Category: Event

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Guest Lecture: New Women´s Protection Law in China: An Opportunity or Just a Piece of Paper?

(Due to some changes, the guest lecture will be held in place of the online seminar on “Women’s Rights and Law in China”)

On 6 April 2023, the Finnish China Law Center will hold an online guest lecture on “New Women´s Protection Law in China: An Opportunity or Just a Piece of Paper?” at 14:00 – 15:30 Helsinki time.

The event will be chaired by Johanna Niemi, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, with Ulla Liukkunen, Professor of Labour Law and Private International Law at the University of Helsinki, as commmentator.

The event is free and open to all. Zoom link for the event will be sent to registered participants.

We kindly ask you to register by 2 April by completing the following electronic form:

https://www.lyyti.in/Womens_Rights_and_Law_in_China_8397 

Background of the presentation

New Women´s Protection Law in China: An Opportunity or Just a Piece of Paper?

This study examines the principles of the amendments made to the Women´s Protection Law in China. It is the first time in nearly 30 years that the law on women’s protection was changed. Prior to the changes made to the legislation, activists expressed their concerns about increasing government rhetoric on the value of traditional women’s roles, and what some see as setbacks for women’s rights.

China´s official news agency Xinhua has stated that the new law “strengthens the protection of the rights and interests of disadvantaged groups such as poor women, elderly women, and disabled women”. But is it so and will China’s updated women’s rights law truly help women?

This research shows that the law still has room for improvement. One of its obvious weaknesses is how the legislation consistently addresses the rights of women in terms of the rights of men. The beginning of every section starts with the phrase women’s rights and properties should be equal to those of men. It assumes that men are the norm and women are the other.

As long as the society believes women are “the other” or mothers and wives, women are not free to be whatever they want to be. However, the amendments do try to correct and clarify some blatant problems in the previous legislation, which left poor, elderly, and disabled women without any real safety net. However, it seems that the amendments stir concerns that the law is less about independence, more about traditional roles which President Xi Jinping´s political discourse has steadily strengthened.

About the speaker

Pia Eskelinen is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Faculty of Law at the University of Turku and a law teacher at Hyria Education. Her Ph.D. research focused on rural women’s rights in the Chinese society, particularly on land possession. Her latest publications include “Rural Women’s Land Use Rights in China: Acceptance and Enforceability” (Towards Gender Equality in Law: An Analysis of State Failures from a Global Perspective, 2021) and “Back to Family Values: Xi Jinping’s Embracement of Confucianism and its Effect on Chinese Women” (co-authored with Amalia Verdu Sanmartin and Johanna Niemi, Retfærd, 2022). She is currently conducting research on how Xi Jinping’s political discourse affects Chinese society, especially women. She is also interested in the overall equality situation in China and in the ways rural women’s land rights are actualized.

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Online Seminar: Chinese Companies Abroad and the Host Country’s Laws: the Case of Dirty Industries in Serbia

On 4 April 2023, University of Helsinki Chinese Studies and the Finnish China Law Center will hold an online seminar on “Chinese Companies Abroad and the Host Country’s Laws: the Case of Dirty Industries in Serbia“. The event will be moderated by Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Helsinki.

Time: Tuesday 4 April, 14:00-15:30 Helsinki Time (13:00-14:30 CEST)

Venue: Online. Please register before Friday 31 March at https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/122724/lomake.html to receive link.

The activities of Chinese companies abroad are an integral part of the robust transformation of today’s economic, geopolitical, and sociocultural landscapes at the local, regional, and global levels. The presence of Chinese capital abroad has been encountering and provoking a wide range of reactions among different political and social actors—from suspicion, reservation, and resistance to warm welcome and exceptional enthusiasm.

This talk will look at the ongoing situation in Serbia, a country governed by a regime that has been among the closest partners of the Chinese government and Chinese companies in Europe and beyond. The talk will focus on the legal dynamics that enable and maintain the much acclaimed “iron-clad friendship” between the two countries and the energetic economic interactions between their governments and businesses. The legal dynamics in question pertain to the Chinese companies that work in Serbia’s dirty industries, namely the production of tires, iron, and steel. Special attention will also be paid to the analysis of the legal aspects of China’s presence in Serbia’s copper and gold mining industry.

