On Friday 20 April 2018, the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki and the Finnish China Law Center will host the first-ever Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting.
The purpose of the Meeting, which will be held between 09:00 – 11:00, is to provide a forum in which scholars can share their China law-related activities and plans, and explore forms and possibilities of inter-institutional collaboration at a general level.
There will also be discussion of Nordic-wide involvement in some events being organized by the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki and the Finnish China Law Center, including the 9th Bilateral Seminar on Comparative Law with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) (Beijing, September 2018 – exact date to be confirmed).
This round table discussion is open to those affiliated with universities or research institutions in the Nordic region whose research or teaching relates to the law and China (including Chinese law, comparative law involving China, and China’s engagement with international law).
Scholars who would like to pursue legal teaching or research involving China are also invited to attend.
While the meeting is intended for senior scholars, junior academics, including doctoral students, are warmly encouraged to join.
Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, will chair the Meeting.
Tea and coffee will be served during the meeting, and a light lunch will follow.
Registering to attend
Those interested in attending the event are kindly asked to register, and indicate any dietary preferences/needs, through this electronic form:
The Meeting will be held in the Meeting Room of the Faculty of Law (P545), 5th floor of the Porthania Building (Yliopistonkatu 3, Helsinki).
Other events in Nordic China Law Week 2018
Those interested in Chinese law and legal culture are encouraged to join other events being held during Nordic China Law Week 2018.
Directly after the Meeting (from 12:15 to 13:45), legal scholar and judge Professor Alan Neal (Warwick University) will give a guest lecture, which participants at the Meeting are encouraged to attend.
Questions about the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting, and Nordic China Law Week 2018, can be directed at the Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, Stuart Mooney, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.
‘What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives’
China is already the second largest country in the world in terms of GDP and thus it is increasingly becoming common for Finnish firms to work in and with China. As China is culturally different from Finland, many Finnish people find it challenging to understand what management practices work best in China.
As China’s economy continues to grow and diversify, new opportunities and challenges are emerging. In addition, legal considerations – including a range of Chinese labor laws based on international standards – affect how businesses operating in China manage their workforce.
This seminar, held during the 40th anniversary of China’s ‘Reform and Opening Up’ reforms, brings together academics from management and legal backgrounds, as well as one of Finland’s leading entrepreneurs, to provide interdisciplinary insights and explore developments in contemporary people management practices in China.
This free, public event is targeted at managers, practitioners, scholars, and students.
Details and Registration
Date: Monday 23 April 2018
Time: 13:00 – 17:00 (including refreshments and networking event).
Location: Aalto University School of Business, Room C-350 (Jenni and Antti Wihuri Hall), Runeberginkatu 14-16, Helsinki.
The organizers kindly ask you to register by 19 April 2018 via this link:
13:00Welcome to the Seminar: Professor Carl Fey, Aalto University School of Business
13:05 Fundamental Labour Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility in China: Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law, University of Helsinki
13:30 Changing HRM Practices in China: Implications for Practitioners and Researchers: Dr Wei Lu, Aalto University School of Business
13:55 The Relationship between Education, Business Culture and Employee Engagement in China: Peter Vesterbacka, Co-founder and BrandBreaker, Lightneer Inc
14:20 Tea/coffee break
14:35What Types of Organizational Culture Work Best in China? Professor Carl F. Fey, Aalto University School of Business
15:00 Panel Discussion: The Future of People Management in China: Educational, Political, Economic and Legal Considerations
Professor Carl Fey, Aalto University School of Business (Moderator)
Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Finnish Center of Chinese Law / University of Helsinki
Peter Vesterbacka, Co-founder and BrandBreaker, Lightneer Inc
Dr Wei Lu, Aalto University School of Business
16:00 Refreshments and networking
17:00 End of event
Speaker Bios
Carl F. Fey is a Professor of International Business at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland and a Visiting Professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong. Fey’s research focuses on exploring what management practices are most effective in China and Russia. He is an experienced researcher (has published 60+ articles) and executive educator specialized in firm internationalization, organizational culture, knowledge transfer, mergers and acquisitions, innovation, networks, and what leadership styles and management practices work best in China and Russia. Fey is recipient of the 2013 Journal of International Business Studies Decade Award and Deputy Editor of Management and Organization Review. From 2011-2015 Fey was Dean of Nottingham University Business School China which he grew to have 2500 students and a faculty of 90 from 28 countries. From 1997-2010, Fey helped the Stockholm School of Economics to develop a branch campus in Russia which became one of the two leading business schools for EMBAs/executive education in Russia. Fey has worked as a consultant or executive educator for many leading foreign and local firms in China and Russia.
