Selected Programs on China, Asia, International Relations and Law
CFR Virtual Roundtable: Hong Kong’s Transformation
March 7, 2022
Hong Kong is the only peaceful, prosperous city in modern times that has seen freedom so rapidly eradicated. It is also the place where the values of an open society are in conflict with those of a closed, increasingly totalitarian state. Mark L. Clifford was the former director at Next Digital, which was the publisher of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily that was forcibly shut down in 2021. He joined Jerome Cohen for a CFR Virtual Roundtable to discuss the destruction of Hong Kong freedoms since the introduction of the national security law.
CFR Virtual Roundtable: The Future of Hong Kong
October 7, 2021
On October 7, journalist Stephen Vines and Professor Andrew Nathan joined Jerome Cohen for a CFR virtual roundtable on the future of Hong Kong as part of the Winston Lord Roundtable Series on Asia, the Rule of Law, and U.S. Foreign Policy.
CFR Virtual Roundtable: The Transformation of Hong Kong
September 9, 2021
Jerry Cohen presided over a CFR roundtable on Hong Kong and its transformation. He was joined by Dennis Kwok, former liberal politician and leader in efforts to democratize China’s Special Administrative Region (SAR), who discussed the many changes being imposed on Hong Kong, expected developments, and how various countries should respond. Sharon Hom, the well-known critic and international activist, provided comments.
The Biden Administration’s China Policy: The First Six Months
July 22, 2021
At the sixth month mark, the Biden administration’s China policy differs only slightly from that of the previous administration. Relatively easy policy initiatives that could have benefited the American people seem to be on hold. The Senate has passed the Strategic Competition Act of 2021 which, if it becomes law as written, will restrict how the Executive Branch can deal with China. The National Committee hosted a virtual program with National Committee President Stephen Orlins in conversation with NYU’s U.S.-Asia Law Institute Founder and Faculty Director Emeritus Jerome Cohen to discuss these issues.
The 5th China Human Rights Lawyers Day
July 9, 2021
One Year of the National Security Law’s Repression of Fundamental Freedoms in Hong Kong
Congressional-Executive Commission on China, June 29, 2021
Sixty Years of China Watching
National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, February 16, 2021
In a belated celebration of his 90th birthday, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations hosted a virtual discussion with America’s leading expert on Chinese law, Jerome A. Cohen. Professor Cohen conversed with his former student, Steve Orlins, who is now president of the National Committee, about his experiences over the last sixty years of studying Chinese law, government, and society. Topics included living in China, prospects for the future of law in China, and directions in Sino-American relations.
Distinguished East Asia Lecture "A Lifetime of Adventures in East Asia"
Penn CEAS, November 19, 2020
The Future of Hong Kong: Implications of the New HK Security Law
UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, October 29, 2020
A panel discussion including a range of perspectives on the law and its ramifications, including the impact on business, international relations, human rights and politics. The panel will include Jerome A. Cohen, Professor of Law at NYU; Christine Loh, former member of the Hong Kong Legislative Counsel; and Wendy Wysong, Managing Partner of Steptoe & Johnson’s Hong Kong office. The event was moderated by Professor Alex Wang of UCLA Law.
HKDC Briefing: WANTED—The Rule of Law in the Times of NSL
Hong Kong Democracy Council, September 24, 2020
Since the imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) on June 30, 2020, the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have wasted no time in using the law to arrest, detain, and intimidate pro-democracy activists in the city and abroad. Last week, I joined the Hong Kong Democracy Council and Professor Michael Davis for a briefing on the legal implications of some of the most high-profile cases, such as the Hong Kong 12, Samuel Chu, and Tam Tak-Chi.
Special Committee on Canada-China Relations, Meeting No. 11
House of Commons of Canada, August 13, 2020
On August 13, the Canadian Parliament’s Special Committee on Canada-China relations held a three-hour session regarding the new Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL). I joined several others, including Michael Davis, Samuel Chu and Annie Boyajian, to discuss the impact that the NSL will have on foreign citizens in the China mainland, Hong Kong, and Canada. I urged the Canadian government to do more to protect Chinese-Canadians in light of the increased risk of arbitrary detention and other acts of harassment and intimidation.
Hong Kong Update—Autonomy and National Security
Council on Foreign Relations Virtual Meeting, August 12, 2020
In a virtual CFR meeting moderated by Nancy Yao Maasbach, Jerome Cohen, Victoria Tin-bor Hui, and Christopher Patten discussed China’s new national security law, Hong Kong’s autonomy, the delayed LegCo elections, and the state of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.
