* Editor in Chief, Boston College Third World Law Journal (1999–2000).
1 See, e.g., White Paper, Progress in China’s Human Rights Cause in 1996, Information Office of the State Council of the P.R.C., (Mar. 1997), translated at <http://www.china.org.cn /English/WhitePapers/96HumanRights/96HumanRights.html> (visited May 19, 2000) [hereinafter 1996 Human Rights White Paper]; Human Rights in China (HRIC), Caught Between Tradition and the State: Violations of the Human Rights of Chinese Women, 17 Women’s Rts. L. Rep. 285, 287 (1996); Hilary K. Josephs, Labor Law in a “Socialist Market Economy”: The Case of China, 33 Colum. J. Transnat’l L. 559, 560–61 (1995).
2 See Elisabeth Rosenthal, A Day in Court, and Justice, Sometimes, for the Chinese, N.Y. Times, Apr. 27, 1998, at A1.
3 In 1980, China instituted a “basic national policy” of limiting each couple to one child to curtail population growth. See HRIC, supra note 1, at 294–95. The policy is enforced on a local level and it generally involves numerous restrictions on a woman’s reproductive rights, including the requirement of authorization of even a first pregnancy by the local government, which can consist of both a “work unit,” or government employer, and a neighborhood planning committee. See Dele Olojede, China Upholds Firing for Pregnancy, Boston Globe, Nov. 22, 1998, at A21; Rosenthal, supra note 2.
The Chinese government has proposed that women stop working for a period of time after their marriage or the birth of a child and then be allowed to work again several years later when their children have grown up. See Delegates to Women’s Congress Object to “Periodic Employment,” Xinhua News Agency, Sept. 5, 1998, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, CURNWS File [hereinafter Delegates Object to “Periodic Employment”].
4 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 286; see generally U.S. Dep’t of State, 1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (Feb. 25, 2000), available at <http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/china. html> (visited May 17, 2000) [hereinafter U.S. State Dep’t Report]; Ann D. Jordan, Women’s Rights in the People’s Republic of China: Patriarchal Wine Poured From a Socialist Bottle, 8 J. Chinese L. 47, 59–66 (1994).
5 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 285–86.
6 See id.
7 See generally Olojede, supra note 3; Rosenthal, supra note 2.
8 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
9 See Olojede, supra note 3; see also supra note 3.
10 See id.
11 See id.
12 See id.
13 See id.
14 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
15 See id.
16 See id.; Olojede, supra note 3.
17 See Rosenthal, supra note 2. A clause in the Beijing Family Planning Regulations stipulates that a childless woman who gives birth without permission should be fined 200 yuan, or about $25. See id.
18 See Olojede, supra note 3.
19 See Rosenthal, supra note 2; Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Xingzheng Susong Fa [Administrative Litigation Law of the P.R.C.] (Oct. 1, 1990), reported in Renmin Ribao [People’s Daily], Apr. 10, 1989, at 2, translated in 3 China L. & Prac. 37 (1989) [hereinafter ALL].
20 See Olojede, supra note 3.
21 See id.
22 See id.
23 See id.
24 See id.
25 See infra notes 26–29 and accompanying text.
26 Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Xianfa [Constitution of the P.R.C.] (1993), reported in Renmin Ribao [People’s Daily], Apr. 10, 1992, at 3, translated at Chinalaw Web (visited May 17, 2000) <http://www.qis.net/chinalaw/prccon5.htm> [hereinafter Constitution].
27 Nüzigong Laodong Baohu Guiding [Regulations Governing Labor Protection for Women Staff Members and Workers], art. 1 (Sept. 1, 1988), translated in F.B.I.S., Daily Rep.: China, July 27, 1988, at 42–43) [hereinafter Labor Protection Regulations].
28 The Labor Law is reported in 16 Guowuyuan Gongbao [State Council Gazette] 678 (1994), translated in 7 China L. & Prac. 21 (1994)[hereinafter Labor Law].
