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.

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.

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.

 

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.

Chinese Perspectives on Public International Law

On 15 March 2022, the Finnish China Law Center organized the online mini seminar titled ‘Chinese Perspectives on Public International Law’. The speakers were Yifeng Chen, Associate Professor at Peking University Law School and Björn Ahl, Professor and Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne.

The seminar began with Professor Yifeng Chen’s presentation on “Conceiving Infrastructures as Governance: China and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” which highlighted the implications of BRI infrastructure projects on regional and international governance. Professor Chen noted that infrastructures such as ports, special economic zones, highways, railways, and airports are heavily invested in since they are important in terms of connection, integration, as well as circulation of goods, knowledge, and power. Infrastructures are embedded in social arrangement and economic life. Thus, it is a strong embodiment of China’s standards and politics. He further explained the economic, political and social influences of the BRI infrastructure projects on host states and communities affected by the projects as well as their role in the establishment of a multilateral governance blueprint. 

In his presentation on “Chinese Positions on Global Constitutionalism, Community of Common Destiny for Mankind and the Future of International Law”, Professor Björn Ahl emphasized that global constitutionalism is not only a hermeneutic device for understanding new developments in international law, but also represents a political agenda that argues for the further constitutionalization of international law. In a similar vein, the Chinese concept of a community of common destiny for mankind provides ideas for forward-looking political action to shape international law. He went on to discuss Chinese legal discourses and government statements that relate to elements of global constitutionalism and the community of common destiny to identify the values and structures of the future international legal order envisaged by China.  

Professor Björn Ahl (left) and Professor Yifeng Chen (right), 15 March 2022

Recent developments in Chinese Labor Law

On 22 November 2021, the Finnish China Law Center held an online mini seminar on the topic of “Recent developments in Chinese Labor Law”. The event was part of the Center’s new mini seminar series on topic issues of Chinese law. The seminar was chaired by Ulla Liukkunen, Professor of Labour Law and Private International Law at the University of Helsinki and the Director of the Finnish China Law Center.

The seminar began with a presentation by Ronald Brown, Law Professor at the University of Hawai’i Law School on “Potpourri: Offshore Views of China’s Labor Laws and Practices”. Domestically, Professor Brown explained how labour laws in China are good on paper, however, are a work in progress, since there are significant inconsistencies in labour practices and enforcement. From the offshore perspective, he discussed the impact of domestic labour law on trade and investments. As an example, he noted how domestic Chinese labour practices can have cross-border impacts where they are carried to third countries through investments such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

The second presentation was held by Tianyu Wang, Associate Director of the Social Law Department of the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on the topic “The internet platform labour law in China: The Rise, Controversy, and Policy Trends”. He noted that internet service platforms offer vast new opportunities in jobs and careers in China and introduced the four different organizational platforms in China. Professor Wang outlined the new legal challenges that the rise of platform work presents in labour law. Notably, the Chinese courts are faced with the difficulty in differentiating the type of relationships between platform workers and platforms as employers. He observed that in cases, the Chinese courts often rule that this relationship is a civil one rather than a labour relationship subsequently ignoring the control that platforms have over the workers.

The third presentation was held by Professor Ulla Likkunen on “Decent Work and SDG 8 – Observations of Chinese Approach”. Professor Liukkunen discussed how SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth can add value to labour law since it is directly connected with the work of the ILO Decent Work Agenda, which reaffirms the objective of social justice. She discussed how China has developed the decent work programme by efforts related to increasing the quantity and quality of employment, promoting and extending social protection in the workplace and strengthening the rule of law and realization of fundamental principles and rights at work. She noted how work still needs to be done to implement decent work in China. Importantly, although China has not ratified all ILO fundamental conventions, all member states of the ILO including China should respect, realize and promote the ILO declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work regardless of the state of ratification.

The final presentation was held by Yan Tian, Assistant Professor & Assistant Dean at Peking University Law School on “A Constitutional Theory of Workplace Discipline in China”. Professor Tian outlined how Article 53 of the Chinese Constitution lists the duty of workplace discipline. Unlike most Constitutions, the Chinese one lists both the rights and duties of citizens. He explained how the Article has socialist roots in raising the consciousness of citizens in discipline, since factories were seen as an extension of the state. Progressively workplace discipline has evolved with China moving towards a market economy and capitalization to restrict the employers right to punish. The Article has thus evolved with the state only partially siding with employers and adopting a “preventative” or “educative” take on workplace discipline rather than punishment.

