of this year, the Supreme People's Court convened a conference on the Three Supremes attended by a number of prominent legal academics (i.e., most at at the level of dean and vice dean). I have to confess that when I sat down to read a report of their remarks, I was not expecting a lot. Clearly it was not part of the conference's agenda to call into question the whole appropriateness of the slogan. But I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, there was a certain amount of repetitious platitudinousness - six of the eleven contributors referred to the Three Supremes using the terms "organic whole" or "organic unity". But I thought that between the lines one could read a certain amount of pushback. Several of the contributors stated clearly that when it came to actual adjudication work by judges, there was only one supreme, and that was the constitution and the law. The place for the Party and the people's interests, in this view, was in the formulation of the law, and to allow consideration of these in the course of actual adjudication could easily lead to arbitrariness and corruption. Those making this and similar points included Jia Yu (President of Northwest University of Politics and Law), Wang Zhenmin (Dean of Tsinghua University's Faculty of Law), Han Dayuan (Dean of People's University Faculty of Law), Ma Huaide (Vice Dean of China University of Politics and Law), and Zhu Jiping (professor at Northwest Univ. of Politics and Law).

China and the “crisis” of public opinion

sampsung@hotmail.com (David Bandurski) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:25:30 +0000

Ever since President Hu Jintao’s speech on June 20, 2008, about the need to “actively set the agenda,” officials across China have set to work finding new and creative ways to massage public opinion. We’ve offered plenty of analysis and commentary on Hu’s new approach to news and propaganda, so we’ll spare readers the jabber and cut straight to the materials.

Below is a piece published in a recent issue of China Press Journal (中华新闻报), a publication of the All-China Journalist’s Association. The article was reposted at Nanfang Daily, the online China Journalism Review and other places on August 13.

In language typical of the thinking we’ve seen recently, the article talks about public opinion in terms of “crisis.”

This is in fact an apt characterization, as a lack of real transparency and responsiveness at government institutions and the crisis of credibility facing China’s media has meant that public opinion often emerges irrationally and explosively (on the Internet or on the streets). Precisely because, to reiterate the point, state controls limit rational channels.

Is it so surprising that Chinese officials are obsessed with putting out fires? After all, preventing them would require a more serious project of political reform, beginning with an expansion of media freedoms.

A full translation of the China Press Journal piece follows:

How Public Prosecutors Can Neutralize Online Opinion Crises (检察机关如何化解网络舆情危机)
August 13, 2009

The Rule of Law in China and the Communist Party

sampsung@msn.com (Sampsung Shi) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:44:56 +0000

This webiste has been hosting a online discussion for QUT law students on the topic of rule of law (see here). If you have read through the comments and posts from them, you will see how they are thoughtful and how smart they are. There are a few points that I made in the discussion forum and I want to present to you here in case that you are not about to go through all of the posts and discussions.

The disscusion start from several questions including prof. Cohen's lecture "Is There Law in China? Is There Justice?", What influence does the communist party have on the implementation of the rule of law in China? and Anything in Media Concerning the Chinese Legal System Recently?

The autocracy of the Chinese communist party

Farra points out the autocracy of the Chinese communist party here; I have to disaggree with her/him about the term "autocreacy".

First of all, to understand the rule of law in China, you can not separate it from China's success in the business arena. It is a globalised age which is particularly true in the case of business. The pursuit in free market economy contributes significantly to China's success in the field of domestic and international trade and business. Market economy is based on many crucial rules which are globally applicable. These rules include the freedom of contract, protection of private property, fair judicial system, effecitve legislature, etc.. Without the rule of law, it is hardly possible that the operation of market could be successful.

Dr Francis Gurry, Director-General, WIPO: The Changing Landscape of Intellectual Property

sampsung@hotmail.com (Administrator) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:59:29 +0000

At the launch of the QUT WIPO Master of Intellectual Property Law, Dr Gurry has presented a seminar "The Changing Landscape of Intellectual Property":

"With the advent of the knowledge economy, intellectual property is occupying an increasingly central place in the economy. At the same time, the traditional landscape of intellectual property is undergoing rapid and fundamental change. The location of technology production is shifting to North East Asia. The speed of technological change is quickening and challenging the capacity of the multilateral system to provide timely responses. New players have entered the policy debate with the networked society and intellectual property can no longer be considered to be the preserve of specialists. Technology is provoking fundamental change in the distribution of cultural content. The digital divide and the knowledge gap are fuelling calls for greater sharing of knowledge. How is the international system for intellectual property coping with these manifold and sometimes contradictory challenges?"

QUT/WIPO: Master of Intellectual Property Law

The Master of Intellectual Property Law, commencing in February 2010, is offered jointly by the World Intellectual Property Organization Worldwide Academy (WIPO) and QUT’s Faculty of Law in Brisbane, Australia.