29 Funü Quanyi Baozhangfa [Law for the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests] (Oct. 1, 1992) [hereinafter LPWRI], reported in Renmin Ribao [People’s Daily], Apr. 10, 1992, at 3, translated at Chinalaw Web (visited May 17, 2000) <http://www.qis.net /chinalaw/prclaw49.htm>.
30 Article 48 of the Constitution provides that women enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of economic life. See Constitution, supra note 26. Article 3 of the Labor Protection Regulations prohibits work units from refusing to hire women if they have jobs suitable for women. See Labor Protection Regulations, supra note 27, at 42. Article 13 of the Labor Law states that females shall enjoy equal rights as males in employment. See Labor Law, supra note 28, at 22. Article 21 of the LPWRI ensures that women and men enjoy the same right to work. See LPWRI, supra note 29. Article 2 of the ALL allows citizens to institute proceedings in the People’s Courts when they feel that specific acts of administrative authorities have infringed their lawful interests. See ALL, supra note 19, at 37.
31 See Margaret Y.K. Woo, Biology and Equality: Challenge for Feminism in the Socialist and the Liberal State, 42 Emory L.J. 143, 144 (1993).
32 See id. at 177–78.
33 See supra notes 30–32 and accompanying text.
34 See Pitman B. Potter, The Administrative Litigation Law of the PRC: Judicial Review and Bureaucratic Reform, in Basic Concepts of Chinese Law 372, 384–86 (Tahirah V. Lee ed., 1997); HRIC, supra note 1, at 287; Allison J. Wells, Comment, Chinese Women Experience a Negative Side Effect of the Growing Private Sector in Gender-Based Employment Discrimination, 6 Ind. Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 517, 532 (1996); Rosenthal, supra note 2.
35 See Albert H.Y. Chen, An Introduction to the Legal System of the People’s Republic of China 88 (1992); Donald C. Clarke, What’s Law Got to Do With It? Legal Institutions and Economic Reform in China, 10 UCLA Pac. Basin L.J. 1, 26–30 (1991); Rosenthal, supra note 2.
36 See Stanley Lubman, Making China a Nation of Laws, Not Whims, L.A. Times, Sept. 6, 1998, at M2; Rosenthal, supra note 2.
37 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 57–64; Lubman, supra note 36; John Pomfret, Chinese Officials Bare Flaws of Legal System: Reports to Legislature Cite Growing Number of Corruption and Official Abuse Cases, Wash. Post, Mar. 11, 1999, at A24; Rosenthal, supra note 2.
38 See Woo, supra note 31, at 148.
39 See id.
40 See id.
41 See id.
42 See id. at 148–49.
43 See Woo, supra note 31, at 149.
44 See id.
45 See id.
46 See id.
47 See id.
48 See Woo, supra note 31, at 150.
49 See id.
50 See id.
51 See id.
52 See id. at 150–51.
53 See Woo, supra note 31, at 151.
54 See id.
55 See id.
56 See id. at 151–52.
57 See id. at 152.
58 See 1996 Human Rights White Paper, supra note 1.
59 “White Papers” are produced by China’s Information Office of the State Council and reflect the official PRC position on a variety of issues. See Diane F. Orentlicher & Timothy A. Gelatt, Public Law, Private Actors: The Impact of Human Rights on Business Investors in China, 14 Nw. J. Int’l L. & Bus. 66, 72 (1993). The documents have been criticized as being propagandistic and biased. See id.
60 See White Paper, The Situation of Chinese Women, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 11, 1994, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File [hereinafter Situation of Chinese Women].
61 See id.
62 See id.
63 See id.
64 See id.
65 See Situation of Chinese Women, supra note 60.
66 See id.
67 This document outlines tactics for women’s advancement worldwide until the year 2000. See Elaine Sciolino, U.N. Urged to Promote Women, N.Y. Times, Nov. 6, 1985, at C13. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 13, 1985. See Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, G.A. Res. 108, U.N. GAOR, 40th Sess. (1985).