About the Speaker

Dušica Ristivojević is a senior researcher in the Department of Cultures of the University of Helsinki. Dušica specializes in the longue-durée dynamics of China’s global interactions, print and digital media, and social organizing in and out of China. She is finalizing her book manuscript on the transnational links of China’s political movements and is observing the country’s presence in Europe’s Eastern peripheries with regard to dirty industry and digital technology.

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Call for Papers: 17th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association

The Centre would like to inform our readers of the 17th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association (ECLS) which will take place during 20- 22 September 2023.

The conference will be hosted and organized by the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki in cooperation with the Finnish China Law Center. The event will take place at the Main Building of the University of Helsinki, Unioninkatu 34, 00100 Helsinki, Finland.

Since the ECLS’s main objective is to encourage comparative and interdisciplinary research on Chinese law, the conference will be a platform for scholars and professionals to exchange ideas about Chinese law and initiate research collaboration.

The Annual Conference Organizing Committee is now inviting submissions. The Conference will highlight legal issues relating to the topics below. Please note that submissions are not necessarily limited to the listed topics.

  • Legal Issues of EU-China Relations
  • China in the International Legal Order
  • Legal Culture, Legal Traditions and Rule of Law Development
  • Legal Aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative
  • Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure
  • Gender Equality in China
  • International Human Rights Protection and the Chinese Legal System
  • Chinese Law, COVID and the Emergency/Pandemic Preparedness
  • Chinese Policy and Presence in the Arctic
  • Sustainable Development and the Role of Regulation
  • Legal and Economic Issues of International Investment
  • Developments in Corporate and Commercial Law
  • Cyber Security, Data Privacy and Personal Information Protection
  • Artificial Intelligence and Ethics, Big Data and Intellectual Property Law
  • Social Credit and the Law, Judicial Reforms and Smart Courts
  • Labour Law Developments, Decent Work and Fundamental Labour Rights
  • Administrative Law and Administrative Procedure
  • China’s Environment, Climate Change and Air Pollution Laws and Policies

Call for papers:

The ECLS welcomes the submission of paper abstracts and panel proposals. Both abstracts (max. 300 words) and proposals for panel sessions (max. 1000 words) should include the title of the paper or panel; name, institution, and email address of the author(s); and up to five keywords.

Abstracts and proposals from young researchers (PhD candidates, MA students, etc.) are welcomed as well. Young scholars’ sessions will be organized as roundtables to be moderated by senior researchers.

Proposals should be submitted via the online submission form. All proposals will be subject to peer-review. The deadline for submissions of abstracts and panel proposals is 19 March 2023, and the deadline for submission of full papers (max. 8000 words) is 18 June 2023.

Further information regarding the call for papers can be found at https://www.helsinki.fi/en/conferences/17th-annual-conference-european-china-law-studies-association/call-papers.

All questions about submissions can be addressed to Professor Björn Ahl (bjoern.ahl@me.com).

Main Building of the University of Helsinki
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The Social Credit System in China

On 17 November 2022, the Finnish China Law Center held an online seminar on the topic of ‘The Social Credit System in China ‘. The event is part of the Center’s mini seminar series on topical issues of Chinese law.

The event began with a presentation on “Debating the Legality of Social Credit in China – A Review of Chinese Legal Scholarship” by Björn Ahl, Professor and Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne and President of the European China Law Studies Association. Björn explained that Chinese legal scholars conceptualize the social credit system (SCS) as an emerging ‘reputation state’ or as an unprecedented instance of ‘social engineering’. The SCS is consisted of three main pillars: the financial credit industry, credit tools to enforce laws and court decisions as well as mechanisms to strengthen the integrity of government affairs. Compared to the other areas of the SCS, the regulatory environment of financial credit is relatively mature and relevant data protection laws provide for a basic level of legal protection of data subjects including effective legal remedies. Government integrity in the third pillar is facilitated by the extension of the credit disciplinary measures to state organizations and personnel. While the first and third pillar are less controversial as there exist basic legal protections with regard to the former and the latter is neither well-developed nor directed at private entities, the recent legal debates and thus Björn focused on the second pillar that has developed ‘social credit tools’, in particular joint disciplining for trust-breaking mechanisms, in order to strengthen the enforcement of law and court decisions.

