ASIABIZBLOG

Phil Dines has graciously sent me a copy of two publications on China, issued by the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society at Oxford. They are free of charge and available to the general public, but it is not solely for that reason that I recommend them to readers.

Over the many years of reading both academic and popular works on China business, law and government, I've come to find that very few are both scholarly and readable. That is to say, that the non-academic books are generally thin and anecdotal in nature, while the academic books are often riddled with the thornbush of jargon, footnote and profundity. I do not mean to say that either fails to please its intended target market of readers, but I have always believed that something was missing -- depth and delight admixed. Hence, this weblog, which I hope has at least plugged the gap in some small way.

Neither is suitable reading for the beginner, but after 25 years of a China that has at least materialistically engaged with the world, many foreigners have more than a passing knowledge of China. I heartily recommend both these volumes for the business executive or government official who has some experience in China and is looking for knowledge of value. Each essay is but a few pages in length and yet manages to plumb well past the shallow depths that brevity usually indicates. Although written by scholars, they are, as the publications marketing people would say, quite accessible.

Click here to download:

Regulating Enterprise the Regulatory Impact on Doing Business in China

Is China Trapped in Transition?

Phil also tells me that a similar publication on dispute resolution in China is forthcoming. Despite all we know about CIETAC and its shortcomings, what we in the West call “alternative dispute resolution” has traditionally represented for Chinese the preferred method of resolving an impasse, far more than the fearful specter of legal process. I will update readers when that publication is available for download.

I'm pleased to announce my availability for speaking engagements and my inclusion in the China Speakers Bureau, run by Fons Tuinstra, editor of the China Herald. Speakers Fons currently represents include Bill Overholt, Howard French, Shaun Rein, Tom Doctoroff and others. I'm happy to speak at your venue in English or Mandarin.

Recent engagements of mine have included the American Bar Association, International Law Conference; World Trade Week New York; and the Chinese American Library Association. To hear what I sound like, listen to any podcast on this site.

Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang

With audio!

If you see this book available for sale online, please let me know. Amazon does not have it up yet.

Knut Pissler, researcher in law at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, and his co-editors, have graciously allowed us the opportunity to make available for download their China Law Bibliography. An excellent tool for researchers both in academia and law practice. I will also place this in the research tools section on the right sidebar at a later date.

This fascinating report on the "88 Queensway Group" by the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission details the "private" overseas investment projects of Chinese state-owned entities with substantial connection to the Public Security Bureau and Chinese intelligence.

With text like this, I found it a great read for any China watcher:

Lo Fong Hung appears to serve as the public face of the 88 Queensway Group, making several public appearances on behalf of companies associated with the consortium.2 Although there is little information publicly available about Lo’s personal or professional background prior to 2003 (when New Bright was incorporated), she is listed currently as the director of no fewer than thirty-four companies incorporated in Hong Kong, most of which are listed at the 88 Queensway address. Lo’s husband, Mr. Wang Xiangfei, is a former director of China Everbright Group and currently is a nonexecutive director of China International Trust and Investment Company (CITIC), both state-owned companies in the PRC. China Everbright has been identified previously as a company affiliated with Chinese military intelligence, to include a role as a nominal employer for overseas agents operating under cover. CITIC is a huge, Chinese state-owned conglomerate, incorporating forty-four subsidiaries involved with industries as varied as financial services, telecommunications, construction, manufacturing, mining, property development, and media. Wang Xiangfei and Lo Fong Hung both have connections to China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec, and are listed as officers of Sinopec subsidiaries.6 While Wang Xiangfei holds official leadership positions in at least six of the companies owned by the 88 Queensway Group, it is unclear exactly how much control or leadership he exerts within the Group.

If that fails to pique your interest, how about this?

On company filings, Wu lists his residential address as “No. 14 Dong Chang An Street, Beijing, China.” This address is the headquarters for the Ministry of Public Safety (MPS), a domestic security service of the Chinese government. Also located in this compound is a reception office for the Ministry of State Security (MSS), the primary state agency responsible for foreign intelligence activities.