Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol.63/No.24 i Beijing Review

The Civil Code, approved by the National People’s Congress, the national legislature, in late May and to come into effect on January 1, 2021, is significant because first and foremost, it will help uphold and improve the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. It’s going to implement the new concepts, thoughts and strategies of law-based governance outlined by the top leadership, thereby advancing the modernization of the national governance system and capacity. Second, the document, which is a systemic reorganization and compilation of currently scattered civil legal systems, puts the people at the center. With its focus on protecting civil rights, it will safeguard the fundamental interests of the people, regulating all civil activities throughout a person’s life, from birth to death. This responds to people’s demand for rule of law…

• May 28, the draft Civil Code is adopted by the NPC and will go into effect on January 1, 2021. • May 22, the draft is submitted to the annual session of the 13th NPC for deliberation. • December 28, 2019-January 26, the NPC seeks public opinions on the draft and receives 114,574 comments from 13,718 netizens. • December 28, 2019, the NPC Standing Committee submits the draft to the NPC for deliberation. • December 23, 2019, the complete draft Civil Code makes its debut after combining the General Provisions and the six draft sections. • August 2018, six draft civil code sections are submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for review. • October 1, 2017, the General Provisions of the Civil Law is implemented. • March 15, 2017,…

With the international community now facing the dual challenges of containing the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and restoring the economy and social activities, international cooperation is needed more than ever to strike a balance between the two goals. However, U.S. President Donald Trump said on May 29 that his country is “terminating” its relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO), days after the White House informed WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that the temporary freeze of U.S. funding for WHO could become permanent. The U.S. move to quit the world’s leading authority on international health amid the pandemic comes as debates on how the crisis might reshape the economic and political landscape and challenge the China-U.S. relationship have been going on for several months. Shared problem China’s success…

The author is executive dean of the Belt and Road School of Beijing Normal University The number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in Africa exceeded 158,000 as of June 3. Although the continent accounts for only a small proportion of confirmed cases in the world so far, the pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the African economy. The negative impact is likely to continue, and even exacerbate. Therefore, measures need to be taken to mitigate losses and revitalize the economy, and stronger China-Africa cooperation could be one of them. Hardest time The pandemic has caused a great deal of damage to exports. The economic growth of African countries is primarily driven by export of primary products, such as crude oil, mineral ores and agricultural products, making them heavily…

The author is an honorary research fellow with the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies and a research fellow with the China Institute, Fudan University The annual meetings of China’s national legislature and top political advisory body were wrapped up in May with people-centric plans to create jobs and help businesses. China’s approach to address problems including those triggered by the novel coronavirus pandemic is people-oriented, a philosophy that is deeply rooted in its culture. Ancient sage Mencius said, “The people are the most precious of all things. The sovereign matters less.” Then the communist revolution planted the idea of equality in the hearts of the people, and today, socialist consultative democracy is people-oriented. Negotiated solutions People would like the government to respond to their opinions. The government encourages…

Twenty years ago, convenience stores were a newly sprouted phenomenon in China. Baishi Bianli, a Hong Kong invested brand, opened the first Western-style convenience store in Shanghai in 1993 with great fanfare. A Shanghai-based newspaper reported, “Snacks are displayed on an array of shelves, along with daily necessities from soups to nuts. There is a table with a microwave oven and coffee machine where white collar workers can enjoy hot fast food. The cashier area is also a magic place where medicines and cigarettes can be found.” As the first 24-hour convenience store in Shanghai, Baishi Bianli had a small window opened during the wee hours of the night to serve its customers because security systems were not yet well-developed. Since then, convenience stores, both local and foreign-funded, have popped…

CHINESE SCHOLAR IN WEF SCIENCE COMMUNITY Meng Ke, a professor of Tsinghua University, has been included in the 2020 Young Scientists community of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in late May for his research on public policy on the aging population and declining fertility. The project started in 2008 to engage rising-star researchers. Meng is also a principal investigator in the project Fundamentals of Veteran Affairs initiated by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. A graduate from the University of Oxford, he has been working as an associate professor at the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University since 2015. Each year the WEF selects a group of extraordinary scientists under the age of 40 for their contributions to advancing the frontiers of science and passion for integrating scientific…

Personality Rights It codifies a separate volume on personality rights. This covers stipulations on a civil subject’s rights to his or her life, body, health, name, portrait, reputation and privacy, among others. 30-Day Cooling Off Period It institutes a 30-day cooling-off period aimed at deterring impulsive divorces. The divorce-by-agreement couples must wait 30 days in order to rethink their decision. They can withdraw their divorce application within the 30 days. After the waiting period, those who still want to divorce will receive their official documents. Sexual Harassment Victims sexually abused when they were minors will be legally allowed to sue the perpetrators after they turn 18. The Civil Code bans sexual harassment, and clarifies the responsibilities of entities such as schools, businesses and government organs in fighting the act. Falling…

The author is professor of politics and director of the International Graduate Program in Politics at East China Normal University in Shanghai On May 30, U.S. space agency NASA in partnership with Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s other company, SpaceX, sent two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), the multinational space laboratory in Earth’s orbit. Much has been made of the public-private partnership represented by SpaceX playing such a prominent role. In fact, U.S. companies have always manufactured vehicles for NASA. For example, the firms North American Rockwell and U.S. Northrop Grumman constructed the launch vehicles for the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, where the spacecraft was planned to land on Moon but the mission was aborted when an oxygen tank failed. Rockwell was also the main builder of the…