68 See generally Government Publishes Report on Plans for Women’s Advancement, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Oct. 13, 1994, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, ALLNWS File.
69 See id.
70 See Chinese Women’s Legal Position Enhanced, Xinhua News Agency, Oct. 10, 1994, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, ALLNWS File.
71 See U.S. State Dep’t Report, supra note 4.
72 See id. A December, 1998, Asian Development Bank report noted that almost 70% of the 23 million workers who could lose their jobs as a result of SOE reform were women, although they constitute only 36.4% of the workforce. See id. A 1998 All-China Federation of Trade Unions report estimated that 80% of those laid off from SOEs in Heilongjiang province were women. See id.
73 See id.
74 See id.
75 See id. The official retirement age is 60 years for men and 55 years for women. See id.
76 See id.
77 HRIC is an international non-governmental organization that “monitors the implementation of international human rights standards in. . .China and carries out human rights advocacy and education among Chinese people inside and outside the country.” See Human Rights in China (visited May 17, 2000) <http://www.hrichina.org/hricinfo/about. html>.
78 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 299.
79 See id. at 285.
80 See Elizabeth Spahn, Shattered Jade, Broken Shoe: Foreign Economic Development and the Sexual Exploitation of Women in China, 50 Me. L. Rev. 255, 265 (1998).
81 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 299.
82 See id.
83 See id.
84 See id. at 286.
85 See id.
86 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 286.
87 See Nancy E. Riley, Holding Up Half the Economy: Chinese Women, China Bus. Rev., Jan. 1996, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, ALLNWS File.
88 See id.
89 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 303.
90 See Riley, supra note 87.
91 See id.; see also PRC Feminist Scholar Urges Combating Sex Discrimination, Jan. 3, 1999, Hong Kong Sunday Standard, in FBIS Daily Report: China, Jan. 4, 1999, available in <http://wnc.fedworld.gov> (citing Prof. Li Yinhe as stating that employers normally consider female employees more troublesome, as they might apply for maternity leave and time for nursing, resulting in preference in hiring men whenever possible).
92 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 303.
93 See Riley, supra note 87.
94 See Jordan, supra note 5, at 69.
95 See id.
96 See Riley, supra note 87.
97 See id.
98 See id.
99 See id.
100 See Sheryl WuDunn, Profit and Loss: China’s Affection for Capitalism Erodes Gains in Equal Rights, Chi. Trib., Sept. 27, 1992, at A1.
101 See id.
102 See Yulanda Chung, “Sexist” Job Moves Attacked, S. China Morning Post Ltd., Dec. 22, 1998, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, CURNWS File.
103 Id.
104 See id.
105 See id.
106 The ACWF is the PRC’s national government-sponsored women’s organization. See Tanya S.J. Selvaratnam, Backseat Driver: Steering Chinese Women’s Voices Through the 1990s, 12 J.L. & Pol. 93, 109 (1995). Although the organization acts as a representative of and advocate for women, its agenda depends ultimately on current government policy. See id. As a result, the ACWF has been criticized for not representing all women effectively. See id. at 110–11; see also HRIC, supra note 1, at 305 (stating that “[a]lthough the ACWF has been able to speak out on many issues that concern women, . . .its primary function is to transmit the Party’s policies to women and to mobilize them to implement those policies”).
107 See Delegates Object to “Periodic Employment,” supra note 3; Vivien Pi-Kwan Chan, Stay-at-Home Plan for Mothers Condemned, S. China Morning Post, Sept. 6, 1998, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, ALLNWS File.
108 See Delegates Object to “Periodic Employment,” supra note 3. Article 13 of the Labor Law states that females shall enjoy equal rights as males in employment. See Labor Law, art. 13, supra note 28, at 22.
109 See Delegates Object to “Periodic Employment,” supra note 4.
110 See id.
111 See id.
112 See id. The Democratic Party of China agrees that the government should pass laws prohibiting age discrimination. See Laws Needed to Improve Women’s Working Rights, S. China Morning Post, Mar. 9, 1998, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, CURNWS File.