Dr Wei Lu is currently doing her post-doctoral research at the International Business Unit of Aalto University. Her recent research has focused on human resource management (HRM) practices in multinational corporations (MNCs) in China, for example, practice transfer, localization of HRM practices, organizational commitment and career mobility. She has also conducted research projects on strategies of internationalization of Finnish companies in China and Finnish-Chinese intercultural communication. Dr Lu has long standing experience in teaching at higher education institutions in China and Finland. She has lectured on e.g., China’s Economic Reform, Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment in China, China as a Business Environment, Business in East and Southeast Asia. In addition to research and teaching, Dr Lu actively provides training and consultation for Finnish companies on Doing Business in China and Business Culture in Asia.
Further Information
For inquiries about the event, kindly contact Dr Wei Lu at wei.lu@aalto.fi.
During her presentation, Ms Zhao discussed the evolution of Chinese intellectual property (IP) mechanisms as China progressed on its national development and transition to becoming a ‘well-developed country’. Ms Zhao approached her subject from the perspective of (IP), with a special focus on the People’s Republic of China since 1949.
Professor Li Mingde strongly recommended that Ms Zhao’s doctoral thesis be accepted. In his comments, he praised Ms Zhao’s thesis on its scope and originality. During a long discussion with Ms Zhao, Professor Li asked many probing questions not only about Ms Zhao’s thesis but more broadly about the current state of Chinese IP law, the challenges facing China’s IP system and the enforcement of IP rights, the roles of administrative and judicial IP right enforcement, and the prospects for its future development.
In her closing comments, Ms Zhao thanked those who have supported her during her thesis, including her thesis supervisor Professor Niklas Bruun (University of Helsinki / Hanken School of Economics).
Ms Zhao’s list of publications, lectures, other academic activities and full CV can be found on the website of University of Helsinki.
Thesis abstract
This thesis explores the evolution of Chinese IP mechanisms during national development and transition to becoming a well-developed country. This subject is studied from the perspective of intellectual property (IP), with a special focus on the People’s Republic of China since 1949.
Internationally, the Chinese State, as a late-developing country, has adopted various mechanisms to narrow its gap in income and in technological capability in relation to developed countries. Meanwhile, internally, China itself is going through a crucial stage of social transition, and switching its economic model from labour-intensive mode to high-tech and innovation-intensive mode. During China’s international ‘catch-up’ process, and its own social transition, the role of IP has constantly changed.
This research on China’s IP covers a period of the late Qing Dynasty until early June 2017, especially focusing on the period after 1949 and the modern Chinese IP system since its Reform and Opening-up Policy in 1979. The reviewed literature covers: (1) Chinese IP-related legislation and policies; (2) the domestic and international academic IP studies; (3) research reports from international organizations; (4) central reports from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, other reports and speeches from the central government with a historical period start from 1933; and (5) IP-related annual reports and statistics from the State Intellectual Property Office and the various levels of the people’s court.
This thesis combines the narrative approach of Chinese IP studies, law in context, and historical perspective, and specifically studies the question: ‘what is the IP system’s role in the catch-up process of China?’ The main research question is divided into sub questions: How does the development of the IP system and the national Science and Technology (S&T) integrate with each other (Chapter 2)? How is the IP system absorbed into Chinese society? The absorption of an IP system is explored via two aspects: one imperative aspect is the evolution of IP system from the perspective of enforcement (Chapter 3); and the other is how the IP system from the state level involved has impacted on the Chinese business players (Chapter 4). The manuscript concludes: Even though external pressures played an undeniable role during Chinese IP development, which can chase back to the 19th Century, China has been constantly advancing its IP system and its implementation mainly because of its internal and developmental needs since 1949 (Chapter 5).
