Andrés Manuel López Obrador will become the first president to take part in a traditional indigenous cleansing ceremony as part of his inauguration. Representatives of Mexico’s 68 distinct indigenous peoples as well as members of Afro-Mexican groups will hand over a bastón de mando – a staff or baton indicative of authority – to the new president as a show of confidence that he will govern for all citizens and make wise decisions. (Special recognition by indigenous people a sign of confidence in new president).

Discurso de Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos Mensaje a la Nación desde el Zócalo de la Ciudad de México


Aquí en el Zócalo de la Ciudad de México, principal plaza pública del país, luego de recibir el bastón de mando de los pueblos originarios de nuestra gran nación, reafirmo el compromiso de no mentir, no robar y no traicionar al pueblo.

Hoy hable en el Congreso sobre el antiguo régimen y de la nueva política para llevar a cabo la Cuarta Transformación de la vida pública de México; ahora quiero expresar lo que ya hemos hecho y estamos por iniciar; lo que bien podríamos llamar, una modernidad forjada desde abajo y para todos.

Reafirmo nuestros compromisos, puntualmente:

1. En primer lugar, vamos a darle atención especial a los pueblos indígenas de México; es una ignominia que nuestros pueblos originarios vivan desde hace siglos bajo la opresión y el racismo, con la pobreza y la marginación a cuestas. Todos los programas del gobierno tendrán como población preferente a los pueblos indígenas de las diversas culturas del país.

2. Se atenderá a todos los mexicanos sin importar creencias, clases, organizaciones, sexo, partidos, sectores económicos o culturales, pero se aplicará el principio de que, por el bien de todos, primero los pobres.

3. Se mantendrán las estancias infantiles de la antigua Secretaría de Desarrollo Social y se regularizarán los CENDIS promovidos por el Partido del Trabajo; ambos programas tendrán recursos garantizados en el presupuesto y pasarán a formar parte de las secretarías de Bienestar y de Educación Pública.

4. Los estudiantes de Primaria y Secundaria que provengan de familias de escasos recursos económicos recibirán becas educativas.

5. Todos los estudiantes de los Colegios de Bachilleres, escuelas técnicas, vocacionales y preparatorias públicas, recibirán una beca de 800 pesos mensuales.

6. Trescientos mil jóvenes, en condiciones de pobreza, que ingresen o estén estudiando en universidades, tendrán derecho a una beca de 2400 pesos mensuales.

7. En 2019 estarán funcionando 100 universidades públicas, con carreras acordes a cada región del país para atender con educación de calidad y sin pago de colegiatura a 64 mil estudiantes del nivel superior.

8. Se protegerá el patrimonio cultural de México. Se impulsará la formación artística desde la educación básica y se apoyará a creadores y promotores culturales.

9. Se promoverá la investigación científica y tecnológica; se apoyará a estudiantes y académicos con becas y otros estímulos en bien del conocimiento. El CONAHCYT coordinará el Plan Nacional para la Innovación en beneficio de la sociedad y del desarrollo nacional con la participación de universidades, pueblos, científicos y empresas.

10. Se cancelará la llamada Reforma Educativa, se establecerá en el Artículo 3º de la Constitución el derecho a la educación gratuita en todos los niveles de escolaridad y el gobierno no agraviará nunca más a maestras y maestros.

11. Hoy comienza el plan para apoyar a los damnificados de los sismos con trabajo, vivienda y servicios públicos . Esto incluye un programa de construcción y reconstrucción de escuelas, centros de salud, edificios públicos y templos que forman parte del patrimonio cultural del país.

12. También hoy comienza un programa de mejoramiento urbano en colonias marginadas de la frontera norte: Tijuana, Mexicali, San Luis Río Colorado, Nogales, Ciudad Juárez, Acuña, Piedras Negras, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa y Matamoros.

13. Se hará realidad el derecho a la salud. El propósito es garantizar a los mexicanos atención médica y medicamentos gratuitos; comenzaremos en las unidades médicas del Seguro Social ubicadas en las zonas más pobres del país y poco a poco ser irá ampliando el programa hasta que logremos, a mediados del sexenio, establecer un sistema de salud de primera, como en Canadá o en los países nórdicos.