113 See Jennifer Lin, Women No Longer Wanted to Hold Up the Sky in China, AAP Newsfeed, Mar. 24, 1998, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, ALLNWS File.
114 See id.
115 See id.
116 See id.
117 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 304.
118 See Jordan, supra note 4, at 61.
119 See id. at 61 & n.48 (citing Guowuyuan Guanyu Gongren Tuixiu, Tuizide Zanxing Banfa [State Council Interim Procedures Concerning Retirement or Resignation of Workers], art. 1(1)(June 3, 1978), reprinted in Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Falü Quanshu [Collection of the Laws of the PRC] 1393 (1990)).
120 See id. at 61 & n.50 (citing Gouwuyuan Guanyu Yanchang Bufen Gugan Laoshi, Yisheng, Kejirenyuan Tuixiu Nianlingde Tonghzi [State Council Circular Extending the Retirement Age of Some Essential Teachers, Doctors, Scientists and Technicians] (Sept. 12, 1983), reprinted in Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Falü Quanshu [Collection of the Laws of the PRC] 1389 (1990)).
121 See id. at 61 & n.57 (citing Equal Rights to Education Should Be Guaranteed, China Daily, Dec. 4, 1990, at 4).
122 See id. at 61–62 & n.52 (citing Working Women, 1334 China News Analysis 1, 3 (May 1, 1987)).
123 See Women Launch China’s First Sex Bias Challenge, Reuter Library Report, July 9, 1992, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, ALLNWS File [hereinafter First Sex Bias Challenge].
124 See id.
125 See id.
126 See id.
127 See id.
128 See First Sex Bias Challenge, supra note 123.
129 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
130 See id.
131 See id.
132 See id.
133 See supra Part I.C–G.
134 See Woo, supra note 31, at 151–52.
135 See supra notes 26–30 and accompanying text.
136 See infra Part II.A–C.
137 See Constitution, art. 48, supra note 26.
138 See id.
139 See Jordan, supra note 4, at 57–58.
140 See id. at 58.
141 See id.
142 See id.
143 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 33.
144 See Constitution, art. 51, supra note 26; Jordan, supra note 4, at 58.
145 See Jordan, supra note 4, at 58–59.
146 See id.
147 See id.
148 See Labor Protection Regulations, art. 1, supra note 27, at 42.
149 See id., art. 4.
150 See id., art. 8–9.
151 See id., art. 11.
152 See id., art. 5.
153 See Labor Protection Regulations, art. 6, supra note 27, at 42.
154 See id., art. 7, 10.
155 See id., art. 12 at 42.
156 See id., art. 12–13, at 43.
157 See id., art. 15.
158 See Paul D. McKenzie, China and the Women’s Convention: Prospects for the Implementation of an International Norm, 7 China L. Rep. 23, 49 (1991).
159 See id. at 48–49.
160 See Jordan, supra note 4, at 62.
161 See id.
162 See id. at 62–63.
163 See id. at 64.
164 See id.
165 Jordan, supra note 4, at 64.
166 See id. at 63.
167 See id. at 63–64.
168 See Michael Palmer, China, People’s Republic of: Reacting to Rapid Social Change, 12 J. Fam. L. 438, 453 (1989–1990).
169 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 302.
170 See Josephs, supra note 1, at 559.
171 Labor Law, art. 1, supra note 28, at 21.
172 See Josephs, supra note 1, at 559.
173 See Labor Law, art. 2, supra note 28, at 21.
174 See id., art. 13, at 22.
175 Id.
176 See id.
177 Id., art. 46, at 28.
178 See Labor Law, art. 58–63, supra note 28, at 29–30.
179 See Josephs, supra note 1, at 568 & n.42.
180 See Labor Law, art. 89, supra note 28, at 34.
181 See id., art. 89–105, at 34–36; Josephs, supra note 1, at 569.
182 See Spahn, supra note 80, at 272.
183 See generally, LPWRI, supra note 29; Jonathan Hecht, The Legal Protection of Women’s Rights in China, China Rts. F. (Human Rights in China, New York, N.Y.), Fall 1995, available in Human Rights in China (visited May 17, 2000) <http://www.hrichina.org/crf/ english/95fall/e4.html>.