This blog post was written by the Center’s intern, Annette Rapo.

Prof. Kimmo Nuotio giving guest lecture on Criminal Law and Sustainable Development at PKU Law School

Professor Kimmo Nuotio on 2 November 2021

On 2 November 2021, Professor Kimmo Nuotio, Board Member of the Finnish China Law Center held a guest lecture on Criminal Law and Sustainable Development as part of the PKU Law School Distinguished Global Faculty Lecture series. Professor Nuotio is a renowned legal scholar with extensive Chinese collaboration experience and a Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Helsinki. The Global Faculty lectures series is an opportunity for expert legal scholars to share thoughts and in-depth perspectives, whilst nurturing global awareness among students.

Within his lecture, Professor Nuotio examined how the notions of criminal law and sustainable developments have not often been linked to each other and calls for further discussion of this relationship. Examples such as environmental criminal law and corporate liability were discussed from this point of view. He outlined how according to the European view, criminal law should not be measured against purely instrumental values, therefore as a means to an end, since a state- or society-oriented view on criminal justice would risk the capability of criminal law to stand for individual freedoms and liberties. Professor Nuotio, however, noted that it is fair to consider how criminal law could best be used to support societal development. In his lecture, Professor Nuotio posed and examined several questions such as it is fair to ask about how criminal law could best be used to support societal development and whether the notion of sustainability actually adds anything new? Finally, the role of criminal law in regard to reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals was discussed.

This blog post was written by the Center’s intern, Annette Rapo.

Smart Courts and the Informatization of China’s Judicial System

On 25 October 2021, the Finnish China Law Center held an online mini seminar on the topic of ‘Smart Courts and the Informatization of China’s Judicial System’. The event is part of the Center’s new mini seminar series on topical issues of Chinese law.

Professor Johanna Niemi, 25 October 2021

The seminar was chaired by Johanna Niemi, Professor of Procedural Law at University of Turku and Board Member of the Finnish China Law Center.

The seminar began with a presentation by Björn Ahl, Professor and Chair of Chinese Legal Culture at the University of Cologne on ‘The Development of Chinese Smart Courts within the Broader Context of Judicial Reform’. He remarked that as China is currently at the forefront of technical and digital development, its experience in smart courts and judicial reform would be a good subject for comparative study.

Professor Björn Ahl, 25 October 2021

Professor Ahl started with an introduction on the description of smart courts. In a smart court, litigation activities are carried out online with limited human interference. Software applications, algorithms and big-data analytics are used to support the judicial process.  He noted that the smart courts form a small part of the overall policy toward judicial informalization. The objective of judicial informatization and smart courts is to create a more just and fairer judiciary, more consistent adjudication and better monitoring and supervision of cases. Professor Ahl also gave some examples of the applications utilized in smart courts including systems that can automatically draw analogy between similar cases to provide in-depth materials and guidance in decision-making for judges to review and those that to systems that can process and cross-examine case texts and parties’ information to determine if there are any overlapping procedures.

Professor Wen Xiang, 25 October 2021

The second presentation titled ‘The Rise of Smart Courts in China: A Pathway to E-justice in the Digital Age?’ was given by Wen Xiang, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Copenhagen. He explained that the reason behind the need for smart courts in China is the sharp increase of cases which places heavy burden on judges. Since 2013, China has initiated the informatization of courts. Internet courts were established in Hangzhou (2017), Beijing (2018) and Guangzhou (2018). Professor Xiang then gave a brief introduction of four of the techniques that have been employed in smart courts including electronic case-filing, remote trial, online mediation platform and electronic delivery system. He stated that smart courts have the potential to promote quality of justice, improve judicial efficiency, provide convenience for the people, and build judicial big data system.

In their presentations, both Professors expressed concerns regarding potential bias in algorithms in smart courts, possible inaccuracy in algorithm-based and data-based decision-making mechanisms, uncertainties about the influence  of private developers on the deliver of justice, lack of guideline on data security and protection of privacy, and unequal access to technology.

