Judicial Professionalism in China

Funding
Northwest University of Political Science and Law

Prof. YU Xingzhong

Strengthening Hong Kong's Constitutional Identity

Funding
RGC Grant 2005

Prof. YU Xingzhong

Research focusing on issues relating to universal suffrage, election of the Chief Executive, the interpretation of the Basic Law, LegCo elections, the responsibility of the Chief Executive, the "one country, two systems" policy and other constitutional and administrative law issues.

Mr. ONG Yew Kim

Constitutional Interface between Hong Kong and the Mainland

Funding
Direct Grant for Research

Prof. YU Xingzhong

Comparative Police Accountability Project

This project investigated the nature, prevalence, causation and control of police misconduct in five countries/areas: Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Singapore, United States and United Kingdom.

Prof. WONG Kam-chow (former Programme Director, Chinese Law Programme)

Criminalization of Falun Gong in China: A Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the People

The project was launched in 2000.

Falun Gong (FLG) was first established in the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1992 as a health-spiritual exercise program by Li Honhzhi (LHZ). It ended up being labeled as a religious cult movement to be banned by the PRC government in 1999. In between time, FLG grew in membership and influence as a result of deteriorating socio-economic-political conditions in China.

This raised three inter-related research questions in an emerging field of FLG vibrant and contentious discourse: First, why does the PRC government adopt some of the most repressive measures since 1950s to deal with FLG leaders, organization, and followers? Second, has the PRC government made the right policy decision and used the appropriate control measures in dealing with the relatively innocuous FLG followers? Third, what are some of the more salient impacts and diffused implications of PRC government's suppressive policy and repressive practices?

This research went to answer some of the above politically troublesome but sociologically interesting questions. It concluded by observing that the PRC had been moderately successful in suppressing FLG but had failed miserably in winning back the hearts and minds of the people.

Preliminary result was reported at the "2nd World Conference on Modern Criminal Investigation, Organized Crime and Human Rights," ICC, Durban, South Africa, 3-7 December 2001.

Prof. WONG Kam-chow (former Programme Director, Chinese Law Programme)

Distinguished Chinese Legal Scholars Programme

The Programme had brought to Hong Kong ten of the most distinguished Chinese legal scholars to deliver a series of public lectures to the Chinese University staff and students, Hong Kong legal professionals and the general public.

Mr. CHANG Hsin published an edited volume of all the public lectures.

Hong Kong Police Officers Assaulted - Injured and Killed - in the Line of Duty: 1960 to 2001

The research project studied into Hong Kong Police (HKP) officers assaulted - leading to injury or death - in the line of duty, from 1960 to 2001.

The research consisted of two parts. The first part aimed at constructing a comprehensive data set on all reported cases of HKP officers being assaulted in the line of duty during the aforesaid period. The second part involved the classification and analysis of such data: to describe incidences and prevalence; to discern distribution and patterns; to ascertain nature and characteristics; to uncover causes and correlations; to provide predictions and precautions; and to suggest policies, guidelines, and instructions on assaults on HKP officers in the line of duty.

The project research staff had collected, organized, and analyzed newspaper clippings on policing from Ming Pao, Wah Kiu Yat Pao, Hong Kong Standard, etc. (between 1960 to 2001). The police news files at the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies from 1980 to 2000 were most helpful.

On June 19, 2001, a proposal had been submitted to the Hong Kong Police for research support.

The project had resulted in the publication of one article: "One Officer Beat vs. Two-Officer Beat Patrol for the Hong Kong Police: An Exercise in Policy Analysis." The article was submitted to the Hong Kong Police for internal circulation and discussion and was well received. The article had been accepted for publication by International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice.

Prof. WONG Kam-chow (former Programme Director, Chinese Law Programme)

Mapping Hong Kong's Constitutional Identity

Funding
Direct Grant for Research

Prof. YU Xingzhong

Research focusing on issues relating to Article 23 legislation, the interpretation of the Basic Law, Legislative Council elections, the responsibility of the Chief Executive, the "one country, two systems" policy and other issues of constitutional and administrative law.

Mr ONG Yew-kim

The Cross-Border Crime and Policing Project

This project looked at the legal problems and issues related to Mainland-Hong Kong cross-border crime, policing and judicial assistance.

The project resulted in a research monograph:

Understanding PRC Criminal Justice Process: Anatomy of the "Big Spender" Case

On October 20, 1998 Cheung Tse-keung, also known as the "Big Spender," and 35 others accomplices went on trial in China for a host of criminal charges, ranging from murder to kidnapping to smuggling of explosives committed in Hong Kong and China from 1991 to 1997. The "Big Spender" case made legal history in Hong Kong and China. It is the first time a Hong Kong legal resident (Cheung Tse-keung) was prosecuted, tried and executed in China under the PRC Criminal Law for criminal conduct largely perpetrated in Hong Kong. As such, it tested for the first time the criminal jurisdiction boundary between PRC and Hong Kong under "one country two-systems."

