Tuesday, April 5, 2011

China
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According to IMF data, China has a small local-currency bond market: only 28% of GDP. (Remember that bank credit plays a much larger role than bond financing in China). 

Judicial independence in China (I). Randall Peerenboom specializes in China and the rule of law. He has just edited Judicial Independence in China. Lessons for Global Rule of Law Promotion (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010 see). From the introduction:

This is the first book in English on judicial independence in China. This may not seem surprising given China remains an effectively single-party socialist authoritarian state, the widely reported prosecutions of political dissidents and the conventional wisdom that China has never had independent courts. On the other hand, this may seem surprising given that China has become a possible model for other developing countries – a model that challenges key assumptions of the multibillion-dollar rule of law promotion industry, including the central importance of judicial independence for all we hold near and dear. Although China's success in achieving economic growth and reducing poverty is well known, less well known is that China outscores the average country in its income class, including many democracies, on many rule of law and good governance indicators, as well as most major indicators of human rights and well-being, with the notable exception of civil and political rights. How has China managed all this without independent courts?

Judicial independence in China (II). An interesting case of Chinese innovation in the field of judicial independence. Liu Li: "Software helps judges mete out sentences", China Daily, July 9, 2006. It’s called computer-based sentencing!

[QUESTION: China is softening its stance on the death penalty by decreasing the number of offences that lead to it. Anything to do with … interest rates?]

China: Finance and the Judiciary. Patti Waldmeir: “Things improve, but judiciary still lacks independence”, Financial Times. Waldmeir quotes Australian lawyer Doug Clark: “The perception that the legal playing field is not level is a larger impediment to Shanghai's ambition to become a global financial centre by 2020 than any number of potholed streets or immature trading mechanisms. Without an independent legal system that resolves disputes fairly no one will bring real money to Shanghai. No one is going to park $1bn in Shanghai to pick up a bit of margin unless they have confidence that they can call a judge at 2am and get an injunction against behaviour that could damage them ... In a country without an independent judiciary, laws are only as good as the politicians allow them to be enforced”.

Ai Weiwei. David Piling: “Lunch with the FT: Ai Weiwei”, Financial Times, April 23, 2010. From one of his tweets: "No outdoor sports can be more elegant than throwing stones at autocracy; no melees can be more exciting than those in cyberspace". See his work at Haus der Kunst in Munich [see]; he also consulted with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron for the design of the Olympic Stadion in Beijing (The Nest). Says Ai Weiwei:

CHINA IS A COLOURFUL COUNTRY AND THERE IS A LOT OF FREEDOM. YET THE LACK OF AND INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY AND STATE LIMITS ON FREE SPEECH ARE FATAL FLAWS. CHINA IS LIKE A RUNNER SPRINTING VERY FAST BUT WITH A HEART CONDITION.

[DOCUMENT: “Who is afraid of Ai Weiwei?”]

See also Edward MacMillan-Scott: “Ai Weiwei's arrest is part of China's new crackdown”, The Guardian.

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