184 See Hecht, supra note 183. Article 11 of CEDAW addresses the elimination of discrimination against women in employment to ensure equal rights for men and women. See Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Sept. 3, 1981, art. 11, 1249 U.N.T.S. 13, 18–19. In addition to requiring equality in hiring criteria, benefits, promotions, and training, CEDAW also provides that member countries take appropriate measures to prevent employment discrimination based on pregnancy and the taking of maternity leave and to provide special protections for pregnant women in the workforce. See id.
185 See LPWRI, ch. IV, supra note 29.
186 See id., art. 21, 23.
187 See id., art. 23.
188 See id., art. 24, 26.
189 See id., art. 22.
190 See LPWRI, art. 22, supra note 29.
191 See id., art. 25.
192 Jordan, supra note 4, at 95.
193 See id.
194 See id. at 96; HRIC, supra note 1, at 303.
195 See LPWRI, art. 48–52, supra note 29; Hecht, supra note 184.
196 See LPWRI, art. 48, supra note 29.
197 See id., art. 52; Hecht, supra note 183.
198 See Hecht, supra note 183; see also discussion infra Part III.D.
199 See Hecht, supra note 183; HRIC, supra note 1, at 303.
200 See Potter, supra note 34, at 372.
201 See ALL, art. 2, supra note 19, at 37.
202 See Potter, supra note 34, at 376.
203 See id. at 379.
204 Actionable circumstances include dissatisfaction with administrative sanctions or restrictions on personal freedom or property, an administrative authority’s refusal to protect personal rights or property, failure to allocate pensions, and administrative authority demands for performance of illegal actions by the individual. See ALL, art. 11, supra note 19, at 38–39.
205 See Potter, supra note 34, at 380.
206 See id. at 380–81; ALL, art. 31–64, supra note 19, at 43–52.
207 See Potter, supra note 34, at 383.
208 See id. at 384.
209 See id.; ALL, art. 5, supra note 19, at 37.
210 See Lubman, supra note 36.
211 See Potter, supra note 34, at 384.
212 See Song Bing, Assessing China’s System of Judicial Review of Administrative Actions, 8 China L. Rep. 1, 6 (1994).
213 See id.
214 See Potter, supra note 34, at 385.
215 See ALL, art. 12, supra note 19, at 39.
216 See id., art. 25, at 42; Susan Finder, Like Throwing an Egg Against a Stone? Administrative Litigation in the People’s Republic of China, 3 J. Chinese L. 1, 18 (1989).
217 See Finder, supra note 216, at 18.
218 See Potter, supra note 34, at 385.
219 See id. at 385–86.
220 See Finder, supra note 216, at 10.
221 See id. at 18.
222 See id.
223 See id.
224 See id. at 18–19.
225 See Finder, supra note 216, at 19.
226 See id.
227 See id. at 10; Ann Scott Tyson, Chinese Reformer Stays the Course, Christian Sci. Monitor, June 4, 1990, available in LEXIS, NEWS Library, CSM File.
228 See Finder, supra note 216, at 10.
229 See id.; Tyson, supra note 227.
230 See Todd Crowell & David Hsieh, People Power: As Economic Change Erodes the State’s Authority, the Chinese are Free to Sue Companies, Elect Some Officials and Speak Out as Never Before, Asiaweek, Oct. 18, 1996, at 28.
231 Id.
232 See id.
233 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
234 See id.
235 See id.
236 See id.
237 See id.
238 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
239 See id.
240 See id.
241 See Agatha Ngai, Clarification of Laws Urged as Cases Rise, S. China Morning Post, May 30, 1997, at 9.
242 See id.
243 See Minxin Pci, Address Before the House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade (Sept. 19, 1996), in Fed. News Service, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, ALLNWS File [hereinafter Pci Address].