14. Bajarán los sueldos de los altos funcionarios y aumentaran proporcionalmente los sueldos de los trabajadores de base y sindicalizados que ganan menos de 20 mil pesos al mes.

15. Se aumentará la pensión a los adultos mayores en todo el país; es decir, se le entregará a cada uno mil 274 pesos mensuales.

16. También recibirán este apoyo un millón de discapacitados pobres, en especial, niñas y niños de pueblos y colonias marginadas.

17. Dos millones 300 mil jóvenes desempleados serán contratados para trabajar como aprendices en actividades productivas en el campo y la ciudad, y ganarán un sueldo de 3 mil 600 pesos mensuales.

18. En este mes iniciamos la construcción de caminos de concreto en municipios olvidados de Oaxaca, Guerrero y otros estados. Estos caminos se van a construir con trabajadores de las mismas comunidades para lograr un efecto multiplicador: el presupuesto quedará allí mismo, se reactivará la economía desde abajo, se crearán empleos con salarios justos y se harán las obras en beneficio de los pueblos.

19. Los pequeños productores del campo, ejidatarios, comuneros o pequeños propietarios recibirán un apoyo económico semestral para la siembra de alimentos.

20. Iniciará un programa de entrega de fertilizantes cuidando que no se dañen los suelos, en beneficio de productores agrícolas; el año próximo, este programa se aplicará de manera gratuita en apoyo a todos los campesinos del estado de Guerrero y así iremos ampliándolo en el resto del país. Además, pronto tendremos materia prima suficiente e iniciará la operación de la planta de fertilizante de Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.

21. A los pequeños productores de maíz, frijol, arroz, trigo y leche se les comprarán estos alimentos a precios de garantía en almacenes o depósitos de Diconsa y Liconsa.

22. Se fomentará la actividad pesquera para mejorar la vida de las comunidades costeras y ribereñas. Los pescadores de atún y sardina recibirán un precio justo por sus productos.

23. Ya comenzaron los preparativos para plantar en los próximos dos años árboles frutales y maderables en un millón de hectáreas, con el objetivo de producir alimentos, reforestar, mejorar el medio ambiente, crear 400 mil empleos y arraigar a la gente en sus comunidades de origen.

24. Se unirán Diconsa y Liconsa en una sola empresa para el abasto y la distribución de alimentos de consumo popular. Se llamará Seguridad Alimentaria Mexicana (SEGALMEX). En los almacenes, tiendas y lecherías de esta nueva dependencia se distribuirá una canasta de alimentos básicos a precios bajos para combatir la desnutrición y el hambre del pueblo.

25. Se otorgará créditos a la palabra y sin intereses a ejidatarios, comuneros y pequeños propietarios para la adquisición de novillonas, vacas y sementales.

26. Los artesanos, dueños de talleres, tiendas y pequeñas empresas, también recibirán créditos a la palabra, baratos y sin tantos trámites y pérdida de tiempo.

27. Se transferirá a las comunidades mineras el impuesto que se cobra a las empresas por la extracción del mineral.

28. No aumentará el precio de las gasolinas, el gas, el diésel y la luz, solo se le aplicará el componente de inflación; es decir, no habrá gasolinazos.

29. Los apoyos que otorgue el gobierno al pueblo se entregarán de manera directa, sin intermediarios, para evitar “moches”, corrupción y manipulación política. Por eso se está levantando un censo casa por casa para identificar a cada beneficiario, entregarle una tarjeta y que él mismo retire sus apoyos.

30. Se creará el Banco del Bienestar para que la gente pobre, hasta en los pueblos más apartados, pueda cobrar la ayuda del gobierno y en esa misma cuenta pueda también recibir remesas y otros ingresos, así como mantener sus ahorros con rendimientos y garantías de seguridad.

31. El incremento del presupuesto para financiar los programas del bienestar se obtendrán de ahorros por no permitir la corrupción y gobernar con austeridad republicana.

32. No aumentarán los impuestos más allá de la inflación y no se crearán nuevos impuestos. Tampoco aumentaremos la deuda pública. No gastaremos más de lo que ingrese a la Hacienda Pública.

