History of China

The Civilization of China (Herbert Allen Giles) The custom of burying slaves with the dead was abolished early in the dynasty. The twenty-seven months of mourning for parents–nominally three years, as is now again the rule–was reduced to a more manageable period of twenty-seven days.

China’s Communist Party

China’s Long March toward Rule of Law (Randall Peerenboom) The Party’s actual role in governing the country is at odds with or not reflected in the Constitution or other legal documents. In some cases, Party policies continue to trump laws. The nomenklatura system whereby the Party is able to appoint or at least veto the appointment of key members of the people’s congresses and courts undermines the legitimacy, independence, and authority of the legislature and judiciary. Senior Party members, moreover, are generally subject to sanctions, if at all, by Party discipline committees rather than the courts, in flagrant violation of the fundamental rule-of-law principle that the law applies equally to rulers and commoners alike. Further, the government continues to limit civil society and political dissidents are denied their rights as provided by law.

Hyena Mother in China

Some friend of mine said his Chinese mother-in-law wasn’t a ‘dragon mom’ but a hyena. I googled hyena’s and found out some interesting facts. One fact is that the female hyena is quite a bit larger than her male counterpart. An interesting fact is that the one-child policy Chinese boys are becoming more frail in comparison to their female counterparts, or so the research says.

Creepy China and Your Mother

The Chinese, possessing an odd swarm/pack mentality which has the wonderful consequence of robbing them of any orginal thoughts, often refer to China as “Their mother”- wtf? Their mother? I guess if you consider some despotic, dictatorial ruler who accepts torture as a means of obtaining a confession your mother, than yes, I suppose she is…

China and Her Legal System

China’s Long March toward Rule of Law (Randall Peerenboom) “Given the heavy reliance on Party policies rather than law during the Mao period, China lacked even the most basic laws such as a comprehensive criminal code, civil law, or contract law. The response has been a legislative onslaught the pace and breadth of which has been nothing short of stunning. Between 1976 and 1998, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee (NPCSC) passed more than 337 laws and local people’s congresses and governments issued more than 6,000 regulations. In contrast, only 134 laws were passed between 1949 and 1978, with only one law passed during the Cultural Revolution from 1967 to 1976. Moreover, of the 134 laws passed between 1949 and 1978, 111 were subsequently declared invalid and many of the remaining ones were amended during the post-1978 reform era.”

Chinese “Legal System”

Lubman – In 2000 there were slightly over 100,000 lawyers, but of these only an estimated 25 percent held law degrees and no more than half had passed a bar examination. The number of qualified lawyers is slowly growing. Professional standards among many lawyers, however, remain low; it is common for lawyers to not only discuss pending cases with judges privately, but also to cultivate personal and frequently corruptpersonal and frequently corrupt 64 人 民 法 院 第 二 个 五 年 改 革 纲 要 (2004-2008) [Second Five-Year Reform Program for the People’s Courts (2004-2008)] (issued by the Sup. People’s Ct., Oct. 26, 2005), partial translation available at http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/index.phpd?showsingle=38564 (last visited Dec. 11, 2006).] relationships with judges by giving them gifts and entertaining them. Some of the ambiguities in the position of Chinese lawyers are illustrated by the difficulties frequently encountered by lawyers who represent defendants in criminal cases or other sensitive matters, such as protests against illegal seizures of land or houses by local governments.

Chinese “Law”

Excerpt from Stanley Lubman “…there seems little prospect that the position of the courts vis-à-vis the CCP and the organs of the bureaucracy will soon be elevated; indeed, in the reform program the importance of Party leadership and supervision of the courts by local people’s congresses is underlined. There remains a tension between the conceptions of judges as loyal servants of the Party-state and as independent adjudicators, and the Party leadership has been reluctant to strengthen the autonomy of the courts. Foreign businesses have rightly sought to avoid litigating disputes in Chinese courts. The most likely alternative within China is arbitration at CIETAC which, although it has enjoyed a good reputation in the past, has recently been cogently criticized.65 Local arbitration commissions, established nationwide in recent years, provide another alternative, although little has been reported about the experience of foreign companies in those forums. C. Lawyers China’s law schools, already politicized by the late 1950s, were closed at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution and were the last educational institutions to reopen, in 1979. Today, hundreds of schools grant bachelor’s degrees in law and almost a hundred award doctorates as well. Unfortunately, legal education emphasizes the study of abstract legal concepts imported from abroad and memorization of legal rules rather than critical thought about those concepts and rules.”

Cool Lyrics From “The Blueflowers”

I am no music aficionado, but love a good sound and good beat which touches you. The way music touches you can be through the rhythm and or lyrics. I really never thought of lyrics till I took a class called “Interpretation of Classical American lit” at the U of Iowa. Growing up in a town of 400 , I had an intense dislike for country music as I found it confining and depressing and all my friends were into it, so I rebelled. Then I took the class I mentioned above. The first day of this class, the prof. a small bald headed guy pulled out a banjo (no shit) and began to wail away in a high-pitched nasal falsetto. I though it was a joke and asked the girl next to me wtf is he doing. She snarled at me and moved to another desk- apparently she was a country music fan. The class was all about lyrics to country songs. I panicked thinking I had to change classes, after all I couldnt imagine myself spending 16 weeks listening to that drivel. Then I got ‘educated’…. Country music lyrics rock! I am talking about Hank Williams, Hank Williams Jr., Tim Mcgraw, Charlie Pride, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Gene Autrey and that one guy, I forget his name but he looks kind of like a skid row bum. He actually was a Rhodes scholar (I think) and then he was a janitor at some country and western music company and left his lyrics on the desk of some producer and became famous. I forget the guys name but i think he is a drunk as well. Anyway, he had killer lyrics- probably my fav. (Kristofferson?) So it has now come to pass that I appreciate lyrics of all genres and the reason for this post. Here are lyrics from a song from The Blueflowers‘ second album, In Line With the Broken-Hearted, The song is Fragile I’m pretty sure I told you that I would be the strong one I can’t believe the decisions that brought me to this moment Every word is on fire as I read them, though unnoticed Now I don’t know if I was unhappy before knowing Stamp me with fragile and put me away Enjoying the torture won’t make it okay You don’t want to be with me anyway What has this symptom done, very temping and disarming I start to agonize while you’re doing all the charming When finally you’re convinced that I’m easy to be broken I try to be so still, but you bury me in motion Stamp me with fragile and put me away Enjoying the torture won’t make it okay You don’t want to be with me anyway You wanted to stop it, and everything… Stamp me with fragile and put me away Enjoying the torture won’t make it okay

Naughy Two Child Mother

My friend just told me that her mother had to hid to have a second kid in 1989. I asked why she had to hide, and the answer was obvious, it probably would have been killed-aborted, had the govt found out.

Northern Chinese and Son of Man

The Civilization of China (Herbert Allen Giles) To this date, the more northern Chinese have no prouder title than that of a “son of Han.”