East Asia Workshop

“What Make a Judicial Decision Convincing:

Experimental Evidence of Authority, Bias and Reasoning” 

Zhuang Liu

LLM Candidate, University of Chicago Law School

PhD Candidate, Peking University Law School

4:30-6pm, Tuesday

May 21, 2013

Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Ave.

Abstract
The dearth of convincing power in judicial decision and reasoning, especially in those eye-catching cases reported by public media (e.g. the cases of Xu Ting, Liu Yong, Wu Ying, Peng Yu) undermines the creditability and legitimacy of Chinese judiciary. Legal community in China has been aware of the problem for a long time. Judicial reform aimed at “establishing a judiciary system that people are satisfied with” has been carried on continuously since 1990s. Improving the reasoning in judicial decision is one of the therapies. Fifteen years ago, in the first “Outline of Judicial Reform” by Supreme People’s Court, the emphasis has already been pinned down on “improving the quality of judicial decision writing”, “providing more detailed and persuasive reasoning” and “make the reasoning of decision become vivid textbook that illustrates the impartial image of judiciary and that educates people how the law operates”.

Drawing on social science perspectives and legal theory, this paper provides a theoretical framework to and tests empirically the question of what make a judicial decision convincing to the general public in the context of China. I employ a psychological experiment and OLS regression to see how several crucial factors, as suggested by different theories, influence people’s evaluation of judicial decisions. To wit, theories suggest that the convincing power of a judicial decision depends on reasoning modes, preexisting attitude (bias and motive reasoning effect) and to what extent people trust the authority (sociology of knowledge or information economics).

PS: The experiment is carried out on an online questionnaire system. Participants to the workshop are welcomed to finish the questionnaire at http://www.sojump.com/jq/2233957.aspx.

Workshop website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/

Student coordinator: Le Lin (lelin2010@uchicago.edu)

Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang, Dingxin Zhao and Zheng Michael Song

This presentation is sponsored by the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and Center for East Asian Studies. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance please contact the student coordinator in advance.

“US-China Business Relations in an Era of New Leadership”

Doug Guthrie

Dean, Professor of Management and International Business

George Washington University School of Business

 4:30-6pm, Tuesday

May 7, 2013

Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Ave.

Abstract
As the “factory for the world,” for years China has been regarded as an economic success, albeit one that has taken its position in the global economy primarily through the advantages of a deep, cheap labor pool. It is often dismissed as a rival to US dominance in areas of innovation or rational market infrastructure. This view is short-sighted, as it overstates the strengths of the US economy and ignores some of the most interesting aspects of Chinese economic development over the last three decades. I will argue that the case can be made that China’s approach to building a capitalist economy is more equipped for the challenges of the 21st Century than our own. Indeed, it is one of the great ironies of our time that the largest (so-called) “Communist” government of the world oversees the world’s most dynamic capitalist economy.

Workshop website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/

Student coordinator: Le Lin (lelin2010@uchicago.edu)

Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang, Dingxin Zhao and Zheng Michael Song

This presentation is sponsored by the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and Center for East Asian Studies. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance please contact the student coordinator in advance.

“The Politics of ‘Compliant Defiance’ in China”

Marie-Eve Reny

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Political Science

University of Chicago

4:30-6:00pm, Tuesday

April 23, 2013

Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Ave.

Abstract
Abstract: During the past decade, the literature on resistance in China has paid predominant heed to citizens’ resort to the law, grassroots elections, petitions and disruptive mobilization to challenge local governance and seek the central government’s help in rectifying perceived injustices. The scholarship has nevertheless revived tendencies by early studies of resistance to conceptualize the latter as overt and outright, and to treat defiance and quiescence as dichotomous. More attention should be dedicated to citizens who refrain from mobilizing overtly, and how they have challenged state authority. This paper explores how a silent majority of underground pastors negotiate their autonomy with local public security bureaus in various cities, using a strategy of “compliant defiance.” The latter consists of defying central-level policies (i.e. religious co-optation) while trading conciliation with local authorities in exchange for protection. Conciliation involves pastors’ maintenance of a low profile politically, sharing information about churches’ internal affairs with public security officers, and the occasional use of bribes to pay key officials respect. Compliant defiance constitutes an effective tactic for the tacit negotiation of underground churches’ autonomy in a policy area that is highly sensitive from a central government standpoint, and where the costs of pressing for formal institutional change are high.

Workshop website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/

Student coordinator: Le Lin (lelin2010@uchicago.edu)

Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang, Dingxin Zhao and Zheng Michael Song

This presentation is sponsored by the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and Center for East Asian Studies. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance please contact the student coordinator in advance.

A Theory of Protest Leadership:

Elites and the Mass in Workers’ Resistance in China

Xi Chen

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

4:30-6pm, Tuesday

April 9, 2013

Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Ave.