The second speaker, Marianne von Blomberg, Research Associate and PhD candidate at the Chair of Chinese Legal Culture, University of Cologne discussed “Reputational Regulation through the Social Credit System”. Marianne first clarified that the SCS is not a national social credit score for each citizen but is many local pilot projects, some of which use scores. The punishments are not based on scores but on violations of the law. She went on to examine the SCS and its disciplinary measures including formal joint agency disciplining, and reputational disciplining through local government websites, local social credit information platforms, national social credit, information platforms, State agency websites, regional newspapers, map apps in Wechat, regional TV and radio, broadcasting and warnings in dial tones. Marianne also explored the large-scale disclosure of government information, which lies at the core of SCS reputational punishment, has long been implemented in China as access to government data empowers public oversight over state administrations. This purpose was first manifested in the Open Government Information Regulations passed in 2007, which mandate administrative agencies to disclose information to increase the level of transparency in government work. Governmental information disclosure can, in a different fashion, also serve regulators. Regulators disclose, or mandate organizations to disclose themselves, information that indicates how well they comply with laws and regulations Such regulatory disclosure is based on the idea that the engine for change is reputation, and the fuel for that engine is information.

The seminar concluded with insightful comments on the topic by Huifen Yin, Associate Professor at the School of Law, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

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Prof. Kimmo Nuotio giving guest lecture on Methodology of Criminal Law Theory: Art, Politics or Science? at PKU Law School

On 29 October 2022, Professor Kimmo Nuotio, Board Member of the Finnish China Law Center held a guest lecture on Methodology of Criminal Law Theory: Art, Politics or Science? as part of the PKU Law School Distinguished Global Faculty Lecture series. The lecture discussed the role of the general doctrines of penal liability in the criminal law theorising.

In 2021, Professor Nuotio published the edited volume “Methodology of Criminal Law Theory: Art, Politics or Science?”  together with Professor Shin Matsuzawa. In his presentation, Professor Nuotio told the story behind this book and introduced some ideas that had come up in the different chapters. One debate concerns the issues was whether we should abandon a normativist approach and move towards a more realist and even causalist understanding of law as the Scandinavian Realists suggested a few decades ago.

He especially discussed the different paths of development as regards the conceptual understanding of the crime, which is a summary of the understanding of the comprehensive system of the different prerequisites of penal liability. He also made some remarks on this search for a concept of crime in a comparative setting.

The German doctrine stands for many as the most progressive and as the ideal model which has been discussed or even copied in many countries. But can it be copied? Professor Nuotio commented on the discussion from a Finnish point of view. The Finnish story tells that a long-term German influence was interrupted after the World War II, and when the connections were built again in the 1980’s, this did not lead to a transfer and direct adoption of German ideas, but rather to a birth of a genuine Finnish doctrine which is related to the German one but which is more pragmatic.  In the Finnish case the development of the national doctrines was linked to the need to modernise the outdated text-books as well as the need to be able to serve the legislature which was about to reform the so-called general part of the Penal Code. German criminal law theory was not he only source of inspiration, since also Swedish and other Nordic law was relevant and served as a point of reference. Also the case law of the Supreme Court of Finland played a role since the doctrine had to be compatible with it as well.

In Finland a legal reform of the general part of the Penal Code was completed in 2004. The provisions on penal liability are more detailed and comprehensive than the original ones included in the general part of the Penal Code of 1889, thus serving the interests of legal certainty as suggested by the criminal law principle of legality. The criminal law principle of legality itself had become listed as one of the fundamental rights of the individual in the Finnish constitution.

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Why and How Do We Study Chinese Law in Our Times

On 8 September, the Finnish China Law Center held an informal meeting between Björn Ahl, Professor and Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne and students and researched at the Faculty of Law. This talk was titled as ‘Why and How Do We Study Chinese Law in Our Times’.

The talk highlighted various topics relevant to the students interested in Chinese law: current challenges, the features of Chinese legal system, and many aspects of academic cooperation between Western universities and China. Not least due to China’s zero-Covid strategy, the loss of physical access to Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan has caused damage to academic world. Practitioners and scholars have lost a way to discuss and conduct interviews with each other and the access to primary sources has been limited or made more difficult as a result. In the long run, this isolation might even lead to the lack of interest in the subject by younger researchers if longer stays are not possible.