33. Seremos respetuosos de la autonomía del Banco de México y de sus políticas para evitar que haya inflación o devaluaciones.

34. Se aplicará una estricta política de austeridad republicana. No habrá amiguismo, nepotismo e influyentismo, ninguna de esas lacras de la política. Serán transparentes la nómina y los bienes de los funcionarios públicos y de sus familiares cercanos; haremos pocos, muy pocos, viajes al extranjero y solo por causa justificada; no sé comprarán vehículos nuevos para funcionarios; únicamente tendrán escoltas los funcionarios responsables de tareas de seguridad; solo habrá tres asesores por secretaría; no habrá atención médica privada, ni cajas de ahorro exclusivas para funcionarios.

35. No se comprarán sistemas de cómputo en el primer año de gobierno.

36. Solo tendrán secretarios particulares los funcionarios integrantes del gabinete ampliado.

37. Se cancelarán fideicomisos o cualquier otro mecanismo utilizado para ocultar fondos públicos y evadir la legalidad y la transparencia.

38. Se suprimen todas las estructuras y programas duplicados (oficialías mayores, oficinas de prensa, publicaciones, defensorías jurídicas, compras, contraloría interna y otras) y estas funciones o programas se centralizarán en una sola unidad o coordinación, dependiente de la secretaría relacionada con los asuntos en cuestión.

39. Se reducirá en 50 por ciento el gasto de publicidad del gobierno.

40. Los funcionarios de Hacienda, Comunicaciones, Energía y otras dependencias, no podrán convivir en fiestas, comidas, juegos deportivos o viajar con contratistas, grandes contribuyentes, proveedores o inversionistas vinculados a la función pública.

41. Ningún funcionario público podrá ocupar en su domicilio a trabajadores al servicio del Estado, si no lo tiene permitido o no cuenta con autorización para ello.

42. Ningún funcionario, sin causa de emergencia, podrá ordenar cerrar calles, detener el tráfico o pasarse los altos o estacionarse en lugares prohibidos.

43. No se comprará ninguna mercancía que exista en los almacenes públicos en cantidad suficiente.

44. No se remodelarán oficinas, ni se comprará mobiliario de lujo.

45. Sólo tendrán apoyo de choferes los secretarios y subsecretarios.

46. Salvo plena justificación, los policías y militares de las distintas corporaciones no estarán al servicio de funcionarios o particulares.

47. Se eliminarán partidas para vestuario o cualquier gasto de protocolo y ceremonial dedicado al Presidente, a sus colaboradores cercanos y a familiares.

48. Se cuidarán los bienes de las oficinas a disposición de servidores públicos para proteger el patrimonio colectivo.

49. Se evitarán gastos innecesarios en el extranjero. Las únicas oficinas del gobierno serán las embajadas y los consulados. Solo habrá una delegación del gobierno federal en los estados y en todas las oficinas se ahorrará energía eléctrica, agua, servicios telefónicos, de internet, gasolinas y otros insumos pagados por el erario.

50. Se tratará con amabilidad a los ciudadanos en las oficinas públicas y en cualquier lugar, aceptando con humildad que ellos son los mandantes de nosotros, los servidores públicos.

51. Las compras del gobierno se harán de manera consolidada; mediante convocatoria y con observación ciudadana y de la oficina de transparencia de la ONU.

52. Los contratos de obra del gobierno se llevarán a cabo con la participación de ciudadanos y de observadores de la ONU.

53. No se autorizará la contratación de despachos para elaborar proyectos de ley, planes de desarrollo o cualquier tipo de análisis, recomendaciones, informes y otros documentos que puedan elaborarse con el trabajo y la capacidad profesional de los servidores públicos.

54. Se descentralizará el gobierno federal y las secretarías van a estar ubicadas en distintos estados de la república, porque todo el país es México. Este proceso se llevará a cabo de manera voluntaria, sin afectar a los trabajadores al servicio del Estado; por el contrario, tendrán oportunidades para la adquisición de viviendas, educación para sus hijos, atención médica y seguridad social.