Courtesy of the Council on Foreign Relations
Jerome Cohen on the Hong Kong protests and the law
SupChina, New York University, New York, October 31, 2019
“In this live show taped at New York University on October 16, Jeremy and Kaiser spoke with Jerry Cohen, the doyen of American studies of Chinese law. We explore the legal foundations for the Hong Kong handover in 1997, and how imprecision has contributed to many of the difficulties playing out in Hong Kong’s streets today.
5:43: Ambiguity in Hong Kong Basic Law
19:38: A look at the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill
32:35: Changing repercussions for detained and imprisoned Hongkongers
37:59: Hong Kong’s legal system wilting under pressure from Beijing
51:08: The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019”
Podcast: Jerome A. Cohen on human rights and law in China
SupChina, China Institute, New York, May 17, 2017
"One of the most experienced and respected scholars of Chinese law comments on the current state of human rights and the persecution of lawyers in the PRC." -- By Jeremy Goldkorn and Kaiser Kuo
A Conversation With Ma Ying-jeou
Asia Society, New York, March 1, 2017.
NEW YORK, March 1, 2017 — Former President of the Republic of China, Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou discusses Taiwan's democratic development, as well as relations between the United States, Taiwan, and Mainland China. Jerome A. Cohen, professor of law at New York University, moderates the discussion. (1 hr., 17 min.)
Courtesy Asia Society
A Conversation with Professor Jerome A. Cohen
NYU, Feb. 27, 2017
Professor Jerome Cohen answers the kinds of questions he customarily asks other guest speakers at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute lunch seminars, including questions about his life history, his thoughts, the development of his interest in China and Asia law, and how he arrived at his present situation at NYU and in the world.
A Conversation With Ai Weiwei
Council on Foreign Relations, New York, November 2, 2016.
Famous Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei discusses art, politics, human rights, and China's future.
Presider: Jerome A. Cohen, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Asia Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute and Professor, New York University School of Law
Working Towards Peace in the South China Sea
National Committee on US-China Relations, New York, October 18, 2016.
The following introduction is from National Committee on US-China Relations.
Long-standing disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea have been escalating in recent years, threatening to disrupt a crucial artery of global trade. Island building activities and dangerous encounters at sea have eroded international confidence in the possibility of a peaceful resolution of the dispute, and the recent ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague has added further uncertainty to the political situation, even as it clarified legal questions. Yet no interested party wants conflict, and all claimants have expressed interest in bilateral or multilateral mechanisms for diffusing tension.
Jerome Cohen, one of the foremost authorities on Asian law, discussed the political, legal, and economic ramifications of the present situation in the South China Sea, and analyzed the drivers of geopolitical competition in the region. He also explored potential policy responses, and looked at how we should understand the ambitions of a resurgent China. National Committee board member, and Sidley Austin partner, Robert Pietrzak, moderated the conversation with Professor Cohen on October 18, 2016, in New York City.
This program was part of the National Committee's 2016 CHINA Town Hall, one of over 80 venues across the country. Following Professor Cohen’s presentation, the audience tuned in to a national webcast with Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, in conversation with NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins. They discussed Sino-American relations and answered questions submitted by audience members across the country.
Emerging Frontiers in the South China Sea
2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, Washington D.C., April 5, 2016.
Published on Apr 5, 2016, https://youtu.be/GOH3ehGAjKc
The intensification of disputes regarding maritime rights in the South China Sea has brought into focus the political, economic and security implications of island-building. China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan have all built or expanded islands in the region. The creation or expansion of artificial islands in the South China Sea has the potential to chart new frontiers, and implicates unresolved questions of territorial sovereignty, undersea resources, secure sea-lanes, and the projection of geopolitical power. UNCLOS does not address whether a State’s constructed artificial islands may secure additional rights, though it makes clear that the only islands that can secure territorial rights are “naturally formed area[s] of land.” The legal status of artificial islands is of particular importance when the islands interfere with shipping routes within a State’s territorial sea, or lie in a contested area with overlapping claims. The Permanent Court of Arbitration’s decision in 2015 to admit the case brought by the Philippines against China regarding China’s so-called “nine-dash line,” has made this question even more topical. China’s decision not to participate might also raise questions concerning the role of international law in this dispute.