244 See id.
245 On January 24, 1991, Ma Yuan, vice-president of the Supreme People’s Court said that there had not yet been a large increase in administrative cases. See Litigation Law Implementation Proceeding Smoothly, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Jan. 30, 1991, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File. The ALL also had not caused administrative organs to change their normal operating activities. See id.
246 See Pci Address, supra note 243.
247 See Edward J. Epstein & Chong Tin Cho, The Legal Reform, in China Review 1995 6.1, 6.30 (Lo Chi Kin et al. eds., 1995).
248 See id.
249 See id.
250 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
251 See id.
252 See id.
253 See id.
254 See id.
255 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
256 See id.
257 See id.
258 See id.
259 See id.
260 See Press and Publications: First Major Press Legal Case Wound Up “Satisfactorily,” BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Jan. 13, 1993, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File [hereinafter First Major Press Legal Case].
261 See Banned Publishing House Sues Government Department, Agence France Presse, Apr. 9, 1992, available in LEXIS, NEWS Library, ARCNEWS File.
262 See First Major Press Legal Case, supra note 260.
263 See Olojede, supra note 3.
264 See id.
265 See Labor Protection Regulations, supra note 27, art. 15, at 43.
266 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
267 See Finder, supra note 216, at 25.
268 See Catherine Cheng Jie, Conflict of Laws in China, The China Connection Legal Forum (visited May 17, 2000) <http://www.enstar.co.uk/china/law/articles/legal_b.htm>.
269 National laws are passed by the National People’s Congress or its Standing Committee. See Finder, supra note 216, at 25.
270 Administrative regulations are promulgated by the State Council. See id.
271 See id.; Liu Nanping, “Judicial Review” in China: A Comparative Perspective, 14 Rev. Socialist L. 241, 245–46 (1988).
272 See Finder, supra note 216, at 25–26.
273 See Nanping, supra note 271, at 246 (arguing that the Supreme People’s Court is declaring its authority to declare invalid local laws that contravene the Constitution).
274 See Finder, supra note 216, at 26.
275 See Labor Protection Regulations, art. 15, supra note 27, at 43.
276 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
277 See id.
278 See id.
279 See Jie, supra note 268.
280 See id.
281 See id.
282 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
283 See id.; Olojede, supra note 3.
284 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
285 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 32.
286 See id. at 33; Lubman, supra note 36; Congress Hears Report on Work of Courts, Procuratorial Bodies, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Mar. 12, 1999, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File.
287 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 65–69. Stanley Lubman, a consulting professor at Stanford University Law School, explains: “Chinese courts do not have the authority, because they are on the same level, not higher than, the agencies whose acts they review.” See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
288 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 66. Many judges have served as trusted leaders in the Communist Party for a number of years before being appointed. See Bing, supra note 212, at 16–17.
289 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 66.
290 See id. at 67.
291 See Supreme Court President Urges Courts to Uphold Verdicts, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, May 11, 1998, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File.
292 See id.
293 See id.
294 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 67.
295 See id.
296 See Olojede, supra note 3.
297 See Ren Jianxin, Supreme People’s Court Work Report, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Apr. 22, 1994, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File.
298 See Bing, supra note 212, at 17; Lubman, supra note 36.
299 See Bing, supra note 212, at 18; Lubman, supra note 36.
300 See Lubman, supra note 36. In 1991, Huang Jie, chief of the Administrative Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, acknowledged that “local courts, especially courts at the basic level, are controlled by the local government to a large extent.” See Huang Jie on the Administrative Litigation Law, Chinese L. & Gov’t, Fall 1991, Vol. 24, No. 3, at 43, 44.
