A cluster of Asian states are well-known for their authoritarian legality while having been able to achieve remarkable economic growth. Why would an authoritarian regime seek or tolerate a significant degree of legality and how has such type of legality been made possible in Asia? Would a transition towards a liberal, democratic system eventually take place and, if so, what kind of post-transition struggles are likely to be experienced? This book compares the past and current experiences of China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam and offers a comparative framework for readers to conduct a theoretical dialogue with the orthodox conception of liberal democracy and the rule of law.
Introduction: authoritarian legality, the rule of law, and democracy Weitseng Chen and Hualing Fu; Part I. Framework: 1. Authoritarian legality in East Asia: what, why and whither? Jacques deLisle; Part II. Authoritarian Legality: Past and Present: Showcase of authoritarian legality and its potential erosion: China: 2. The concept of authoritarian law: the Chinese case Hualing Fu and Michael Dowdle; 3. Rule of law reform and the rise of rule by fear in China Eva Pils; 4. The foreign NGO law and the closing of China Thomas E. Kellogg: City jurisdictions with colonial common law tradition: Hong Kong and Singapore; 5. Understanding authoritarian legality in Hong Kong: what can Dicey and Rawls tell us? Richard Cullen and David Campbell; 6. The clash of legal cultures: Hong Kong efforts to maintain the liberal rule of law vs. Beijing's hardline authoritarian legality Michael C. Davis; 7. Is Singapore an authoritarian constitutional regime? Kevin Y. L. Tan: Ancient Power with civil law foundation: Japan; 8. From Signal to Legality: Meiji Japan and Authoritarian Constitutionalism Tom Ginsburg; Emerging case: Vietnam: 9. Vietnamese Deliberative Authoritarianism and Legality Do Hai Ha and Pip Nicholson; Part III. Authoritarian Legality in Transition: Authoritarian-era foundations for the transition to democracy; 10. Preserving constitutionalism by changing the constitution: a revisit and defense of the Chng Suan Tze episode Jianlin Chen; 11. Angels are in the details: voting system, poll workers, and election administration integrity in Taiwan Yen-Tu Su; 12. Student activism and authoritarian legality transition in Taiwan Weitseng Chen; Persistence of authoritarian legality after the transition to democracy: 13. Neoliberal turn of state conservatism in Japan: from bureaucratic to corporatist authoritarian legality Koichi Nakano; 14. Authoritarian legality after authoritarianism: legal governance of parties and elections before and after democratic transition in South Korea Erik Mobrand; Index.
Weitseng Chen is Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Law and Deputy Director at the NUS Center for Asian Legal Studies. He specializes in comparative Chinese law within greater China as well as law and development in East Asia. Before joining NUS Faculty of Law, he was Hewlett Fellow of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University and also practiced as a corporate lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Hualing Fu is Professor and holds the Warren Chan Professorship in Human Rights and Responsibilities at The University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law and Interim Dean of The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. He specializes in constitutional law and human rights with a particular focus on the Chinese criminal justice system, Chinese media law and land law. Other areas of research include the constitutional status of Hong Kong and its legal relations with China. He has previously taught at the City University of Hong Kong, University of Washington, New York University and University of Pennsylvania.
