-The Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report, March 22, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://bit.ly/bC6P2c

In the face of ongoing serious damage to China’s environment caused by 30 years of historic economic development and weak enforcement of China’s environmental protection laws, environmental litigation is growing and a small number of experimental environmental courts have been established.

-The Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report, March 26, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://bit.ly/9nsMtq

While the facts of the alleged conduct of four employees of the British-Australian company Rio Tinto Ltd. who were on trial this week for taking bribes and infringing trade secrets are obscure, the trial starkly exhibits some key characteristics of Chinese criminal justice. It demonstrates the usual limits on the ability of defense lawyers to fully represent their clients, a disturbing lack of transparency, and the impact of political influences on the proceedings and the outcome.

The Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report, March 8, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/03/08/stanley-lubman-uncertainty-in-chinas-legal-development-part-2-reforming-the-courts/?KEYWORDS=lubman

Many foreign and some Chinese observers agree that the Chinese court system is deficient, most obviously because judges lack independence and the courts are subject to numerous external influences….The future of Chinese law reform is highly uncertain, and the odds of meaningful reform in the near term are low.

The Wall Street Journal, February 22, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/02/22/stanley-lubman-uncertainty-in-chinas-legal-development-part-i-intimidation-of-activists-and-lawyers/?KEYWORDS=Berkeley

Recent convictions of Chinese human rights activists and efforts by Chinese government agencies to restrict the activities of lawyers on behalf of clients who are considered politically disruptive demonstrate ongoing manipulation of legal institutions to suppress dissent and to buttress the authority of the Chinese Communist Party.

The Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/02/10/stanley-lubman-internet-censorship-in-china-and-human-rights/?KEYWORDS=Berkeley

The Obama Administration should temper the human rights rhetoric it directs at China’s censorship of the Internet and restrain any hopes it might have that the Internet can soon expand the impact of democratic ideas on China’s netizens, even while encouraging as best it can China’s ongoing opening to the outside world.

The Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/01/28/stanley-lubman-will-an-expanded-right-of-privacy-deter-chinas-internet-vigilantes/tab/print/

Adoption of the new law marks progress in legal reform, and it also strongly signals that the emergence and clash of new social forces arising out of China’s economic development will continue to challenge legislators to craft laws to meet new challenges.

The Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2010 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/01/11/stanley-lubman-the-telecom-company-that-didnt-play-by-the-rules/tab/print/

Foreign businesses in China are often presented with conflicts between ethical behavior and the temptation to bend or violate the rules that govern their activities. Such problems reflect both cultural differences and the uncertainties of China’s ongoing transition from a planned economy, via state-led capitalism — toward a goal that remains undefined.

The Wall Street Journal, December 22, 2009 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/12/22/stanley-lubman-business-in-china-what-does-playing-by-the-rules-mean/

Chinese society is a ferment of conflicting values, and the concept of business ethics is an oxymoron…. In an era when the Chinese market is increasingly important to many global businesses, some over-eager participants may be tempted to bend the rules for fear of being “left out” or missing a good opportunity. They should resist the temptation.

The Wall Street Journal, November 29, 2009 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/11/29/stanley-lubman-after-obama-visit-legal-experts-dialogue-could-help-expand-citizens-rights-in-china/

The treatment in the American press of President Obama’s trip was overly negative in its emphasis on how the Chinese leadership kept the President at too great a distance from the Chinese people. The coverage overlooked some of the promise embedded in his discussions, particularly on legal cooperation, which the U.S. can use to help expand citizens’ rights without publicly banging the drum of human rights.

The Wall Street Journal, November 17, 2009 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/11/17/stanley-lubman-chongqing-criminal-trials-underscore-dangers-of-corporatist-state/tab/print/

Arrests of wealthy businesspersons for being in cahoots with bureaucrats is no novelty, but the multi-million dollar scale of the many illegal casinos in Chongqing run by the sister-in-law of the Judicial Bureau chief is more brazen. It is the extent of the links among bureaucrats, businesses and gangsters involved in this case that merits special attention.

The Wall Street Journal, China Real Time Report, November 4, 2009 by Stanley Lubman
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/11/04/stanley-lubman-a-letter-to-obama/

In recent years the U.S. government, including your predecessor’s administration, has increased the support that it has given to strengthen labor rights, legal aid, open government, and administrative law, augmenting the support for these and other institution-building efforts by multilateral and U.S. NGOs. The current administration ought to increase that support while restraining highly public calls that urge China to speed up its adherence to Western values.