The "Trial of the Century" ended on November 12, 1998 with the court of the first instance, Guangzhou Intermediary People's Court, finding Cheung (and all other defendants) guilty as charged. The court of the second instance, Guangzhou Higher People's Court, rejected Cheung's appeal and confirmed his verdict on December 5, 1998.

This monograph provided a general overview of the PRC criminal justice process as it conducted an in-depth anatomy of the "Big Spender" case, from case initiation (li an) by the public security to public prosecution (qisu); by the procuracy to final judgment (panju); by the court of the first instance and appeal (shang su); by the court of the second instance to final sentence execution (jixing). In the process, the monograph discussed some of the more salient PRC criminal law and procedure issues raised by the "Big Spender" case. The legal process of the case was reconstructed from the Bill of Prosecution (Qixushu), the Criminal Judgment (Xingshi panshu) and the Appellate Decision made available by the PRC authority."

The monograph was accepted for presentation at the "2nd Annual Symposium: Crime and Its Control in Greater China," organized by the Centre for Criminology, The University of Hong Kong, 26 October 2001.

Prof. WONG Kam-chow (former Programme Director, Chinese Law Programme)

The PRC Policing Project

This project investigated all aspects of police development, organization and operations issues in the PRC. The project had published the following papers in 2000-2001.

WONG, Kam-chow. "Crime Prevention in China: A Community Policing Approach," in International Perspectives on Community Policing and Crime Prevention, edited by Steven P. Lab and Dilip K. Das. NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.

_______. "The Philosophy of Community Policing in China," Police Quarterly, Vol. 2 (2001).

_______. "Black's Theory on The Behaviour of Law Revisited IV: The Behaviour of Qing Law," International Journal of the Sociology of Law, Vol. 28, No. 4 (2001).

_______. "Community Policing in China: Philosophy, Law and Practice," International Journal of The Sociology of Law, 2001.

Prof. WONG Kam-chow (former Programme Director, Chinese Law Programme)

Contributed extensively to the Sing Pao Daily News, the Oriental Daily News, The Sun and other Chinese newspapers. His writings covered a broad range of issues relating to Hong Kong's social, political and legal developments. He also wrote commentaries on currently popular movies, exploring social and cultural meanings of them.

China Reporting Handbook, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Journalists Association, June, 2006.

Comments on Article 23 Legislation. Hong Kong: Mingpao Publications Ltd, 2004. (In Chinese)

「行政干預司法獨立」，《蘋果日報》，2003年6月11日，版E11。

「條例草案架構盤根錯節」，《新報》，2003年6月8日，版A08。

「咬文嚼字說廿三條」，《新報》，2003年6月1日，版A11。

「廿三條立法應再深入討論」，《新報》，2003年4月20日，版A06。

「喜聞籌建憲法委員會」，《新報》，2003年3月16日，版A09。

"Article 23 - Respect the Common Law and Protect the SAR's Freedom of Speech," South China Morning Post, 9 January 2003, Insight p. 15.

「廿三條阻礙學術研究」，《新報》，2002年11月17日，版A11。

「管有煽動刊物太荒謬」，《新報》，2002年11月3日，版A11。

「香港可以保住言論無罪」，《明報》，2002年9月24日，版C12。

ONG, Yew-kim
(王友金)

"Judicial Independence under the Basic Law of the HKSAR," in Cornerstone for the Future: Judicial Independence and the Rule of Law in Hong Kong, edited by Steve Tsang. London: Oxford University Press, 1999.

"The Clash of Two Legal Cultures: Between the Court of Final Appeal and the Standing Committee of the NPC," CSIS-Hong Kong Update, February-March (1999), pp. 5f.

WENG, S. J. Byron

"Crime Prevention in China: A Community Policing Approach," in International Perspectives on Community Policing and Crime Prevention, edited by Steven P. Lab and Dilip K. Das. NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003.

"The Philosophy of Community Policing in China," Police Quarterly, Vol. 2 (2001).

"Black's Theory on The Behaviour of Law Revisited IV: The Behaviour of Qing Law," International Journal of the Sociology of Law, Vol. 28, No. 4 (2001).

"Community Policing in China: Philosophy, Law and Practice," International Journal of The Sociology of Law, 2001.

"Legal and Political Implications of a 'Cross-border Crime'," China Perspectives, Vol. 22 (1999), pp. 40-54.

"Testing the Limits of 'One Country, Two Systems': An Overview of the 'Right of Abode' Case," China Perspectives, Vol. 23 (1999), pp. 42-54.

WONG, Kam-chow

"Frontiers of Legal Philosophy," three lectures given at the Northwest University of Political Sciences and Law, Xian, 23- 25 June 2007.

"Property Law and Constitutional Developments in China's Economic Reform Process," presentation at the Roundtable Discussion on Property Rights: Global Issues, Chinese Perspectives held at the School of Law, the CUHK, 29 May 2007.

"Current Legal Reforms in China," talk given to Chinese Students Association at Harvard University, Boston, 15 December 2006.

"The Role of Law in Chinese Society,” lecture given at Tufts University, Boston, 15 November 2006.