However, the talk also shined some light on possible career prospects that remain for European students of Chinese law. China and developments of Chinese law will be influential for Europe as well, and despite the current challenges, Chinese markets remain as the most attractive in terms of long-term growth. This indicates why there is an urgent need of expertise on Chinese law in Europe.

Cooperation will not be easy. Academic freedom is limited in China and censorship of research publications is constantly taking place. Demand for cooperation still exists and some speculate Singapore’s development into a center of Chinese law research. For Europe, however, the most crucial thing remains to be the co-ordination of teaching and research of academic institutions in Europe. In any event, cooperation continues to be desired.

The blogpost was written by the Center’s intern, Samppa Penttinen.

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Understanding Law with Chinese Characteristics

On 16 September 2022, the Finnish China Law Center hosted a hybrid seminar on the topic of ‘Understanding Law with Chinese Characteristics’. This event was part of the Center’s mini seminar series on topical issues of Chinese law.

On the left: Professor Ronald Brown, 16 September 2022

The seminar consisted of two presentations. The first was by Ronald Brown, Law Professor at the University of Hawai’i Law School and was titled as ‘Chinese Labor Practices, Treaties, Uyghurs, and CAI: Keeping Promises’. In his presentation, Professor Brown was speculating whether Chinese labor policies have shifted towards international standards or is it just that China is changing without change. The presentation examined the latter by calling attention to China’s many reservations of its signed and ratified international agreements.

The debate on Uyghurs have hampered China’s relationship with the West in the recent years. This issue was also raised in the presentation by Professor Brown who pointed out the different language used by the two sides: the West accuses China of ‘genocide’ while China constantly refers to the re-education camps which are needed in the thought-reform of the Uyghurs. The EU-China CAI might be pending, but the US’ new 2022 Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and EU countries’ Due Diligence laws were brought up as new legislation to watch for. Professor Brown concluded his presentation with recent comments by the UN Human Rights Committee that, for China, made an unfavorable assessment of the situation.

 

From left to right: Professor Martin Lavička, Professor Julie Yu-Wen Chen and Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, Helsinki, 16 September 2022

The second presentation of the day was presented by Martin Lavička, Assistant Professor at Department of Asian Studies at Palacky University Olomouc, and Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Helsinki. The duo discussed the topic of ‘Recent Developments of the Rule of Law with Chinese Characteristics’. Like Professor Brown, this presentation was also opened with a rationale on China’s international law standards before moving onto the on-going discussion about rule of law in China.

The core of the presentation focused on the development of religious freedoms under Xi Jinping. The assessment included a look on the recent administrative measures which, in summary, imply growing control of the party-state. Religious groups are set to function in accordance with the CCP’s ideologies. Assistant Professor Lavička and Professor Chen noted that this process started long before Xi and is set to continue in these times when the CCP’s tolerance to any contesting ideologies is becoming lesser. The duo concluded the presentation by an observation that the convergence of law-in-practice and law-in-books, considering China’s recent developments, may not always be a good thing.

The blogpost was written by the Center’s intern, Samppa Penttinen.

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International Law in Chinese Courts

On Tuesday 6 September 2022, Björn Ahl, Professor and Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne and President of the European China Law Studies Association, gave a guest lecture at the Finnish China Law Center. The topic of his presentation was ‘International Law in Chinese Courts’.

Professor Björn Ahl, Helsinki, 6 September 2022

The lecture discussed Chinese law and legal scholarship on the domestic effects of international law, application of international law by Chinese courts, Chinese courts’ interpretation of international law and domestic law and Chinese courts’ participation in international norm-making.

The Chinese Constitution does not stipulate the effects of international law within the domestic legal system. However, ordinary legislation and judicial interpretations of the Supreme People’s Court include enabling clauses that mandate the direct application of international law under certain conditions . However, in recent years, provisions that refer to international law were removed from legislation which signals that international treaties have become less relevant for domestic courts. General observations of Chinese scholarship shows that domestic courts display a conservative attitude towards international law and often hesitate to apply treaty provisions.