301 See Bing, supra note 212, at 17.
302 See id. at 17–18 (citing Liaowang [Outlook Weekly], No. 13, overseas edition, (Beijing: Mar. 30, 1992), at 4).
303 See id. at 16.
304 See id.; Clarke, supra note 35, at 58; Lubman, supra note 36.
305 See John Pomfret, China Aides Reveal Wave of Crime and Corruption: In Reports, Judicial System Held Inadequate, Int’l Herald Trib. (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France), Mar. 11, 1999, at 1.
306 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 58.
307 See id.
308 See id. at 58–59 & n.253.
309 See id. at 59.
310 See Bing, supra note 212, at 16.
311 See id.
312 See Ren Jianxin Urges Improved Academic Training for Judiciary, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 13, 1994, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File [hereinafter Ren Urges Improved Training].
313 See Pomfret, supra note 37.
314 See id.
315 See Pomfret, supra note 305.
316 See id.
317 See Lubman, supra note 36; Clarke, supra note 35, at 59; Pomfret, supra note 37.
318 See Pomfret, supra note 37.
319 See id.
320 See id.
321 See id.
322 See Charles Hutzler, Legal Reform Process Under Question in China, AAP Newsfeed, Mar. 2, 1998, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, CURNWS File.
323 See id.
324 See id.
325 See id.
326 See supra Parts II–III.
327 See generally Cynthia Grant Bowman & Elizabeth M. Schneider, Feminist Legal Theory, Feminist Law Making, and the Legal Profession, 67 Fordham L. Rev. 249 (1998)(discussing how formal equality theory allowed women to gain access to the legal profession, but does not address problems such as women’s continuing role as primary caretakers of children, women receiving lower salaries than men in similar legal positions, and women being forced to take on the characteristics and lifestyles associated with men in order to succeed as lawyers); Mary Becker, The Sixties Shift to Formal Equality and the Courts: An Argument for Pragmatism and Politics, 40 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 209 (1998)(discussing the successes and failures of formal equality).
328 See supra Part II.A–C; Supreme Court President Urges Courts to Uphold Verdicts, supra note 291; Ren Urges Improved Training, supra note 312.
329 See supra Parts I.C–G, II.A–C.
330 See generally, e.g., Kate Zernike, MIT Women Win a Fight Against Bias: In Rare Move, School Admits Discrimination, Boston Globe, Mar. 21, 1999, available in 1999 WL 6053541; L.M. Sixel, Down on Heels: Are High Heels at Work a Kind of Discrimination?, Chi. Trib., Jan. 10, 1999, available in 1999 WL 2833620; Lawsuit Alleges Sex Bias at UC Lab, Sacramento Bee, Dec. 24, 1998, available in 1998 WL 22566989.
331 See China: Survey: Women’s Status Rising, Problems Still Remain, in FBIS Daily Report: China, June 13, 1997, available in World News Connection, <http://wnc.fedworld.gov> (visited May 17, 2000) [hereinafter Problems Still Remain].
332 HRIC, supra note 1, at 306.
333 See Problems Still Remain, supra note 331.
334 See Call for Action to Build on Success for Women’s Conference, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Sept. 19, 1995, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File.
335 See id.
336 See generally id.
337 See supra Parts I.C–G, II.A–C.
338 See Jordan, supra note 4, at 69.
339 See Riley, supra note 87.
340 See discussion supra Part II.D.3.
341 See discussion supra Part I.F.1.
342 See id.
343 See Hecht, supra note 183.
344 See id.
345 See Hecht, supra note 183; HRIC, supra note 1, at 304.
346 See Hecht, supra note 183.
347 See 1996 Human Rights White Paper, supra note 1.
348 See Labor Protection Regulations, art. 15 supra note 27, at 43.
349 See U.S. State Dep’t Report, supra note 4; HRIC, supra note 1, at 285–86. See generally Sharon K. Hom, Female Infanticide in China: The Human Rights Specter and Thoughts Towards (An)Other Vision, 23 Colum. Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 249, 263–70 (1991–1992).
