Asiabizblog - Business and Law for China and Asia

February 26, 2008

Two New (Free) Publications from FLJS

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.