The outcome of this thesis summarises the three decades of Chinese modern IP development and its enforcement in the following way: an advanced legislation system that goes along with the international standards, an enforcement system with Chinese characteristics, and an administrative system for registration and examination focusing mainly on the domestic industries yet taking international practices as reference. China’s adjustments of the IP policies are ultimately determined by the overall objectives for catching up and building an innovative country. China updates its IP system strictly in line with its level of national S&T development. Based on the internal and international conditions, it is a selected development model from China’s side to emphasize IP reform and modernization.
The Kone Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation with a mission to make the world a better place by advancing initiatives in research and the arts, offered two 4 to 6 month-long scholarships to conduct research in China. The cut-off to apply for those scholarship was 28 March 2018.
The Finnish member universities of the Fudan Nordic Center are the University of Helsinki, the University of Eastern Finland, Hanken School of Economics, the University of Lapland, the University of Tampere and the University of Turku. All of these universities are also member institutions of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law.
The scholarship program is intended to support and expand China-related research conducted in the Finnish universities. The aim is to stimulate researchers to expand their research focus towards research connected with China and to facilitate longer research periods in China. When possible and relevant, doctoral candidates can attend teaching offered by the Fudan Nordic Centre.
Further information and application process
More information about the scholarships, including the full Call for Applications and instructions on how to apply, can be found on Asianet’s website.
According to Feedspot.com, the ranking was based on the following criteria:
Google reputation and Google search ranking
Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
Quality and consistency of posts; and
Feedspot.com’s editorial team and expert review.
The ranking was released on 21 February 2018 and the rankings list will be updated weekly.
‘I’m pleased at the attention the Finnish China Law Center’s blog is attracting from the Nordic region, China and around the world’, says Stuart Mooney, who manages the blog and is the Coordinator of the China Law Center.
‘The blog is an important forum through which the Center communicates with its stakeholders about the China law-related education and research activities of the Center and its 10 member institutions.’
‘We also use the blog to highlight the important contribution of our international partners, including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Peking University, in promoting China law-related education and research in the Nordic region, as well as Nordic collaboration with Chinese scholars and institutions in the fields of comparative and international law’, Stuart says.
The Finnish China Law Center, composed of 10 member institutions and based in the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, would like to convey its sincerest wishes for the Chinese New Year to its friends and partners in China, the Nordic countries, and around the world.
‘At the start of the Year of the Dog’, says Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Center, ‘the Finnish China Law Center would like to reiterate how much we value our friendships and partnerships in China and internationally’.
‘We will continue to widen and deepen our international relationships in the upcoming year, during which we have planned an exciting array of events and activities on Chinese law and legal culture in Finland and China’.
Questions about the activities of the Center, including the upcoming China Law Research Workshop to be held on 19 April 2018, can be directed to the Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.
ELSA is an international, independent, non-political and non-profit organisation run by and for students and recent graduates interested in achieving academic and personal excellence in addition to their legal or law-related studies at university.
The visit by ELSA was hosted by Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki.
Dean Letto-Vanamo is a legal historian and comparative lawyer specialized in European legal history, history of European integration, Nordic legal culture(s) and transnational law, with a strong interest in Chinese law and Chinese legal culture.
During her opening speech at the event, Dean Letto-Vanamo delineated the history of comparative law and Chinese legal education and scholarship in Finland, and underscored the increasing importance of understanding Nordic law not just in its European context, but from the global perspective, including in comparison with Chinese law.
Professor Ulla Liukkunen, also of the University of Helsinki, was another speaker at the event. Professor Liukkunen is Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture and has been recently elected as a Member of the Board of Directors of the European China Law Studies Association (欧洲中国法研究协会).
Professor Liukkunen spoke about the Finnish China Law Center’s role in facilitating and promoting China law and comparative law research, and about the increasing Nordic-wide approach to Chinese legal education and research. During her presentation, Professor Liukkunen also drew upon her research in Chinese law and comparative law involving China, and highlighted the importance of taking local conditions and culture into consideration when conducting comparative research with Chinese law.
Dr Zhang, who lectures at the University of Helsinki and is responsible for its popular annual summer school program in Chinese law, drew upon her academic and professional experience in China when discussing the Chinese legal system in a comparative context, including its foundations, sources of law, the way law is applied and enforced, and current legal ‘hot topics’ in China.