 

 

11th Sino-Finnish Bilateral Seminar on Comparative Law: Sustainable Development and Role of Regulation

On 11-12 October 2021, the China Law Center together with Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) organized the 11th Sino-Finnish Bilateral Seminar on Comparative Law. This year, the seminar was centered around the theme of Sustainable Development and Role of Regulation.

Professor Mo Jihong, Director of CASS Law Institute (left) and Professor Xie Zengyi, Deputy Director of CASS Law Institute (right)
Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

The seminar began with opening words from Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Chair of the Board of the Finnish China Law Center, and Professor Mo Jihong, Director of CASS Law Institute. Both emphasized the significance of sustainability to society and development as well as the role of the seminar as a platform to exchange knowledge and broaden the understanding of the legal systems in China, Finland and Europe and how each tackles essential and also very complex issues in sustainable development and regulation. During the opening ceremony, Professor Björn Ahl, President of the European China Law Studies Association and Visiting Professor at the University of Helsinki, shared his thoughts and experience on the challenges and opportunities of research of Chinese law in Europe.

Professor Björn Ahl, University of Cologne, Visiting Professor at the University of Helsinki

The first session of the seminar dealt with sustainable development and role of regulation. The session began with a presentation by Associate Professor Li Xia on ‘Transformation of Regulatory Objectives and Methods in Risk Society: A Case Study of Safety Regulation in Hazardous Chemicals Industry’.  Assistant Professor Lin Xiaoxiao next addressed the general clauses in the Chinese Tort Law and Civil Code on environmental tort issues, punitive compensation and responsibility for environmental damages. Next, Professor Matti Nojonen discussed a different interpretation of Chinese tradition on self, freedom and humaneness as societal process. Finally, Professor Pia Letto talked about difficulties of legal comparisons. Especially challenging is the comparison between European and non-European legal systems and institutions.

Assistant Professor Lin Xiaoxiao (left) and Associate Professor Li Xia (right), CASS Law Institute
Professor Matti Nojonen, University of Lapland

The second session covered sustainable business models and their regulation. In his presentation, Professor Zhao Lei looked into three dimensions of the revision of Chinese Corporate Law including its functions, practices, and position in coordination with other laws.  Professor Jukka Mähönen gave an overview of the EU business regulation and sustainable finance initiative as  tools to activise sustainable business through his presentation titled ‘Sustainability in European Union Business Regulation’. Assistant Professor Tang Linyao discussed the commercial and legal prospects of privacy-by-design, taking privacy-preserving computation regulation as an example. Lastly, Dr Heli Korkka-Knuts explored the role of behavioural regulatory design in optimization of corporate crime prevention and support of global sustainability transformation.

Professor Jukka Mähönen, University of Helsinki
Associate Professor Lu Chao (left) and Assistant Professor Tang Linyao (right), CASS Law Institute
Dr. Heli Korkka-Knuts, University of Helsinki

The third session focused on environment protection, rights and regulatory approaches. Professor Liu Hongyan talked about the inclusion of ecological civilization to the amendment of the Constitution and new development of environmental rule by law in China. Dr. Seita Romppanen discussed the role of law in sustainability transitions and identidied avenues for further legal research on the role of law in sustainability transitions. Next, Assistant Professor Yue Xiaohua presented the regulation path and implementation mechanism of green consumption in China while Dr. Tiina Paloniitty assessed the role of environmental law and governance as a core of sustainability law.

Dr. Seita Romppanen, University of Eastern Finland
Assistant Professor Yue Xiaohua (left) and Professor Liu Hongyan (right), CASS Law Institute
Dr. Tiina Paloniitty, University of Helsinki

The last session of the seminar covered decent work and the protection of platform workers in China, Finland and EU. This session saw two presentations: one from Professor Ulla Liukkunen under the title ‘Fundamental Labour Rights and Platform Work – A Cross-border Perspective’ and the other from Associate Professor Wang Tianyu under the title ‘Toward the Tripartite Laws of Labor – A Chinese Solution for the Protection of
Platform Workers’ Rights and Interests’.

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, University of Helsinki
Professor Xie Zengyi (left) and Associate Professor Wang Tianyu (right), CASS Law Institute

 

New mini seminar series – Topical issues of Chinese law

The China Law Center is pleased to announce the launch of a new mini seminar series on topical issues of Chinese law. The series gathers esteemed scholars to present and discuss current issues, trends and challenges in different topics of Chinese law and legal culture.