350 See Olojede, supra note 3.
351 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
352 See Olojede, supra note 3; Rosenthal, supra note 2.
353 See Olojede, supra note 3; Rosenthal, supra note 2.
354 See Olojede, supra note 3; Rosenthal, supra note 2.
355 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 286.
356 See id.
357 See Jordan, supra note 4, at 58.
358 See generally Differing Status of Chinese and American Women, Xinhua News Agency, Sept. 8, 1995, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, ARCNWS File.
359 See generally id.
360 See Jordan, supra note 4, at 104.
361 See id.
362 See, e.g., Supreme Court President Urges Courts to Uphold Verdicts, supra note 291; Ren, supra note 297; Pomfret, supra note 305.
363 See, e.g., Supreme Court President Urges Courts to Uphold Verdicts, supra note 291; Ren, supra note 297; Pomfret, supra note 305.
364 See Lubman, supra note 36; Pomfret, supra note 37.
365 See supra Part II.D.2.a.
366 See id.
367 See id.
368 See ALL, supra note 19.
369 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 33.
370 See id. at 66–67.
371 See Supreme Court President Urges Courts to Uphold Verdicts, supra note 291.
372 See Rosenthal, supra note 2.
373 See Finder, supra note 216, at 25–26; Jie, supra note 268.
374 See Finder, supra note 216, at 25–26.
375 See Ren, supra note 297; Lubman, supra note 36; Olojede, supra note 3.
376 See Jordan, supra note 4, at 58 (arguing that the Constitution provides only a “theoretical possibility of a right” and one must look to individual laws for actual effective government policy); Hecht, supra note 183 (arguing that the LPWRI does not provide any enforcement mechanisms).
377 See Bing, supra note 212, at 18.
378 See Bing, supra note 212, at 17; Lubman, supra note 36.
379 See Supreme Court President Urges Courts to Uphold Verdicts, supra note 291.
380 See discussion supra Part III.C.2.
381 See Bing, supra note 212, at 16; Ren Urges Improved Training, supra note 312.
382 See Ren Urges Improved Training, supra note 312.
383 See Pomfret, supra note 37.
384 See Ren Urges Improved Training, supra note 312; Pomfret, supra note 37.
385 See Pomfret, supra note 305.
386 See Lubman, supra note 36; Pomfret, supra note 37.
387 See Clarke, supra note 35, at 59; Hutzler, supra note 322; Lubman, supra note 36; Pomfret, supra note 37.
388 See generally Former Senior Hainan Official Receives Five-Year Sentence for Bribery, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, June 10, 1997, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File [hereinafter Official Receives Five-Year Sentence]; Peter Lim, China’s NPC Delegates Flex Muscles with Call for Clean Government, Agence France Presse, Mar. 8, 1999, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, CURNWS File; Legal Journal Details Huge Corruption Cases, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, Nov. 27, 1997 ; available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, BBCSWB File [hereinafter Huge Corruption Cases].
389 See Huge Corruption Cases, supra note 388; Official Receives Five-Year Sentence, supra note 388.
390 See discussion supra Part I.C.
391 See China Commends 10 Women Judges, Xinhua News Agency, Feb. 25, 1999, available in LEXIS, ASIAPC Library, CURNWS File.
392 See id.
393 See id.
394 See id.
395 Only 2,800 of the 180,000 elected judges in China are women. See id.
396 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 303; Palmer, supra note 168, at 453.
397 See HRIC, supra note 1, at 304.
398 See id. at 304.
399 See generally Zernike, supra note 330; Sixel, supra note 330; Lawsuit Alleges Sex Bias at UC Lab, supra note 330.
400 See Ronald C. Keith, China’s Struggle for the Rule of Law 55 (1994). See generally Andrew J. Nathan, Sources of Chinese Rights Thinking, in Human Rights in Contemporary China 125, 135–54 (R. Randle Edwards et al. eds., 1986).
401 See Woo, supra note 31, at 161.
402 See id.
403 See id.
404 See supra text accompanying notes 233–40.
405 See id.
406 See supra text accompanying notes 7–24.