Democracy And Rule Of Law In China S Shadow

This book provides detailed insight into some of the most contentious events occurring in jurisdictions operating within China's vast shadow. Epic clashes between law and politics have become a regular fixture throughout the world, and no region has seen more of these than Asia. In some cases these conflicts have involved newfound democratic aspirations or democratic deepening, while in others it has arisen because of pushback against authoritarian or semi-authoritarian governments. Indeed, many of these clashes centre on or involve the region's most powerful and controversial player: China. This book focuses on several of these critical struggles, examining how democracy and the rule of law play out in a number of jurisdictions highly influenced by China's presence. Chapters provide insightful analysis on issues such as: major threats to the rule of law and attempts to uphold the principle, oath-taking controversies, foreign judges and the disparagement of the judiciary, unconstitutional and undemocratic provisions, changing ideas of representation, a right to democracy in international law, same-sex marriage rights, and the legal responses to civil disobedience in Taiwan and Hong Kong, among other topics. Ultimately, the book delivers a contemporary understanding of how democracy and the rule of law both complement and converge in this fascinating region.

China has enjoyed considerable economic growth in recent years in spite of an immature, albeit rapidly developing, legal system, a system whose nature, evolution and path of development have been poorly understood by scholars. Drawing on his legal and business experience in China as well as his academic background in the field, Peerenboom provides a detailed analysis of China's legal reforms. He argues that China is in transition from rule by law to a version of rule of law, though most likely not a liberal democratic version as found in economically advanced countries in the West. Maintaining that law plays a key role in China's economic growth, Peerenboom assesses reform proposals and makes his own recommendations. In addition to students and scholars of Chinese law, political science, sociology and economics, this will interest business professionals, policy advisors, and governmental and non-governmental agencies as well as comparative legal scholars and philosophers.

Democracy and the Rule of Law in China is intended to make available to English-language readers debates among prominent Chinese intellectuals and academics over issues of political, constitutional, and legal reform; modes of governance in urban and rural China; and culture and cultural policy. The writers included in this book are individuals whose views have drawn some attention in the formulation of party and government policy, including the editor, Yu Keping, a prominent party intellectual, vice-director of the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau.

An inside analysis of modern cultural and political upheavals in China by a fluent Beijing correspondent describes the power struggles currently taking place between the party elite and supporters of democracy, the outcome of which the author predicts will significantly affect China's rise to a world super-power. 125,000 first printing.

A close-up look at the struggle for democracy in Hong Kong. Hong Kong in the Shadow of China is a reflection on the recent political turmoil in Hong Kong during which the Chinese government insisted on gradual movement toward electoral democracy and hundreds of thousands of protesters occupied major thoroughfares to push for full democracy now. Fueling this struggle is deep public resentment over growing inequality and how the political system—established by China and dominated by the local business community—reinforces the divide been those who have profited immensely and those who struggle for basics such as housing. Richard Bush, director of the Brookings Institution’s Center on East Asia Policy Studies, takes us inside the demonstrations and the demands of the demonstrators and then pulls back to critically explore what Hong Kong and China must do to ensure both economic competitiveness and good governance and the implications of Hong Kong developments for United States policy.

This interdisciplinary book offers a new analysis of the concepts, spaces, and practices of activism that emerge under diverse authoritarian modes of governance in Asia. Demonstrating the limitations of existing conceptual approaches in accounting for activism in Asia, the book also offers new understandings of authoritarian governance practices and how these shape state-civil society relations. In conjunction with its tripartite theoretical framework, the book presents regional knowledge from an array of countries in Asia, with empirically rich contributions from both scholars and activists. Through in-depth case studies, the book offers new scholarly insights that highlight the ways in which activism emerges and is contested across Asia. As such, it will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian politics, law, and sociology.

The Handbook of Constitutional Law in Greater China surveys important issues of constitutional law in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. It synthesizes existing scholarship, debates, and views on important constitutional issues in the four jurisdictions. Written by a range of scholars, it contributes to both national and comparative scholarship on constitutional law in these jurisdictions. The book includes four parts: Part I: History. This part explores the constitutional movement of the Qing dynasty; constitutional projects in modern China; and aspects of the drafting and implementation history of the Hong Kong and Macau Basic Laws Part II: Structure. This part discusses the relationship between the party-state and the Chinese constitutional order; Chinese constitutionalism; constitutional aspects of city development under the SAR concept; constitutional review in Mainland China; a history of Taiwan’s ‘Council of Grand Justices’; and judicial review in both Hong Kong and Macau Part III: Rights, Society, and Economy. This part deals with Hong Kong’s National Security Law and its impact on the ‘one country, two systems model’; social movements and constitutionalism; LGBT rights advocacy; the integration of capitalist regions within socialist China; the constitutional relevance of labour reforms in Mainland China; healthcare rights in both the Mainland and the SARS; and foreign investment under Art. 18 of the PRC Constitution Part IV: Transnational Engagement. This part surveys comparative writings on China’s constitution; the influence of international human rights treaties on China’s constitutional order; the international dimension of Hong Kong’s constitutional order; and the changing role of the ‘overseas judges’ in Hong Kong Exploring both historical and cutting-edge constitutional issues, this reference book is important reading for law researchers, lawyers, graduate students, undergraduates, and practitioners in the field of constitutional law and politics in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

How China's political model could prove to be a viable alternative to Western democracy Westerners tend to divide the political world into "good" democracies and “bad” authoritarian regimes. But the Chinese political model does not fit neatly in either category. Over the past three decades, China has evolved a political system that can best be described as “political meritocracy.” The China Model seeks to understand the ideals and the reality of this unique political system. How do the ideals of political meritocracy set the standard for evaluating political progress (and regress) in China? How can China avoid the disadvantages of political meritocracy? And how can political meritocracy best be combined with democracy? Daniel Bell answers these questions and more. Opening with a critique of “one person, one vote” as a way of choosing top leaders, Bell argues that Chinese-style political meritocracy can help to remedy the key flaws of electoral democracy. He discusses the advantages and pitfalls of political meritocracy, distinguishes between different ways of combining meritocracy and democracy, and argues that China has evolved a model of democratic meritocracy that is morally desirable and politically stable. Bell summarizes and evaluates the “China model”—meritocracy at the top, experimentation in the middle, and democracy at the bottom—and its implications for the rest of the world. A timely and original book that will stir up interest and debate, The China Model looks at a political system that not only has had a long history in China, but could prove to be the most important political development of the twenty-first century.