VOLUME 5, NUMBER 3

Articles

China’s Company Law: Practicing Capitalism in a Transitional Economy

                                                                                                            Anna M. Han                        457

Eastern Twists on Western Concepts: Equality Jurisprudence and Sexual Harassment in Japan

                                                                                                            Leon Wolff                509

Comments

Changing the “Fourth Channels”: Taiwan Tunes in to a New Cable Television Law

                                                                                                            Sophia R. Byrd            537

China’s Eugenics Law as Grounds for Granting Asylum

                                                                                                            Graciela Gómez            563

The 1992 Employment Service Act and the Influx of Foreign Workers in Taiwan (and Translation of the 1994 Implementary Provisions)                               Dorothy S. Liu            599

Environmental Protection Agreements in Japan and the United States

                                                                                                            Susan Ridgley             639

China’s Company Law: Practicing Capitalism in a Transitional Economy

Anna M. Han

Abstract:          As China embarks on the road to transform itself from a planned economy to one in which market forces play an increasingly important part, the corporation will play a critical role in this transformation. By outlining past and existing economic policies, this article explores how these newly sanctioned corporations will operate in China's changing economy and points out some of the difficulties which the Chinese will encounter. The article also recommends some steps necessary for the Chinese economy to fully enjoy the benefits of efficiently operated corporations.

Eastern Twists on Western Concepts: Equality Jurisprudence and Sexual Harassment in Japan

Leon Wolff

Abstract:          A rich source of Japanese jurisprudence on sexual equality underlies Japan's emerging law against sexual harassment. With no law specifically outlawing sexual harassment, academics and the courts have invoked the principle of sexual equality to support their conclusion that Japanese law carries an implicit prohibition against acts of sexual harassment. In developing a legal case against sexual harassment, Japanese courts and academic commentators have introduced novel constructions of equality. The key innovations include relational equality, inherent equality and quantifiable equality. In presenting some of these Japanese contributions to equality jurisprudence, the hope is that feminist discourse on equality can take place in a broader context--a context that does not ignore the Eastern cultural experience.

Changing the “Fourth Channels”: Taiwan Tunes in to a New Cable Television Law

Sophia R. Byrd

Abstract:             Threatened with potentially massive trade sanctions by the United States, Taiwan enacted the Cable Television Law in 1993 to regulate the so-called "Fourth Channels," hundreds of private cable operations that transmitted programming pirated from the United States and other sources. This Comment identifies the roots of the Fourth Channels and examines the U.S. and Taiwanese forces that gave rise to the cable law. The Comment analyzes major provisions of the law and explores the law's effects on both U.S. and Taiwanese interests.

China’s Eugenics Law as Grounds for Granting Asylum

Graciela Gómez

Abstract:         China has instituted two controversial population control programs. First instituted in 1979, the One Child Policy seeks to control population growth by limiting the number of children born to married couples. The Maternal and Infant Health Care Law ("Eugenics Law"), effective June of 1995, has a stated purpose of improving the quality of the population by mandating sterilization for people with serious genetic defects. Implementation of the One Child Policy has led to forced abortion and involuntary sterilization. The Eugenics Law is likely to engender similar types of human rights abuses. Since 1989, the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals has refused to give asylum to Chinese nationals fleeing persecution because of reproductive rights violations. This Comment analyzes the developments associated with denying asylum based on the implementation of the One Child Policy and attempts to extrapolate the reasoning to future claims based on the implementation of the Eugenics Law.

The 1992 Employment Service Act and the Influx of Foreign Workers in Taiwan (and Translation of the 1994 Implementary Provisions)                             

Dorothy S. Liu

Abstract:         The 1992 Employment Service Act, the first major law in Taiwan to legalize the hiring of blue-collar foreign workers, was adopted to stem the tide of illegal aliens while alleviating Taiwan's labor shortage. The Act and its Implementary Provisions, however, have not resolved the problems caused by the influx of foreign labor. Taiwan's foreign labor policy had not curtailed the influx of illegal aliens, and in an effort to resolve the labor shortage without recognizing the consequences of importing foreign labor, Taiwan has encouraged the continuation of labor-intensive industries and has indirectly perpetuated the continuation of employer abuses against foreign workers.

Environmental Protection Agreements in Japan and the United States

Susan Ridgley           

Abstract:          In an environmental protection agreement, local government regulatory authorities and the regulated industry enter into a binding written agreement that specifies limits on pollution and supplements the applicable regulatory requirements. They have been utilized in Japan for over twenty years. This Comment discusses the content and practical uses of these agreements as they have been used in Japan, and postulates their legal status under three theories: that such agreements are relational social contracts; that they are informal administrative guidance; and that they are civil contracts. The legal character of environmental protection agreements in Japan has never been well-defined, primarily because of lack of litigation. Therefore, this Comment analogizes from the manner in which courts in both Japan and the United States have treated similar land use development agreements. It concludes that environmental protection agreements in the United States could be a valuable supplement to the current regulatory system, as long as agreements are truly voluntary and that some justifiable relationship exists between the conditions imposed and the public good.