55. Habrá un auténtico estado de derecho. A nadie le estará permitido violar la Constitución y las leyes, y no habrá impunidad, fueros ni privilegios.

56. Se acabará la impunidad; se reformará el Artículo 108 de la Constitución para juzgar al Presidente en funciones por cualquier delito que cometa, igual que a cualquier ciudadano.

57. Estará prohibido y se convertirá en delito grave, sin derecho a fianza, la corrupción, el robo de combustible, la portación ilegal de armas de fuego, la falsificación de facturas para la evasión fiscal, el fraude electoral, la compra de votos y el uso de presupuesto para favorecer a candidatos y partidos.

58. No habrá partidas en el presupuesto a disposición de diputados o senadores. Se acabará la vergonzosa práctica de los llamados “moches”.

59. Ningún funcionario público podrá recibir regalos cuyo valor exceda los 5 mil pesos.

60. En las relaciones comerciales o financieras con empresas internacionales se dará preferencia a aquellas originarias de países cuyos gobiernos se caractericen por su honestidad y castiguen sin tolerancia alguna las prácticas de sobornos o de corrupción.

61. Desde hoy están abiertas las puertas de Los Pinos, que ha dejado de ser la residencia oficial del presidente para convertirse en un espacio dedicado a la recreación, el arte y la cultura del pueblo.

62. Ya el Estado Mayor presidencial pasó a formar parte de la Secretaría de la Defensa; de la misma manera desaparece el CISEN. No habrá espionaje a opositores ni a ciudadanos y la oficina sucesora tendrá como única encomienda hacer labores de inteligencia para garantizar la paz y preservar la seguridad nacional.

63. Está en venta el avión presidencial y toda la flotilla de aviones y helicópteros que eran utilizados para el traslado de altos funcionarios públicos.

64. Ya no recibirán pensión los expresidentes, ni tendrán a su servicio funcionarios púbicos sean civiles o militares.

65. No habrá inspectores de vía pública para estar supervisando a establecimientos comerciales, empresariales o de servicios. Vamos a confiar en los ciudadanos y se implementará un programa de vigilancia por sorteo. Se evitará el soborno o la mordida; otorgaremos confianza a los ciudadanos, quienes bajo protesta de decir verdad actuarán con rectitud y cumplirán con sus responsabilidades.

66. Reiteramos: no estamos en contra de quienes invierten generan empleos y se comprometen con el desarrollo de México, sino de la riqueza mal habida.

67. Se fomentará el turismo para impulsar el desarrollo y crear empleos; también, desde este mes, iniciará un programa de mejoramiento urbano en las colonias marginadas de cinco centros turísticos: Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Bahía de Banderas, Acapulco y Solidaridad.

68. Se construirá el Tren Maya para comunicar por este medio de transporte rápido y moderno a turistas y pasajeros nacionales en los estados de Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán y Quintana Roo.

69. Se creará un corredor económico y comercial en el Istmo de Tehuantepec que comunicará Asia y la costa este de EU. Se construirá una vía ferroviaria para contenedores; se ampliará la carretera; se rehabilitarán los puertos de Salina Cruz y Coatzacoalcos; se aprovecharán petróleo, gas, agua, viento y electricidad de la región; se instalarán plantas de ensamblaje y manufactureras, y habrá subsidios fiscales para promover la inversión y crear empleos.

70. Vamos a destinar mayor inversión pública para producir con urgencia más petróleo, gas y energía eléctrica y así enfrentar la crisis que dejaron los políticos neoliberales y los responsables de la llamada reforma energética. Llamo a los técnicos y obreros petroleros, en activo o jubilados, para actuar con patriotismo como se hizo en los tiempos del general Lázaro Cárdenas, y a que volvamos a rescatar la industria petrolera nacional.

71. Se rehabilitarán las seis refinerías existentes y se iniciará, en unos días más, la construcción de una nueva refinería en Dos Bocas, Paraíso, Tabasco, para lograr que en tres años se produzca en México toda la gasolina que consumimos.

72. Se detendrá el plan de desmantelamiento de la Comisión Federal de Electricidad; ni una planta más será cerrada, por el contrario, se modernizarán las existentes y se le dará atención especial a las hidroeléctricas para producir más energía limpia y de menor costo.