A Few Reading Recommendations

sampsung@hotmail.com (Administrator) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:28:00 +0000

1. The new Journal of Current Chinese Affairs is out—and all its articles are available for free in PDF at its website. Those of possible interest to CB readers include:

“Beijing Bubble, Beijing Bust: Inequality, Trade, and Capital Inflow into China” (by James K. Galbraith, Sara Hsu, Wenjie Zhang);
“Realpolitik Dynamics and Image Construction in the Russia-China Relationship: Forging a Strategic Partnership?” (by Maria Raquel Freire, Carmen Amado Mendes);
“The Regulation of Religious Affairs in Taiwan: From State Control to Laisser-faire?” (by André Laliberté);
“Nationalism to Go - Coke Commercials between Lifestyle and Political Myth” (available only in German, by Nora Frisch);
“China’s Employment Crisis – A Stimulus for Policy Change?” (by Günter Schucher); and others.

2. The 60th anniversary assessments have started to roll out. At The Daily Beast, two commentaries stand in contrast to one another. First, Peter Osnos’s optimistic take in “Why China Eclipsed Russia” (Osnos is the Washington Post’s former Moscow correspondent):

...when it comes to comparing China today with the Soviet Union at a comparable stage, it feels safe to conclude that China is a country with a much stronger foundation for progress than its predecessor Communist behemoth. This is mainly because it has abandoned Marxist-Leninist economic principles without meaningful political reform, a trade-off its own people seem largely to accept.

Swedish Author’s Take On The Catcher In The Rye Copyright Court Case

sampsung@hotmail.com (Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:53:41 +0000

COPENHAGEN – Windupbird Publishing owned by Swedish author Fredrik Colting, alias John David California, promises that its books will “tickle your feet and yank your soul.” But American author J.D. Salinger is not amused and has indeed been wound up by Colting’s latest book, which he says is infringing on the copyright of his best-seller, “Catcher in the Rye.” A New York court recently sided with Salinger, but Intellectual Property Watch talked to Colting about why the battle is bound to go on.

Colting says he wants to appeal the New York ruling this week. “I believe we will win,” he said. The appeal will go to the Circuit Court of Appeal, in which there will be three judges, he said. The case is expected to come up in September.

After the New York court decision on 30 June, the book was banned in the United States. “This is very serious,” the 33-year-old Colting told Intellectual Property Watch, adding that this is a limitation on freedom of speech. “It is a question of censorship,” he said, arguing that the fact that the book has been stopped even before it was published makes the matter even more serious.

The book had been available in the United Kingdom for some weeks when the New York court case started, and sales were suspended for a while. It is now on sale again and available in English across Europe via Amazon.co.uk. This week it will officially be launched in Sweden. Colting notes that the ruling from New York covers the United States only.

But why has Salinger taken issue with Colting’s book to the extent that he has actually taken him to court?

Now Video Wants To Be Free And Open Too: IP Policy Considerations

sampsung@hotmail.com (Kaitlin Mara) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:36:00 +0000

Video is becoming an increasingly important communication tool on the web, but questions must be asked about its future, said speakers a recent conference. Will it be a medium of self-expression, available for all, or a translation of television to the internet, where content is provided by some and consumed by the rest? A gathering of technologists, academics, filmmakers and others in New York last week issued a call for a freer video culture.

Speakers at the 19-20 June event, taking place at New York University Law School and streamed live online (remixing encouraged), talked creative expression through the video medium, played favourite examples, and warned of intellectual property-related restrictions they say threaten to quash such expression.

The three questions to ask are: “Is the technology transparent and open? Can people participate in a meaningful way? Can they innovate and remix without permission?” said Mark Surman, executive director of Mozilla Foundation, which provides support for open source software projects including the web browser Firefox. For Mozilla, he added, “the answer to all three must be yes.”

Meanwhile, a few days earlier up the street at the Crowne Plaza in Times Square, advertisers and marketing experts talked advertisement money - or the lack thereof - in online video content at the 16 June OMMA Video event, hosted by publishing and content company MediaPost. That event’s live blog revealed nervousness on the part of key industry players over how the ad-supported model will survive online, as well as a lot of uncertainty about what new models can succeed as more and more content moves online.

Arts content for the digital era (Australia Council for the Arts)

sampsung@hotmail.com (Administrator) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:07:44 +0000

The Australia Council for the Arts has developed its ‘Arts content for the digital era strategy’ in response to the current and anticipated future impact of digital technologies on the arts sector, artists and arts audiences.

In less than five years, most Australian households and businesses will be able to access data-rich content such as games, TV, enriched social networking and movies, as a result of the Australian Government’s roll-out of the National Broadband Network. Most Australian households will also convert to digital television.

As uptake of digital technologies increases, these platforms will play a more central role in the production, distribution and enjoyment of arts content. With the shift to online culture come new challenges, opportunities and questions.

The strategy addresses:

How digital infrastructure will affect where and when artists engage with their audiences.
How traditional artforms - from Indigenous music to literature and the performing arts can use digital technology to push their creativity into new domains and construct engaging audience experiences.
The new business capabilities required to navigate the emerging business models of the 21st century, to ensure a sustainable future for Australian arts and culture.
How our arts heritage will be preserved in a digital environment and how it can be made more accessible for future ‘digital native’ generations.