Professor Ahl went on to examine application of international law by Chinese courts especially in case of IP, human rights, double taxation avoidance  and diplomatic and consular treaties, as well as their interpretation of international law. He observed that domestic courts have developed a consistent practice of directly applying over 30 international treaties to disputes about IP, international trade, maritime commerce and international air and rail transport as well as judicial assistance in civil and criminal matters. Chinese courts increasingly rely on the principle of consistent interpretation. However, courts in general do not apply international treaties that constrain executive organs of the State.

Concerning Chinese courts’ participation in international norm-making, Professor Ahl noted that overall party-state  policy encourages Chinese state organs to participate actively in the formulation of international norms and to strengthen discourse power and influence in international legal affairs. Domestic court decisions may have the effect of confirming rules of international law or give them a novel interpretation that may trigger protest or acquiescence by other states. Only if domestic court decisions are noticed, persuasive and endorsed by other states, courts, international organizations or codifying bodies, they may exercise certain influence on the complex processes of the development of international law.

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Doctoral defence: Equality in law ensures the fulfillment of fundamental rights in China, Pia Eskelinen, 9 September 2022

M.Sc. (Admin.) Pia Eskelinen will present her dissertation on the legal status of women in China, especially regarding land rights in rural areas, for public review on 9 September 2022 at 12:00. The The public examination will take place at University of Turku, Calonia 1.

The public examination can also be followed remotely at https://echo360.org.uk/section/d10ad3ff-8805-45ab-b752-65e10980be33/public

Docent Anja Lahtinen (University of Helsinki) will serve as opponent and Dean Johanna Niemi (University of Helsinki Faculty of Law) as the custos. The event will be held in Finnish.

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In recent years, Chinese society has progressively begun to be defined by Confucian values and society’s interference with media freedom. This has also affected the working /operational environment of Chinese women. In her doctoral thesis, Eskelinen examines the legal status of rural Chinese women and women’s legal position in Chinese society. The thesis shows that the application of legislation in China has become more unequal, with women and their basic rights being placed in a more disadvantageous position.

Eskelinen uncovers what the legal status of rural Chinese women is in relation to land rights. Alongside this question, Eskelinen considers and examines more in general, the question of women’s legal status and the equal status of women in Chinese society and how President Xi Jinping’s political discourse has affected the status of women in China.

News concerning the Chinese rural women often goes unnoticed due to bigger news. News related to the economy and dissidents is important and must be made visible. Eskelinen, however, states that rural Chinese women form a large individual group whose contribution to China’s economic and social development often goes unmentioned.

“The everyday life of ordinary women forms an integral part of China’s gross national product and well-being”, Eskelinen points out.

President Xi Jinping’s impact on the state of China’s gender equality

In recent years, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has returned to a society where Confucian values ​​increasingly determine how society works. In addition to this, society’s interference with media freedom, for example, has alarmingly increased. According to Eskelinen’s doctoral research, the turning point was in 2016. At that time, President Xi gave a speech in which he emphasized that Confucian values ​​are engraved in the hearts of Chinese people.

“After the speech, China began to move back to a more patriarchal society and women’s operating environment narrowed. It was considered that a women’s place is to take care of the family”, Eskelinen says.

In addition to this, women’s organizations in different regions started offering different courses to women, which focused on how to be good wives and daughters. Eskelinen regards the most worrisome is that the application of legislation has become more unequal, as it places women and their basic rights at a disadvantage.

Women’s appreciation and problems from the point of view of equality

Eskelinen wants to highlight the appreciation of women and the problems in equality, because women’s role and contribution to the well-being of different countries are often ignored. Finland is no exception.

In Finland, the “Lotta’s” contribution to the war effort has been downplayed, and a solution to the wage gap in female-dominated fields has still not been found. “It’s easy to appeal to the lack of money”, Eskelinen reminds.

According to Eskelinen, however, it is important to see beyond the money, attitudes and structures.

“It is not enough, for example, to light buildings in blue in honor of nurses. The idea is beautiful, but it only creates an illusionary appreciation, not a real one”, Eskelinen reflects.

Eskelinen hopes that societies from China to Finland would pay more attention to ordinary people and ordinary women and give them real value.

Contact information:
Pia Eskelinen
pia.j.eskelinen@utu.fi
050 323 7296

The blogpost was written by the Center’s intern, Annette Rapo.

