Welcome to the inaugural issue of the China Law and Governance Review.
As keen observers of China’s law and governance developments, we are well aware
of the amount of information available today from a variety
of English-language sources. However, every time we pick
up a Chinese newspaper or magazine, or surf major Chinese
Websites and portals, we are struck by the number of interesting—sometimes
surprising—news reports and commentaries in the press. These
accounts reflect the complex, dynamic and seemingly contradictory
realities of a country that is neither the authoritarian
state nor the new frontier of capitalism that many abroad
perceive it to be. We would like to share some of these stories
and issues with a larger audience through the Review.
The Review is not meant to be a news-clipping
service or a bulletin of recent developments. Rather, it
highlights what we think are some of the most interesting
stories and commentaries that we are reading in the Chinese
press, particularly in the areas of legal system development
and governance. Our stories are selected from an extensive
research and review of a variety of published materials from
the Chinese media. We not only provide summaries, translated
excerpts and background information to these news accounts
and commentaries, but also add analysis which we hope will
stimulate discussion among our readership.
In addition, so that readers can get
a flavor of the lively discussions and debates which are
no longer uncommon in China today, we present in an unadulterated
format a variety of viewpoints of ordinary Chinese on a given
subject, including excerpts of discussions in the country’s
burgeoning internet chat rooms.
We hope that the Review will be a
window into the fascinating changes that are taking place
in China. We welcome your feedback. Please send comments
and inquiries to: editor@chinareview.com.
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