73. Impulsaremos el desarrollo de fuentes de energía alternativas renovables, como la eólica, la solar, la geotérmica y la mareomotriz.

74. Protegeremos la diversidad biológica y cultural de México. Impulsaremos prácticas agroecológicas que aumenten la productividad sin dañar a la naturaleza. No se permitirá la introducción y el uso de semillas transgénicas.

75. No usaremos métodos de extracción de materias primas que afecten la naturaleza y agoten las vertientes de agua como el fracking.

76. No se permitirá ningún proyecto económico, productivo, comercial o turístico que afecte el medio ambiente. Se evitará la contaminación del suelo, agua y aire y se protegerá la flora y la fauna. No se privatizará el agua.

77. Habrá cobertura universal en telecomunicaciones y se conectará al país con internet utilizando la infraestructura y las líneas de la Comisión Federal de Electricidad. Este servicio será gratuito en carreteras, plazas, escuelas, hospitales e instalaciones públicas.

78. En tres años quedará solucionado en definitiva el problema de la saturación del actual aeropuerto de la Ciudad de México; para entonces ya estarán funcionando las vialidades, dos pistas nuevas y la terminal de pasajeros en la base aérea de Santa Lucía, con lo cual se salvará el Lago de Texcoco y nos habremos ahorrado 100 mil millones de pesos.

79.Desde el 1 de enero se creará la zona libre en los 3 mil 180 kilómetros de frontera con Estados Unidos; es decir, el año entrante en esa franja de nuestro país se impulsarán actividades productivas, se promoverá la inversión, se crearán empleos, bajará el IVA del 16 al 8 por ciento y el Impuesto Sobre la Renta será del 20 por ciento. Costarán lo mismo los combustibles de este y de aquel lado de frontera y aumentará al doble el salario mínimo.

80. El salario mínimo nunca se fijará por debajo de la inflación, como llegó a suceder en el periodo neoliberal.

81. Se reformará el Artículo 35 de la Constitución para quitar todos los obstáculos y candados en la celebración de consultas ciudadanas, a fin de que el pueblo tenga siempre el derecho a participar en las decisiones de interés público.

82. Cumpliré el compromiso de someterme a la revocación del mandato; el primer domingo de julio de 2021, habrá una consulta para preguntarle a los mexicanos si continúo en la presidencia o si renuncio, porque como lo creo y lo he dicho muchas veces, el pueblo pone y el pueblo quita, el pueblo es soberano.

83. No habrá divorcio entre el poder y el pueblo, nunca perderé la comunicación con ustedes, con la gente; estaré cinco días a la semana en municipios y estados del país recogiendo los sentimientos del pueblo y resolviendo problemas y evaluando el avance de los programas de desarrollo y bienestar.

84. Todos los días, a partir del lunes próximo, desde las 6 de la mañana encabezaré en el Palacio Nacional, la reunión del Gabinete de Seguridad para garantizar la paz y la tranquilidad a los mexicanos.

85. Se creará, si lo aprueban el pueblo y el Congreso, una Guardia Nacional para garantizar la seguridad pública en el país.

86. Se van a constituir 266 coordinaciones de seguridad pública en todo el país atendidas por la guardia nacional para proteger a los ciudadanos que son víctimas de asesinatos, secuestros, robos y otros delitos.

87. El presidente de la República, de conformidad con la ley, es el Comandante Supremo de las Fuerzas Armadas, y nunca dará la orden de que el Ejército o la Marina masacren al pueblo. Se acabará la guerra; construiremos la paz y buscaremos la hermandad entre todos los mexicanos.

88. Hoy inició el proceso de amnistía para dejar en libertad a presos políticos o víctimas de represalias de caciques, funcionarios o gobernantes del antiguo régimen autoritario. Se cancelarán las acusaciones penales fabricadas en contra de activistas y luchadores sociales. La Secretaría de Gobernación tiene a su cargo hacer realidad esta determinación.

89. Se investigará a fondo la desaparición de los jóvenes de Ayotzinapa; se conocerá la verdad y se castigará a los responsables.