Moderator:
• Christina Hioureas, Foley Hoag LLP
Speakers:
• Jerome Cohen, New York University School of Law
• Nong Hong, Institute for China-America Studies
• Oliver Lewis, U.S. State Department
• Paul Reichler, Foley Hoag LLP
• Sienho Yee, Wuhan University School of Law
China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the ICCPR
Centre for Chinese Law Faculty of Law, University of Hong Kong, January 12, 2016
On the 50th anniversary of the creation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Jerome Cohen discusses China’s relevance to the UN’s quest for universal ratification of this major human rights treaty. In view of the ICCPR’s guarantees of freedoms of expression and religion, the restrictions that it imposes on the power of governments to punish people arbitrarily, and its strong support for the right to self-determination of all peoples, why did the People’s Republic sign the Covenant in 1998? Why then has it failed to ratify the ICCPR and what are the prospects? Cohen compares Beijing’s record with the very different position of the Republic of China on Taiwan and also refer to the unusual situation of Hong Kong (and Macao), a special administrative region of the People’s Republic that is protected by the ICCPR even in the absence of ratification by the central government.
Academic Freedom, Free Expression and China's Quest for World-Class Universities
The New School, New York, December 3, 2015
This event examines the struggles scholars in China face in the pursuit of academic freedom and scholarly knowledge, and what that means for the future of academia in and outside of China.
Speakers:
- Arien Mack
- Mark Frazier
- Robert Quinn
- Jerome Cohen
- Teng Biao
- Adam Braver
- Jewher Ilham
- Carl Minzner
The Governance of China
New York Review of Books, Hong Kong University, January 15-16, 2016
1. Some Legal Vignettes about China (12 minutes):
How China’s ideology has affected its legal development and the current challenges facing the legal profession
2. Legal and Constitutional Reform (24 minutes):
How the Chinese Communist Party maintains unfettered power and how law reformers hope to restrain it
China's Crackdown: How Far? How Deep?
Overseas Press Club of America, May 18, 2015
This video was taken during a panel discussion hosted by the Overseas Press Club of America at Club Quarters in New York on May 18, 2015. President Xi Jinping's crackdown on all sources of political diversity inside China is reaching new heights and is being compared with some of the ideological campaigns that Mao Tse-tung once waged.
Sit-down with the Godfather of Law in China: Jerome Cohen Interview
China Focus
By Peter Larson, April 13, 2015
“China Focus Blog Editor-in-Chief Marika Heller, China Focus Senior Advisor Jack Zhang, and I sat down with renowned China law expert and NYU professor Jerome Cohen. Professor Cohen has been at the forefront of Chinese legal reform since the very beginning of Deng Xiaoping’s Reform and Opening Up. We asked him about how law in the PRC has evolved, the current cases involving Western multinationals in China, the rule of law in Taiwan versus Mainland China and much more. Check out Professor Cohen’s recent work at the US-Asia Law Institute at New York University School of Law here: http://usali.org. Below is our exclusive interview with Professor Jerome Cohen.”
Gender and Disability Discrimination in China
Bernstein Institute Annual Conference 2015, NYU Law, April 22, 2015
Moderator: Jerome Cohen, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the US Asia Law Institute (USALI)
Panelists:
Ira Belkin, Executive Director of USALI
Zhou Dan, Chinese Lawyer, Scholar and Activist
Sharon Hom '80, Executive Director of Human Rights in China
Jerome Cohen & Ezra Vogel on Four Decades of Normalizing Relations
The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, February 18, 2015
What was the state of Sino-American relations and related domestic politics in the United States and China on the eve of normalization in 1979? What have universities done in the decades since to deepen our understanding? At a National Committee program on February 18, 2015 in New York City, two pioneers of the China field, Jerome A. Cohen and Ezra F. Vogel, reflect on what Americans were thinking in the late 1960’s about opening the door to China and their impressions of China when they first visited more than 40 years ago. What did Americans know about China then, and what was the academic study of China like? How have things changed since?
The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations is the leading nonprofit nonpartisan organization that encourages understanding of China and the United States among citizens of both countries.
International Human Rights: North Korea, China and the UN
NYU Law, November 11, 2014
The final session, which was moderated by NYU Law Professor Jerome Cohen, started with his question: "In view of this horrible human rights situation in North Korea, what shall we do to improve the situation?”
Panelists:
Donald Gregg, former US ambassador to South Korea and now chairman of the Pacific Century Institute
Winston Lord, former US ambassador to China and former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Recent Trends in the South China Sea and U.S. Policy
The Center for Strategic and International Studies, July 11, 2014
Panel Discussion: Habits of Cooperation/Confidence Building in the South China Sea
H.E. Arif Havas Oegroseno Ambassador of Indonesia to the European Union
Dr. James Manicom Centre for International Governance Innovation,Canada
Mr. Jerome Cohen New York University
Dr. Alice Ba University of Delaware
Dr. Euan Graham S.
