Chinese Law and Politics Blog

Position: Intern, Congressional-Executive Commission on China

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China is currently soliciting resumes for fall internships (paid) in Washington, D.C., working on Chinese human rights and rule of law issues.  Interns must be U.S. citizens.

Position: Program Associate, Human Rights in China

Human Rights in China (HRIC) is soliciting applications for a program associate, to be based in HRIC's Hong Kong office.

Article: Chinese Civil Society In Transition

The last three decades have altered the relationship between state and society in China. Market reforms have undermined the state-run communes and work units that dominated the social and economic lives of Chinese citizens before 1978. Economic growth has increased citizens’ financial resources and their leisure time. Chinese civil society has grown as a result. Citizens are founding new organisations to protect their natural environment and cultural heritage, and they are reinvigorating traditional ones such as temple or clan associations.

What is the attitude of the Chinese state toward civil society? Deep ambivalence. On the one hand, Chinese officials want to see citizens organise themselves to address a range of pressing problems, particularly given the limited resources of the state. On the other hand, Party authorities remain concerned about the emergence of social institutions outside their control, fearing these might emerge as political challenges to their authority.

[This article appeared in Issue 47 (Summer 2009) of the China Review]

Op-Ed: Back and Forth From Beijing

Imagine that you are the leader of the largest country in the world. What is your biggest day-to-day problem? Your own underlings.

How can you be sure that they do what you want? How can you guarantee that they don’t flagrantly disobey your directives, or worse, rob you blind?

In China’s authoritarian system, this is trickier than it looks. Political power at each level of the bureaucratic hierarchy is centralized in the hands of a small group of Communist Party officials. If they want to choke off information to Beijing and cover up their own corruption or incompetence they have the tools to do so.

[The full version of this op-ed appeared May 29 on the New York Times website and in the May 30 print version of the International Herald Tribune]  

Position: Program Assistant, China Environment Forum

The China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center is soliciting applications for a Program Assistant, to be based in Washington, DC.  

Position: Resident Director (China), NDI

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is soliciting applications for a resident director to manage its mainland China programs, to be based in Hong Kong.

Position: Deputy Country Director (China), PILI

The Public Interest Law Institute is soliciting applications for a deputy country director, to be based in Beijing.

Webcast Conference on "China's Changing Courts"

On February 19-20, the US-Asia Law Institute at New York University School of Law and Columbia Law School co-hosted an event titled "China's Changing Courts: Populist Vehicle or Party Puppet?"  Participants included:

Prof. Ben Liebman of Columbia Law School,
Prof. Xin "Frank" He of the City University of Hong Kong School of Law,
Prof. Nicholas C. Howson of the University of Michigan School of Law,
Prof. Carl Minzner of Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, and
Rachel E. Stern, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley

Links to the webcast are available on the conference website.

Position: Law Faculty at Shanghai Jiaotong University

Shanghai Jiaotong University is soliciting applications for faculty positions at all levels in the school of of law.

Position: Intern at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China is currently soliciting resumes for spring internships (paid) in Washington, D.C., working on Chinese human rights and rule of law issues.  Interns must be U.S. citizens.

Applications for spring internships must be received by March 1, 2009.  Further details are available below and on the Commission’s Web site at www.cecc.gov.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to the CECC via e-mail to Judy.wright@mail.house.gov or via fax at (202) 226-3804, attention:  Judy Wright, Director of Administration.