Author Archive: Sjaak Zhang
“Practically unimportant”? A poor excuse or well-executed sarcasm? — On China’s constitutional amendment removing the limitation on the President’s term of office
Shuai Zhang in response to a previous blog post by Cong-rui Qiao The National Congress of China has recently passed a highly controversial constitutional amendment removing the limitation on the President’s term of office. Consequently, it is no longer limited to two consecutive terms. While some consider this amendment as a step towards dictatorship, many are…
Read moreWhy is a legal “case” literally called a “desk” in Chinese?
Sjaak Zhang Trials in China largely consist of written documents collected in a dossier rather than in oral debates. This perception and administration of (criminal) justice is deeply entrenched in China’s legal culture, which can be well illustrated by China’s peculiar terminology on (criminal) trial.
Read moreShould the national day be considered as the birthday of the mother country? The conflict between two kinds of outlooks on the concept of “country”
Sjaak Zhang During the past week, China was celebrating its 67th national day; meanwhile, an intense controversy as to whether the national day should be considered as the birthday of the mother country arose, which has demonstrated Chinese people’s confusion about what constitute a country. This blog seeks to briefly explain where such confusion…
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