Abstract

    During the industrial restructuring in China since the 1990s, tens of millions of workers and pensioners in state-owned enterprises suffered from massive lay-offs and pension arrears. While they have become one of the most combative social groups in China, their collective protests have seldom been effective. This paper investigates a fundamental barrier to their collective action – the vulnerability of the relationship between protest leaders and rank-and-file workers. The motivations of protest leaders played a central role in sustaining collective action, but their special interest can raise other workers’ suspicion especially when local authorities have tried to buy off the leaders. The decline of community life in restructured enterprises has also reduced social capital, and exacerbated workers’ mistrust of protest leaders. The paper thus sheds light on how government co-optation and a transformed urban space have shaped and constrained popular collective action in China.

Workshop website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/

Student coordinator: Le Lin (lelin2010@uchicago.edu)

Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang, Dingxin Zhao and Zheng Michael Song

This presentation is sponsored by the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and Center for East Asian Studies. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance please contact the student coordinator in advance.

Except for May 28, the workshop meets on alternate Tuesdays 4:00-5:30pm at Pick Lounge

April 9 (starts at 4:30pm)

“A Theory of Protest Leadership: Elites and the Mass in Workers’ Resistance in China”

 Xi Chen

 Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

April 23

“The Politics of ‘Compliant Defiance’ in China”

 Marie-Eve Reny

 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Political Science

 University of Chicago

May 7

“US-China Business Relations in an Era of New Leadership”

Doug Guthrie

Dean, Professor of Management and International Business

George Washington University School of Business

May 21

“What Make a Judicial Decision Convincing: Experimental Evidence of Authority, Bias and Reasoning from China”

Zhuang Liu

LLM Candidate, University of Chicago Law School

PhD Candidate, Peking University Law School

May 28

“From Revolutionary Secrete Society to State:

An Analytical Framework to Explain the Dynamics in Chinese Communist Revolution”

Jin Xu

PhD Student, Department of Sociology

University of Chicago

    The workshop meets on alternate Tuesdays 4:00-5:30pm at Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Avenue. Abstracts are available on our website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/. Questions and comments should be addressed to the coordinator Le Lin: lelin2010@uchicago.edu

    Faculty Sponsors:

    Dali Yang (Political Science), daliyang@uchicago.edu

Dingxin Zhao (Sociology), dzhao@uchicago.edu

Zheng Michael Song (BoothSchool of Business), Zheng.Song@chicagobooth.edu

East Asia Workshop: Politics, Economy and Society Presents

Are Korean Latchkey Children Overweight? :
Maternal Work Schedule, Children’s Dietary Patterns, and Their Body Mass Index

Presenter:

Haena Lee

PhD Student

Department of Sociology

University of Chicago

4:00-5:30pm, Tuesday

March 12, 2013

Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Ave.

Abstract
Studies have consistently shown a positive association between maternal employment status (for example, employed vs. non-employed) and childhood obesity. However, little is known about the impact of maternal work schedules at nonstandard times (for example, evening, night and irregular shifts) and no previous examination of maternal work shift and child’s body mass index (BMI) was conducted in Korean population. In this paper, I examine the question of whether Korean mother’s nonstandard work schedule is associated with their children’s BMI, over and above the impact of children’s dietary patterns (e.g., breakfast skipping and dining out meals). Data were analyzed from the most recent wave of children aged 2 through 18 years (N=2,035) in the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2010 (KNHANES). Children were measured and classified as overweight or obese using the age- and sex- specific percentile for BMI from 2007 Korean CDC National Growth Chart. Using logistic regression analyses, I found that, when Korean mothers work nonstandard schedule, the odds of their children being overweight or obese are 76% higher than those whose mothers work standard schedule (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.07-2.89) and this association was mediated by frequency of dining out meals. There was no evidence that mother’s socio-demographic characteristics or children’s dietary pattern such as breakfast/dinner skipping mediated this association. Findings indicate that prevention and intervention within the context of maternal work schedule and child-care arrangements must be considered in order to prevent further significant increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity in Korea.

Workshop website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/

Student coordinator: Le Lin (lelin2010@uchicago.edu)

Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang, Dingxin Zhao and Zheng Michael Song

This presentation is sponsored by the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and Center for East Asian Studies. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance please contact the student coordinator in advance.

East Asia Workshop: Politics, Economy and Society Presents Continue Reading »

East Asia Workshop: Politics, Economy and Society Presents

Special Session on China’s Political Economy:

Between the Center and the Local Authorities

Presenters:

Chengli Liu, Central Compilation and Translation Bureau

Guoqiang Lou, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

4:00-5:30pm, Tuesday

February 12, 2013

Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Ave.

Abstract

This special session presents two papers on China’s political economy.