A short discussion followed Dr Zhang’s presentation, during which time students asked questions about China’s criminal justice system and the rule of law in China.
The Center strongly encourages students – and anyone else – interested in Chinese law and legal culture to follow its blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Questions about Chinese law can be directed to the Coordinator of the Center, Stuart Mooney, at stuart.mooney (@) helsinki.fi.
The purpose of the Rector’s visit was to underscore the significance the University of Helsinki attaches to its friends and partners in China.
During his visit, Rector Kola further developed the important relationship between the University of Helsinki and Peking University, a key partner institution in China of the Finnish China Law Center.
More about Professor Chen’s engagement and research in the University of Helsinki and the Finnish China Law Center can be found in the recently published Report on the First Four Years of the Center.
Sanna Villikka, acting Head of Administration of the Faculty of Medicine, was also part of the Rector Kola’s delegation.
Ms Villikka visited China in her former capacity as Senior Advisor in Research Funding Services at the University of Helsinki’s City Centre Campus. The purpose of her trip was to develop staff exchange between the University of Helsinki and Peking University, to further enhance the University of Helsinki’s relationship with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and to emphasize the high esteem with which the University of Helsinki views its relationship with the Faculty of Law of Peking University.
Another important visit to China was by then Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Kimmo Nuotio.
Professor Nuotio joined the Annual Meeting of the Silk Road Law Schools Alliance hosted by Wuhan University.
Professor Nuotio was invited to give public lectures at universities across the country, including Peking University, the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Wuhan University, Shandong University, and Wuhan University of Technology.
Professor Nuotio also gave a presentation at the Chinese Academy of Social Science’s annual international Rule of Law conference in Beijing.
In addition to her many academic and professional responsibilities, including serving as a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists, Professor Petman also visits and lectures at the prestigious Peking University Law School on a regular basis.
The CIMO project, the result of an application made by Kangle Zhang, was jointly managed by several staff of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki prior to its conclusion at the end of 2017.
During its two years of operation, the project facilitated a range of successful activities that deepened collaboration between the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki and Peking University Law School.
The end of 2017 also saw a flurry of visits from China to Finland.
These inbound visits included two delegations in November alone.
These include a China Law Workshop (Helsinki, April – tbc), the 9th Bilateral Comparative Law Seminar (Beijng, August – tbc) with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the 6th China-Europe Legal Forum with the China Law Society (Helsinki, November – tbc).
Follow the Finnish China Law Center on Twitter (@ChinaLawCenter) and Facebook (@ChinaLawCenter) to keep up-to-date with the latest news, events, publications and other activities of the Center and its member institutions.
The 2017 conference, held on 17–18 November in Beijing, was divided into five thematic areas.
Professor Viljanen spoke on the theme ‘The Rule of Law, Constitution and State Governance’.
In his lecture, Professor Viljanen discussed the Finnish experience on amending the constitution, noting that Finnish constitutional laws were extensively reformed in 1980-90’s.
This progress was illustrated by the drafting of the 2000 Constitution. The Constitution was planned to endure over time and as the Constitutional Law Committee has stated, there should not be constant demand to review the Constitution.
Professor Viljanen outlined how the threshold to make changes to the constitution has increased. In order to make changes a wide societal consensus must be achieved. In Finnish political history, there has been a tradition of coalition governments and a requirement that approval by two parliaments, with general elections between them, is required. This ensures that all parties are involved in the drafting process of the Constitutional amendments.
‘The contemporary approach connects each review of the constitutional provisions to fundamental principles of the Constitution’, Professor Viljanen observed.
‘At the same time, it also highlights the need to follow our international human rights commitments’.
As Professor Viljanen explained, even in the case of surveillance laws, there are no ‘free hands’. Rather, national application of laws goes hand-in-hand with European supervision. The level of scrutiny is, of course, different in each specific circumstance.
In his talk, Professor Viljanen also explained the pending process of amending the constitution in relation to surveillance laws, a ‘hot topic’ in Finland at the moment. The review was founded on the requirements set out by the European Convention on Human Rights.
‘National security as a legitimate aim traditionally affords a wide margin of appreciation to national authorities’, Professor Viljanen said.
‘However, there are also limits to this margin’.