The series aims to deepen knowledge on specific topics of Chinese law and legal culture and provide a chance for discussion with experts from the field. It also seeks to encourage students and young scholars with passion for Chinese law and legal culture to further learn about the latest information related to the their subject of interest and research.

The events are free of charge and open for anyone with an interest in Chinese law and legal culture.

The first three seminars will address different aspects of Chinese smart courts and judicial system (October 2021), labour law (November 2021) and IP law (Spring 2022). The IP law seminar will be organized in cooperation with IPR University Center.

The programmes of the events will soon be published on the Center’s web page and social media.

Stay tuned!

Matti Nojonen on Xunzi’s practical philosophy of governance; concepts of rites (li), law (fa) and social order and contemporary Chinese Party-State

On 24 May 2021, Professor Matti Nojonen from the University of Lapland gave a guest lecture on ”Xunzi´s practical philosophy of governance, concepts of rites (li), law (fa) and social order and contemporary Chinese Party-State”. During his lecture, Professor Nojonen gave an interesting insight into Xunzi´s (c. 300 – c. 235 BC) thinking and the concepts of li and fa. Apart from the historical discussion, Professor Nojonen also talked about the Chinese contemporary trend to value Confucianism. At the end of the lecture, he gave answers to questions arising from the audience.

Professor Matti Nojonen, 24 May 2021

Xunzi was an important Confucian thinker after Confucius (551 – 479 BC) and Mencius (372 – 289 BC). Xunzi lived in the ”Warring States era” when there was more social disorder compared to Confucius´ times. He wrote a comprehensive book ”Xunzi”. As Professor Nojonen pointed out, Confucianism is not a static philosophy. Xunzi in his part also modified it. In general, Professor Nojonen reminded that the concepts in China differ from western concepts. Chinese concepts are more practical and not so clearly defined. Traditional Chinese does not even have a word for concepts and they can be verbs at the same time.

Xunzi was influenced by the Jixia Academy of his era. The question of how to bring order to society was important to him. Li (rite, ritual) was already a Confucian concept but Xunzi developed a full theory of li. According to Xunzi´s theory of li, human nature is evil and humans are driven by certain desires and inborn emotions. Therefore, Xunzi´s view on humans born evil differs from Mencius´ more idealistic view on humans being potentially good. In Xunzi´s theory, li is the tool to control the desires and emotions humans are born with. However, because it is a rather vague concept, it is any ruler’s monopoly, but also his responsibility to define li for his people, which makes li a practical and deliberate tool of governance.

An example of li coupled with other concepts is liyi with yi meaning „justice/righteousness“. Yi is what differs humans from animals. However, according to Xunzi, humans are born evil and without yi, but they can attain liyi by studying and thereby handle their evil desires. Professor Nojonen pointed out how Xunzi´s view differed again from Mencius’: Mencius saw studying as a way to become good while Xunzi saw it as an instrument to control evil. Xunzi stressed the importance of wei (conscious activity) and not leaving one´s fate to the hands of tian (heaven or nature). Another related concept is fen (distinction of social classes). According to Xunzi, people should stay in their social classes, as that makes them understand justice and easier to control.

For Xunzi, li was not enough to govern. Fa (law, regulation) was needed too in maintaining social order. Fa can be understood as a method of governance that constrains the behavior of people, especially with the penal code. It is therefore the „backbone“ that lies underneath li and stabilizes the society. One of Xunzi´s students, Hanfeizi, was a founding father of legalism, which led to the rough legalist Qin-dynasty, which only lasted for 17 years. However, Xunzi differed from strict legalism because he thought that fa is subordinate to li. A symbiotic relationship between li and fa can be seen as Xunzi´s legacy.

Professor Nojonen talked about the recent ”turn to own classics” in China. Xi Jinping has been the driving force of it. He has, for example, visited the birthplace of Confucius and has given a speech on Confucius´ 2.565th birthday. Professor Nojonen also discussed contemporary Party-State interplaying li and fa in the Xuncian sense. In his summary remarks, Professor Nojonen stressed the importance of Xunzi for the Chinese culture. Only the Xuncian insertion of fa made the idealistic, li-based Confucianism an efficient and practical ideology of governance.

This blog post was written by the Center’s interns, Elias Jakala and Johanna Fähnrich.