The first paper by Chengli Liu examines the intergovernmental relations with Tiao-Kuai characteristics in contemporary China. Government functions are generally carried out via different departments at hierarchical governments in contemporary China. Due to the unitary system, nearly all departments at higher governments have their counterparts at lower levels except a couple of departments such as foreign affairs, defense. Tiao is thereby formulated to describe the department with the same function in vertical profile, while Kuai is used to refer to individual government in horizontal dimension. This article demonstrates that vertical and horizontal intergovernmental competition on administrative power has been inspiring the structure of Tiao-Kuai segmentation. It is still unclear whether or not the ongoing reforms of mega-ministries and direct provincial administration of counties can foster the integration from the status quo of segmentation for the Tiao-Kuai relations.

The second paper by Guoqiang Lou probes the evolution of incentive models of local government in China. The incentive resources of local governments in China are from both fiscal sharing and promotion. But the two incentive methods have different impacts on the behaviors of local governments. Fiscal incentive makes local officials’ eyes down to their jurisdiction, looking for projects of maximizing fiscal return. While the promotion incentive makes local officials’ eyes up to their superiors, looking for projecting of maximizing political performance. The TSS reform changes the relationship between central governments and local governments, the incentive degree of fiscal sharing decreases, while that of promotion increases.

Workshop website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/

Student coordinator: Le Lin (lelin2010@uchicago.edu)

Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang, Dingxin Zhao and Zheng Michael Song

This presentation is sponsored by the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and Center for East Asian Studies. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance please contact the student coordinator in advance.

East Asia Workshop: Politics, Economy and Society Presents

                                           “Going Underground:

The Origins of Participatory Democracy and Elite Transformism

In East Asia and Latin America”

                                          Presenter: Cheol-Sung Lee

Assistant Professor in Sociology

University of Chicago

4:00-5:30pm, Tuesday

January 29, 2013

Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Ave.

Abstract

This study explores how different forms of civic solidarity emerge during authoritarian eras, and how they evolve into diverse labor-based political institutions after transitions to democracy. We initially explore the modes of choices that radical intellectuals make – go-underground or cooperate – in their responses to coercion and co-optation by authoritarian elites. Based on comparative historical evidence of institutionalization processes of labor-based politics in four recently democratized developing countries, we identify three types of solidarity and one absence case, each reflecting a different combination of strengths and divisions in the informal civil society of its respective nation: participatory solidarity, top-down solidarity, clique-based solidarity, and co-optation (no solidarity). A strong bottom-up mobilization of workers based on religious communities inBrazilbrought in the participatory governance movements led by the Workers’ Party. Top-down solidarity in South Korea initiated by leftist intellectuals’ crusades into local factories developed into a narrowly labor-based, ideologically factionalized mass-bureaucratic party, although one well-embedded in numerous progressive civic associations. In contrast, Argentine Peronists’ re-embedding strategy into their own cliques set forth a strong clientelistic patronage party, disconnected from non-Peronist informal civic communities. Finally, Taiwanese intellectuals and union leaders were unable to build independent labor party institutions, as their predecessors were gradually co-opted into the existing party structure. This study shows that radical intellectuals’ early actions play critical roles in the evolution or devolution of institutionalization of different forms of labor politics during the democratic consolidation.

Workshop website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/

Student coordinator: Le Lin (lelin2010@uchicago.edu)

Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang, Dingxin Zhao and Zheng Michael Song

This presentation is sponsored by the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and Center for East Asian Studies. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance please contact the student coordinator in advance.

East Asia Workshop: Politics, Economy and Society Presents

“Isomorphic Pressures, Epistemic Communities and

State-NGO Collaboration in China”

Presenter: Reza Hasmath

Lecturer in Chinese Politics

University of Oxford

4:00-5:30pm, Tuesday

January 15, 2012

Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Ave.

Abstract

This talk suggests that a lack of meaningful collaboration between the state and NGOs in China is not necessarily a result of a state that is seeking to restrict the development of the sector, or a fear of a potential opposing actor to the state. Instead, interviews with NGOs in Beijing and Shanghai suggest that a lack of meaningful collaboration between the state and NGOs can be partially attributed to isomorphic pressures within state-NGO relations, and insufficient epistemic awareness of NGO activities and their utility on the part of the state. In fact, the evidence suggests that once epistemic awareness is achieved by the state, they will have a stronger desire to work with NGOs – with the caveat that the state will seek to utilize the material power of NGOs rather than their symbolic, interpretive or geographical capital.

Workshop website: http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/eastasia/

Student coordinator: Le Lin (lelin2010@uchicago.edu)

Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang, Dingxin Zhao and Zheng Michael Song

This presentation is sponsored by the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and Center for East Asian Studies. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance please contact the student coordinator in advance.