"The Controversy over the Draft Property Rights Law and China's Economic Reform," talk given at the Northeastern University Law School, Boston, 25 October, 2006.

"Pufendorf and His Elementa Jurisprudentiae Universalis Libri Duo," Annual Studies of Western Legal Philosophers. Beijing: Beijing University Press, December 2006.

"Asian Constitutionalism: The Emerging Constitutional Identity of Hong Kong," paper presented at the 6th East Asian Conference on Philosophy of Law, Taiwan University, March 2006.

Rule of Law and Civil Orders. Beijing: Chinese University of Politics and Law Press, 2006.

"Social Theory and Law," a two-week series of lectures delivered to postgraduate students of jurisprudence, Northwest University of Politics and Law, Xian, 2005.

"Western Constitutional Theories in China," paper presented at the conference on Constitutionalism and Judicial Power, CERI-Sciences Po, Paris, 12-13 December 2005.

"Formalism and Commitments in Hong Kong's Constitutional Development," paper presented at Interpretations and Beyond, an international conference, The University of Hong Kong, 25-26 November 2005.

"Hong Kong's Custom and Law," lecture delivered at the Orientation for New Teaching Assistants organized by the CLEAR, CUHK, August 2005.

"Globalization and General Jurisprudence," lecture given at the Seminar on Western Legal Philosophy for Chinese legal philosophers at Jilin University, July 2005.

"Hart's Rule of Recognition and the Inclusive and Exclusive Legal Positivism," lecture given at the Seminar on Western Legal Philosophy for Chinese legal philosophers, Jilin University, July 2005.

"Major Trends in 21st Western Legal Philosophy," lecture given at the Seminar on Western Legal Philosophy for Chinese legal philosophers, Jilin University, July 2005.

"The New Legal Pragmatism," lecture given at the Seminar on Western Legal Philosophy for Chinese legal philosophers, Jilin University, July 2005.

"Human Faculties and Human Societies-A Three Dimensional Cultural Epistemology," in Archiv Fur Rechts - Und Sozialphilosophie Beiheft 102, Epistemology and Ontology of Law, edited by Zenon Bankowski. Germany: Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart 2005.

"Judicial Professionalism in China: From Discourse to Practice," paper presented at the Conference on Professions and Professionalism in China, Harvard University, 28-30 January 2005.

"On PRC Regional Autonomy Law," paper presented at the International Conference on Comparative National Experiences of Autonomy: Purpose, Structures, and Institutions, organized by Center for Comparative and Public Law, The University of Hong Kong, April 2005.

"Theories of Constitutionalism in China," paper presented at the Symposium on Constitutionalism Today: China from Comparative Perspectives, CUHK, April 2005.

"Three Principles for an Ideal Civil Order," paper presented at the 22 World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy in Granada, May 2005, Spain.

"Emancipation, Development and Law: Modernity into Postmodernity," in Journal of Legal and Economic Studies, edited by Wu Jinlian, Jiang Ping and Liang Zhiping (executive editor), Vol. 1 (2005).

"Artificial Intelligence, Defeasible Reasoning and Law," Legal Thinking and Legal Method, No. 3 (2005).

"Deliberative Democracy and Freedom of Association," in The Legal Aspects of Social Organizations, edited by Wu Yuzhang. Beijing: Social Science Archives Press, 2004.

"Lex Americana, Jus Gentium and Globalization of Law," talk given to postgraduate students in Jilin University Law School and Northwest University of Politics and Law, June 2004.

"Foreign-invested Enterprises Law in the PRC," lecture given at the Chinese Law Certificate Seminars organized by Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Chinese Law Programme, 2004.

"Hong Kong's Custom and Law," lecture delivered at the Orientation for New Teaching Assistants organized by the CLEAR, CUHK, 2004.

Comparative Legal Philosophy, a two-week series of lectures delivered to postgraduate students of jurisprudence at the Northwest University of Politics and Law, 2004, Xi'an.

"Legal Education and Legal Profession in the United States," public lecture for the Forum of Renowned Scholars in Law, Jilin University Law School, 16 June 2004, Jilin. (In Chinese)

"Book Review: Law and Legal Interpretation, by Fernando Atria and D. Neil MacCormick (eds)," Law and Politics Book Review, Vol. 14, No. 5 (2004), pp. 305-11.

"The Principle of Charity for the Legal Professionals," public lecture for the Chang An Forum, sponsored by the Northwest University of Political Science and Law, 19 December 2003, Xi'an. (In Chinese)

"Emancipation, Development and Law: Modernity into Postmodernity," paper presented at the International Symposium on State, Society and Market: Law and Development in Contemporary China, organized by the Shanghai Institute of Law and Economics, 28-30 November 2003, Beijing. (In Chinese)

"Human Faculties and Human Societies," paper presented at the 21st Congress of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, 12-18 August 2003, Lund, Sweden.

"Forms of Law and Legal Reasoning," in Legal Thinking and Legal Method, Volume 2, edited by Ge Hongyi. Beijing: Chinese University of Politics and Law Press, 2003, pp. 93-106. (In Chinese)

YU, Xingzhong