China in the World: Human Rights Challenges and Opportunities
NYU Law, April 23, 2013
This is an excerpt from the Human Rights In China and NYU Law School Roundtable, "China in the World: Human Rights Challenges and Opportunities." Jerome A. Cohen, expert on China's legal system and professor of law at NYU Law School describes the complex challenges facing Chinese leaders: "There used to be a New York play called "Stop the World-I Want to Get Off."
China & International Law
UC Berkeley School of Law, Spring 2013
"During my first visit to China, I had the opportunity to have a four hour dinner with Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. I sat right next to him. It was a great opportunity, We discussed a lot of things. After a couple of hours, I got my nerve up and I thought I could ask him about International Law. And I said, “Now that China had entered the UN, would China now participate in the International Court of Justice?” Well the laughter that that caused in the room. People thought I was funnier that Dean Edley. They thought I was some kind of comedian. “Why would China want to send any representatives to that bourgeois imperialist anti-Asian discriminatory anti-Communist court?” They thought I was a comedian and I said, “This is one of the perks of being a great power. You’re going to be expected to participate in the International Law community.” That’s something we’re facing today. Gradually, after entry in the UN, China took part in all kinds of negotiations…Increasingly, the Chinese have trained a cadre of impressive international lawyers in 1971 when China entered the UN." -- Jerome Cohen
Chinese Rule of Law
Brookings Institution, Nov. 28, 2012, Part of Rule of Law in China
Former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Hunstman talked about the rule of law in China. He was joined in discussion by law professors from Yale, Harvard, and New York University. They responded to questions from members of the audience.
“Prospects and Challenges for Rule of Law” was a session of the Brookings Institution event “Rule of Law in China: Prospects and Challenges” to launch Professor He Weifang’s book In the Name of Justice: Striving for the Rule of Law in China.
Rule of Law in China: A Conversation with Chen Guangcheng
NYU Law, October 10, 2012
In the summer of 2012, and with much fanfare, Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng arrived in the U.S. and began his affiliation with the U.S.-Asia Law Institute (USALI) at NYU Law. USALI co-director Professor Jerome Cohen, who played a central role in the arrangements that brought Chen to this country, engaged Chen in a Q&A in this Milbank Tweed Forum.
Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom: a Round Table on China's Legal System Celebrating the 80th Birthday of Jerome A. Cohen
NYU, September 7, 2010
*Featured Participants:
Frank Upham: Wilf Family Professor of Property Law; Co-director, US-Asia Law Institute, New York University
R. Randle Edwards: Walter Gellhorn Professor Emeritus of Law, Columbia University
Cynthia Estlund: Catherine A. Rein Professor of Law, New York University
Stephen Orlins: President of the National Committee on U.S. China Relations
Owen Nee: Of Counsel, Jones Day; Lecturer, New York University
Hyeon-Ju Rho: Country Director, China, American Bar Association, Rule of Law Initiative
Alex Wang: Senior Attorney; Director, China Environmental Law Project, Natural Resources Defense Council
Dr. Daniel Yu: Consultant to the US-Asia Law Institute, New York University
Jon Van Dyke: Professor of Law, University of Hawaii
Margaret K. Lewis: Associate Professor of Law, Seton Hall University
*Moderators:
Professor Jerome A. Cohen, Co-Director, U.S.-Asia Law Institute, NYU School of Law
Professor Benjamin Van Rooij, University of Amsterdam; Global Visiting Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
U.S.-China Perceptions, Role of Law
July 19, 2010, Woodrow Wilson Center: US-China Relations
Panelists talked about relations between the U.S. and China, focusing on general perceptions of the role of law and religion. They responded to questions from members of the audience.
Jerome A. Cohen: Reflections on Fifty Years of Chinese Law
The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, April 22, 2010
In this program of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, Jerome A. Cohen reflects on a fifty-year career as a pioneer in the field of Chinese and Asian legal studies in the United States. Professor Cohen played an important role in the re-opening of U.S.-China relations and has educated hundreds of government, NGO, legal and corporate leaders.
Jerome Cohen: Is There Law in China? Is There Justice?
Earl Warren College at UC San Diego, April 2008
NYU School of Law professor and China expert Jerome Cohen examines the legal system of the world's largest nation in the 2008 DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecture sponsored by Earl Warren College at UC San Diego.
China's Legal System How "Legal?" How "Political?" How "Just?"
Duke University School of Law, February 3, 2006
Join the Asian Law Students Association and International Law Society for a powerful discussion with Professor Jerome Cohen regarding China's legal system. Recorded on February 03, 2006.
