HONG KONG’S NATIONAL SECURITY LAW
Can Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law Survive?

featuring
Carole J. Petersen
Professor, William S. Richardson School of Law
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

The National Security Law (NSL) of 2020 has fundamentally changed Hong Kong’s system of criminal justice.  Hundreds of residents have been arrested under the NSL, primarily for non-violent speech acts or for political activities that were perfectly legal in Hong Kong prior to the enactment of the NSL. Arrestees commonly sit in jail for more than a year before trial, because the NSL reversed Hong Kong’s presumption in favor of bail for “security related” offenses.  Hong Kong’s treasured civil liberties thus hang by a thread.  The city still enjoys greater religious freedom, access to the internet, and freedom of expression than Mainland China.  But those remaining freedoms exist only because Beijing has chosen to tolerate them, perhaps hoping that the local government can still market Hong Kong as a viable city for international business.  In theory, Hong Kong’s common law legal system will continue to protect you and your business – so long as you avoid criticizing the central government and have nothing to do with competitive politics.

Carole J. Petersen is a Professor in the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  She taught law in Hong Kong from 1989 to 2006 and continues to research “One Country, Two Systems” as a model of regional autonomy.  In 2020, she published “The Disappearing Firewall: The International Consequences of Beijing’s Decision to Impose a National Security Law and Operate National Security Institutions in Hong Kong” in Volume 50 of the Hong Kong Law Journal.  Professor Petersen holds a BA from the University of Chicago, a JD from Harvard Law School, and a Postgraduate Diploma in the Law of the People’s Republic of China from the University of Hong Kong.

---

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok 45 years ago. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.

FROM FOOT BINDING TO MIND BINDING:  
Lessons Learned from Six Decades of China Study

featuring 
Dr. Richard Vuylsteke
Professor, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies

Starting in high school, Richard became increasingly interested in Asia, especially China. Since then, he has held practitioner roles in seven different sectors at various intersections of US-Chinese relations. Rarely interested in being a high-visibility player, he concentrated on trying to be an effective one, focused also on being a catalyst for the success of others. His thoughts on ‘lessons learned’ is an attempt to suggest how to maneuver US-China interactions. 

Dr. Richard R. Vuylsteke joined the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies as a Professor on the faculty in January 2022 after serving five years as President of the East-West Center. Prior to the EWC, he spent three decades in Asia, including 18 years as president of American Chambers of Commerce, first in Taipei and then in Hong Kong. He earned his MA and PhD in Western and Asian Social & Political Philosophy from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
 

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok 45 years ago. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.

THE US AND TAIWAN:
Where are we today and where might we be headed?

featuring
Amb. James Moriarty
Chairman, American Institute in Taiwan

Growing tension across the Taiwan Strait has increasingly focused attention on US policy toward Taiwan.  Jim Moriarty, Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, will discuss recent trends in US-Taiwan relations and where those trends might be leading us. 

James F. Moriarty on October 1, 2016 became Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, the non-profit corporation established by Congress to manage the unofficial relationship between the United States and Taiwan.   

Ambassador (ret.) Moriarty brings to the position decades of experience in Asia, including Taiwan at senior leadership levels in the US government and the private sector. In his US government career, Ambassador Moriarty served as US ambassador to Bangladesh (2008-2011) and Nepal (2004-2007) and as Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for Asia at the National Security Council (2002-2004), and previously as Director for China Affairs at the National Security Council (2001-2002). He led the political sections at the US Embassy in Beijing (1998-2001) and at the American Institute in Taiwan (1995-1998). Earlier assignments in Ambassador Moriarty’s 36-year State Department career include postings in Taipei and Beijing, as well as work in Washington, D.C., South Asia, and Africa.  

Since retiring from the Foreign Service in 2011, Ambassador Moriarty has worked in the private sector and as an independent consultant. Living in Jakarta in 2013-2014, Ambassador Moriarty set up PROGRESS, a US Government project to build capacity in ASEAN’s political/security and social/cultural communities. From 2016 to 2019, Ambassador Moriarty served as the Country Director for the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a coalition of North American importers of ready-made garments working to improve factory safety there.  

The China Seminar was founded by Dr. Daniel W.Y. Kwok 45 years ago. Under his guidance, it became a signature program of the Friends of the East-West Center (FEWC) in 2009. The program provides an informal venue for China experts, such as scholars, diplomats, and journalists, to present talks on aspects of China that interest the community and members of the Friends. Topics include politics, economics, social issues, history, culture, food, arts, and many other subjects. Though Dr. Kwok has recently retired from his involvement with the program, the FEWC and the East-West Center remain committed to continuing this important program.