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Professor Eva Pils on China’s impact on international human rights law

On 15 June 2022, Professor Eva Pils from King’s College London delivered a guest lecture on the topic of “China’s challenge to international human rights law: a case of synergic corrosion”.

The lecture commenced with the case of Cao Shunli (1962-2014), a Chinese human rights activist arrested by Beijing in 2013 and subsequently died in a military hospital. Another incident mentioned in the prologue is the recent visit to China of Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who was then criticized for failing to speak for Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The two cases shown that, while UN principles were still referred to as international standards by domestic human right advocate, China is yielding increasing influence on international human rights law domestically and via international organizations.

Professor Pils presented China’s challenges to human rights law in five aspects. She first pointed out that the human rights violations of China within its borders have transnational impacts. Examples include the prevention of Cao Shunli and suppressed Xinjiang Uyghurs from reaching international audience, and also the suspected export of forced labour to other countries.

The second challenge concerns the suppression of facts by intimidation and ‘drowning out’ of criticism. The suppressive actions by China were not only domestic but also extended to affect international researchers working on the Xinjiang issue (e.g. Zenz, Smith Finley, Jerden). China’s denials of human rights violations, avoidance of international accountability mechanisms, and soliciting support from other countries exemplified the international challenge.

Thirdly, Professor Pils talked about China’s discursive strategies to deflect human right criticism. In the Xinjiang case, Beijing claimed the re-education camps were to develop detainees’ vocational skills for economic development. Another common argument by China is national security and anti-terrorism.

At the global level, China is propagating its system as liberal and democratic to propose an alternative governance model in Chinese style, giving rise to the fourth challenge. Xi Jinping suggested the idea of ‘shared future for mankind’ and that the world should be ruled by “Ritual propriety” in substitution of the existing universal human right principles.

The fifth challenge is external to China. The withdrawal of populist or nationalistic state actors from international law institutions posed threats to the binding force of international law and legal norms. For instance, the US quitting UN Human Rights Council, UNRWA, WHO was a sign turning against legal institutions.

After conceptualising the synergic corrosive effects among China and other would-be autocrats in liberal democracies, Professor Pils concluded that we need to reaffirm human rights indivisibility and buttress civil and political rights to defend international human rights law.

This blog post was written by the Center’s intern, Lam Kam To Kuinton.

 

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Standard Essential Patents in China

The IPR University Center organized an online Seminar on “Standard Essential Patents in China” on 23 March 2022, in collaboration with the Finnish China Law Center. The speakers include Jin Haijun, Professor at Renmin Law School; Richard Vary from Bird & Bird; Ruben Schellingerhout, from the European Commission and Eeva Hakoranta, Executive Vice President at InterDigital Inc.

The Seminar opened with a presentation by Professor Jin Haijun on the topic of “SEP/FRAND disputes in China.” He expounded SEP/FRAND disputes from the perspective of China courts, which granted anti-suit injunctions (ASI) in four major IP cases, upon which the EU requested information. After addressing legal issues concerning SEP/FRAND, jurisdictional territories, and ASI, he raised several implications for IP management towards new harmonization in global SEP dispute solutions.

In the next part of the Seminar, Richard Vary gave a presentation on “The UK approach on the resolution of FRAND disputes and its relationship with China”. The presentation consists of a detailed explanation of the English patent trial system and a comparison of the valuation approaches used in the UK and China. He also suggested improved metrics for portfolio strength, including citation analysis, contribution counting, third party essentially studies and jurisdiction weighted patent counting.

Following up next was the presentation on “Anti-suit injunctions in the EU perspectives” by Ruben Schellingerhout, who stressed that patents have brought great importance in many industries. He clearly listed the competition guidelines, judgments and cases in relation to the developments in anti-suit injunctions, particularly in China. He also drew attention to the difficulties in relation to retrieving decisions in China despite the presence of a legal basis for WTO’s request for consultations.

The last part of the seminar was concluded by Eeva Hakoranta, on the topic of “SEP and FRAND – Globally and in China.” She emphasized the recognition of a rule-based system under the new world order, especially when we all have been living in a globalization era, who are able to actually share well-being with less developed countries to a very great extent. China, as one of the beneficiaries of globalization should also submit to the same set of rules.

This blog post was written by the Center’s interns, Li Tsz Yau Dorothy and Lam Kam To Kuinton.