In order to make the working proposal to be in line with the European case law, the failures that took place, for instance, in the Russian case of Roman Zakharov, serve as a telling reminder for the Finnish legislator.
‘This means that in addition to the textual re-formulation of the Constitution, the practice of the Constitutional Law Committee should follow closely the standards set out by the Strasbourg Court’, Professor Viljanen said.
‘The idea of the constitutional amendment is not to provide unrestricted mandate’, Professor Viljanen argued during his talk.
‘Rather, it is to seek a solution to questions regarding surveillance that are in accordance with European standards. This doctrinal link sets out certain detailed requirements that should be taken into account while preparing ordinary legislation regarding the surveillance’.
‘The Strasbourg Court’, Professor Viljanen said in closing, ‘acknowledges efforts to follow the established case law by stating that there needs to be “strong reasons” to substitute views of domestic authorities with its own views’.
The international scope of the conference was reflected in the breadth of participants, with scholars in attendance from Peru, Russia, Italy, Poland, Brazil and other countries.
China’s new Food Safety Law was issued in 2009 and revised in 2015. For Post-Doctoral Researcher Harriet Lonka, the chance to be a visiting scholar at Peking University Law School and research this important legislative reform was an opportunity not to be missed.
Dr Harriet Lonka, from Finnish China Law Center member institution the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), was a visiting Post-Doctoral Researcher at Peking University from 1 October to 17 November 2017.
The highly respected Peking University is a key strategic partner of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture, as detailed in the recently published Report on the First Four Years of the Center.
‘My research in China focused on the new Chinese Food Safety Law. This legislation is an important milestone in China’s legislative reforms and also a key issue concerning trade policy and China’s relations with its international trade partners, especially the WTO’.
During her time in Peking University Law School, Dr Lonka worked closely with Chinese legal scholar Professor Chen Yifeng.
Dr Lonka has a long background in the field of risk management studies, and during her PhD studies she studied the Finnish government’s Security Strategy work and how it effects the shaping of legislation.
‘Chinese Food Safety legislation is comparable in its target and format to the risk regulation tradition in Europe and in Finland’, Dr Lonka says.
‘In my current research, I focus on the aspects of the implementation of the law that have been identified as potential ‘Achilles heels’ of enforcement of the Food Safety Law in China’.
Dr Lonka believes that there are new and interesting challenges in applying measures of risk surveillance, risk management and risk communication at different levels of administration in China.
Given the angle of her research, she envisages many more opportunities for fruitful research cooperation with Chinese colleagues in the future.
Dr Lonka’s research was also supported by the fact that she had contacts to the local level administration and foodstuff producers in Hunan Province, which enabled useful data collection in the field.
The opportunity to conduct research not only in Beijing, but also in Hunan Province, was beneficial in many respects, Dr Lonka says.
‘My study visit provided me a lot of important background knowledge and new understanding of Chinese legislation, how it is created and implemented. This is of great interest to me as my own research field is legislative studies. Legislative studies concentrate on how laws are drafted and implemented and what defines their effect’.
One area of particular interest to Dr Lonka is the question of ‘decentralized development’ in China.
‘I would wish to better understand the structures and mechanisms for guidance and supervision from the central government level to provinces and further to the local level in China’.
‘The study of Chinese Food Safety Law provides an excellent case study to scrutinize these phenomena. I think this research focus can help us in general better understand the ‘many faces of China’ and how that effects the legislative processes and implementation of the administrative laws in the country’.
A six-person delegation from Beihang University, headed by Professor Long Weiqiu, Dean of the Law School, visited Helsinki last month to sign an MOU with the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki and to discuss future collaboration.
‘The establishment of a Nordic Law Center in Beihang University Law School is an excellent idea. It provides an opportunity to build on our common interests, and we look forward to a fruitful collaboration’ , Professor Nuotio says.
While in Finland, the delegation also met with the University of Turku, another member institution of the Finnish China Law Center, and Pekka Hallberg, Emeritus President of the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland and the founder of Rule of Law Finland (ROLFI). Justice Hallberg has been long involved in China and Chinese law, and earlier this year the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki hosted the launch of Justice Hallberg’s book, ‘Rule of Law and Sustainable Development’.