Tag Archives: law

Thailand Increases Controls on Cyberspace Through Use of Archaic Laws

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo #193 – Laws meant to protect the monarchy from “defamation” are increasingly being used to suppress free speech and discussion of politics in Thailand, particularly on the Internet. In the last six years, there has been a surge in prosecution of these “lèse-majesté” cases – some estimated as high as 1,500 per cent. Continue reading →

Posted in Thailand | Tagged cyberspace, internet, law, lèse-majesté | Comments Off

Women Part of a Major Turnover in Mongolian Parliament

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo #168 – Mongolians voted in a parliamentary election on June 28, 2012 according to a new electoral system that mixed majoritarian and proportional representation. It also included a new quota requirement for women candidates. Continue reading →

Posted in Mongolia | Tagged election, law, sociology, women | Comments Off

Asia in the Governance of Outer Space

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo #154 – In 2011, the United States Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence called global attention to the congested, contested, and competitive nature of outer space activities. All space powers, including in Asia, continue to struggle with the safety and security of assets that undergird their modern economies, militaries, and societies. The practical issue is how to achieve national objectives, some of which are only possible in collaboration with others. Continue reading →

Posted in Asia, China, Europe, India, Japan, United States | Tagged law, military, outer space, political science, security | Comments Off

Indonesia’s Draft Law Exacerbates Religious and Ethnic Tensions

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo #141 – Conflicts between religious and ethnic communities in Indonesia last year raised fears that communal violence might again erupt across the archipelago, as it did from 1999 to 2001. Disputes between Muslims and Christians led to the burning of several churches, the bombing of a church in Central Java, and the displacement of 7,000 people in Maluku. Continue reading →

Posted in Indonesia | Tagged democracy, ethnic tension, law, religious tension, rule of law | Comments Off

Why do Chinese Migrants Have to Pay so Much to Work Overseas?

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo #135 – Unskilled workers from China have to pay exorbitant costs to work abroad in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, their top three choices. Fees, averaging 8,000 USD, are not charged by human smugglers but licensed employment intermediaries. In fact, transnational labour migration through legal channels costs significantly more than illegal migration. This is not unique to China. Across Asia, the percentage of legal migrants is increasing – more than 800,000 Chinese by the end of 2011 compared to less than 60,000 in 1990. Why is the cost increasing? Because Asian states rely on intermediaries. Continue reading →

Posted in China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea | Tagged history, law, migrants, migration, migration brokers | Comments Off

为什么中国人出国打工费用这么高？

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo #135 – 日本，新加坡和韩国是目前接纳中国非技术劳工最多的三个国家；中国人去这三个国家打工，要付8,000美元的中介费。这些钱不是给人贩子，而是给有正规执照的中介机构。事实上，通过合法途径出国打工的成本要明显高于非法迁移。这并不是中国特有的现象。在亚太地区，合法移民的比例在增加——2011年底有80多万中国人在境外就业，大大高于1990年的6万人——但是成本也大幅度增加了。其原因就在于，亚太国家依赖于中介机构管理跨国劳动力流动。 Continue reading →

Posted in China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea | Tagged history, law, migrants, migration, migration brokers | Comments Off

Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge Tribunal – Victims’ “Right to a Remedy”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Howard Tsang

Memo #129 – Case 002 of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is underway, more than three decades after the genocide that killed 1.7 million Cambodians. On trial before a hybrid United Nations/Cambodian judiciary are the three alleged most senior remaining leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime. They face charges of crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, genocide, homicide, torture, and religious persecution. Continue reading →

Posted in Cambodia | Tagged criminal justice, genocide, human rights, khmer rouge, law, restorative justice, transitional justice | Comments Off

Re-examining China’s Periphery – Video Interview with Dr. Pitman Potter

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Howard Tsang

Memo #93 – Pitman Potter’s recent book, Law, Policy, and Practice on China’s Periphery: Selective Adaptation and Institutional Capacity, examines the Chinese government’s policies and practices for relations with the Inner Periphery areas of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia, and the Outer Periphery areas of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Continue reading →

Posted in China | Tagged Behind the Book, china's periphery, law | Comments Off

The Indonesian Model: Learning from a Muslim Majority Democracy

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Howard Tsang

Memo #86 – With the old autocracies of the Middle East falling and new regimes yet to emerge, policy makers are grasping for models that can inform analysis. U.S. President Obama has proposed the ‘Indonesian model.’ The logic is straightforward: Indonesia is a majority Muslim country that has transitioned from a military dominated autocracy to a democracy. Continue reading →

Posted in Indonesia, Southeast Asia | Tagged Asian religions, democracy, Islam, law, political science, religion | Comments Off

The Shifting Role of Law in Myanmar

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Howard Tsang

Memo #84 – A Myanmar court on March 29, 2011 granted bail to Australian businessman Ross Dunkley accused of assaulting and unlawfully confining a sex worker. Dunkley said he would fight the charges. “I just can’t believe there is a case,” Agence France Press quoted him as saying. “There is no witness, there is no evidence. ” Continue reading →

Posted in Burma, Southeast Asia | Tagged corruption, law, law and order, military rule, political science, rule of law | Comments Off