In just the blink of an eye, 3,000 packs of coffee beans, weighing 1.5 tons, were sold during a live-streaming session. The sale took place on May 14 in a live-streaming studio of Tmall Global, an e-commerce platform of Alibaba Group. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, coffee sales in Rwanda have fallen sharply over the last few months and many farmers are facing a difficult situation. Luckily, with the help of the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), launched at the initiative of Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, these people are now able to sell their products directly to Chinese consumers who are eager to buy through e-commerce channels. Vera Songwe, UN Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, James Kimonyo, Rwandan Ambassador to…

China’s factory and service sector activities expanded in May amid government policies to control the novel coronavirus epidemic and coordinate growth, official data showed on May 31. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector and the non-manufacturing sector both stood above the boom-bust line of 50 in May, indicating steady recovery in major industries, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. While the manufacturing PMI eased to 50.6 in May from 50.8 in April, it still indicated an upward trend in economic growth as counter-cyclical adjustment policies gradually took effect, Wen Bin, chief analyst at China Minsheng Bank, said. China has been walking a fine line in balancing epidemic control and economic recovery, with targeted measures introduced to help firms safely restart…

National security legislation in Hong Kong On May 28, the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China adopted a decision on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) at the national level, which has been closely followed by the international community, including the EU. I noticed that the EU said that it has an interest in Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability under the framework of “one country, two systems.” I wish to point out that in Hong Kong, like in any sub-national region of any country, national security is the prerequisite for social stability and prosperity. The decision of the NPC is aimed at closing national security loopholes in Hong Kong, stopping violence and social disorder that started…

Jin Ping, a 98-year-old retired law professor of Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing in southwest China, is the last surviving expert to have participated in the first three attempts to draft a civil code in China. The three bids, in 1954, 1962 and 1979, didn’t succeed for various reasons, while the fourth undertaking, launched in 2001 with the participation of some of Jin’s students, also failed in its mission. The Civil Code, anticipated for decades, finally came to life and was adopted at the Third Session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, on May 28. It will take effect on January 1, 2021. Jin said he was “overjoyed” at the news in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, adding that it was…

The birth of the Civil Code, an important pillar of China’s legal system, marks significant progress in the development of the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics and the modernization of China’s national governance. The Civil Code exemplifies the rule of law under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Democratic legislation Civil law is the basic law to adjust the personal and property relations of citizens. The compilation of the Civil Code concerns people’s livelihood, social harmony, and national prosperity. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in 2014 put forward the legislative task of compiling a civil code. Under the leadership of the CPC, through research and discussions with legal experts and a democratic legislative process, the Civil Code was finally adopted at…

Beijing Review: There have been incidents of excessive use of force against African Americans by the police from time to time. Why is this problem so prevalent? Jon Taylor: In U.S. society, the racial bias has been pervasive and implicit, quietly seen and heard in polite company away from those who might object. The political and social environment in the U.S. is as volatile as it was in 1968. I was 8 years old at the time and recall well the unrest of that year. I was a precocious kid who watched the news and read newspapers. I vividly remember the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the riots in the streets of Chicago, and my own mother protesting the Viet Nam War. I recall attending a…

The author is director of the EU-China Program at the Centre International de Formation Européenne During these particularly turbulent and uncertain times of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Chinese leadership has refrained from making predictions about the course of the nation’s economy as several contributing factors remain volatile. As long as the pandemic persists, theoretical targets have to be constantly revised to account for new developments. The impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry is a characteristic example of this uncertainty. The current difficulty in predicting China’s incoming and outgoing tourism while quarantine measures are still in place and with no vaccine yet makes reliable economic calculations impossible. Even if people are allowed to travel, will they overcome the psychological fear of the last five months? The Chinese…

On January 28, the fourth day of the Chinese New Year holiday, Jiang Xueying, owner of a children’s clothing and accessories store, became a vlogger, live-streaming her products on Kuaishou, a leading short video-sharing app that has evolved into a popular live-streaming platform. Within a month, she had 118,000 followers and her store’s transactions on Kuaishou had reached 430,000 yuan ($60,309), Jiemian.com reported. With the coronavirus outbreak making online transactions rocket, live-streaming has become an important marketing tool to advertise products, reach out to a widening circle of potential buyers and sell online. There have been reports of sellers in remote villages becoming celebrities and top sellers, thanks to the power of live-streaming, showbiz stars being roped in to boost live-streaming, and even government officials in some provinces helping villagers…

When George Floyd, an unarmed African American, died a shocking death at the hands of a white police officer following his arrest, the incident unleashed a spate of demonstrations against police brutality and racial discrimination in the U.S. U.S. President Donald Trump defended the state action, saying, “Looting leads to shooting,” which led to widespread public condemnation. Curfew was imposed in several cities and the National Guard, a military reserve force, deployed to assist public safety in over a dozen states. This reaction, ironically, is diametrically opposite to the U.S. reaction last year when the Chinese Government tried to control the violence that erupted in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). Last June, separatists demanding Hong Kong’s “independence” committed multiple crimes, including assaulting police and damaging property, and putting…