90. Se respetará la libertad de expresión; nunca el gobierno aplicará censura a ningún periodista o medio de comunicación.

91. La Fiscalía General contará, en los hechos, con absoluta autonomía; no recibirá consigna del Presidente de la República y sus prácticas se apegarán al principio del derecho liberal, según el cual, “al margen de la ley, nada y por encima de la ley, nadie”.

92. Mantendremos relaciones respetuosas con el Poder Legislativo y con el Poder Judicial y el Poder Ejecutivo dejará de ser el poder de los poderes.

93. Desde anoche entró en vigor el Plan de Protección Civil; el ABC para los casos de inundaciones, incendios, temblores y otros desastres.

94. La política exterior se sustentará en la cautela diplomática y en los principios de autodeterminación de los pueblos, no intervención, solución pacífica de controversias, igualdad jurídica de los estados, cooperación para el desarrollo, la amistad, la paz, la defensa de los derechos humanos, la protección del medio ambiente y el respeto a los derechos de los migrantes; los nuestros, los centroamericanos y los de todos los países y continentes.

95. La relación con el gobierno de Estados Unidos será de respeto, beneficio mutuo y buena vecindad. Es momento de cambiar la relación bilateral hacia la cooperación para el desarrollo. Crear empleos en México y en Centroamérica es la alternativa a la migración, no las medidas coercitivas.

96. Como nos comprometimos, los 50 consulados que México tiene en Estado Unidos se van a convertir en defensorías para la defensa de migrantes. Vamos a defender los derechos humanos de nuestros paisanos.

97. Se logrará el renacimiento de México haciendo realidad el progreso con justicia y una manera de vivir sustentada en el amor a la familia, al prójimo, a la naturaleza, a la patria y a la humanidad. Promoveremos el bienestar material y el bienestar del alma.

98. Se garantizará la libre manifestación de ideas y de creencias religiosas y la libertad de prensa. Estamos por el diálogo, la tolerancia, la diversidad y el respeto a los derechos humanos.

99. Vamos a convocar a maestros, antropólogos, psicólogos, sociólogos, filósofos y profesionales de otras disciplinas, así como a religiosos, librepensadores, ancianos respetables y ciudadanos en general para la celebración de un congreso en el cual se elabore una Constitución Moral, que ayude a fortalecer valores nacionales, culturales y espirituales.

100.Asimismo, vamos a preservar nuestra memoria histórica. Se promoverá la lectura en general y particularmente de la historia, el civismo, la ética; nunca se olvidará de dónde venimos; por eso se exaltarán nuestras culturas originarias, las transformaciones históricas y el sacrificio de nuestros héroes; por ejemplo, el año próximo que se cumplen 100 años del asesinato de Emiliano Zapata, en toda la papelería del gobierno se recordará su nombre y su lema “Tierra y Libertad”.

Amigas y amigos:

Les invito a que ayudemos todos convertir en realidad estos compromisos y que cada año, aquí en el Zócalo, los repasemos uno por uno y podamos saber si ya se han cumplido o siguen pendientes.

Discutamos en todas las plazas públicas de México si avanzamos o no, con el propósito de que haya transparencia y acabar con la corrupción y la impunidad. Analicemos en las casas, calles y plazas si mejora o empeora la situación económica y social de nuestro pueblo y tomemos siempre entre todos los acuerdos que más convengan a la sociedad y a la nación.

No dejemos de encontrarnos: mantengamos siempre la comunicación. No habrá divorcio entre pueblo y gobierno. Yo les necesito, porque como decía Juárez “con el pueblo todo, sin el pueblo nada”. No me dejen solo porque sin ustedes no valgo nada o casi nada; sin ustedes, los conservadores me avasallarían fácilmente. Yo les pido apoyo, porque reitero el compromiso de no fallarles; primero muerto que traicionarles.

Pero por encima de todo, actuemos con optimismo y alegría porque tenemos la dicha enorme de vivir tiempos interesantes; estamos ante un momento estelar de la historia porque entre todos empezamos a construir la justicia y la felicidad que nuestro pueblo se merece y una nueva vida a nuestra gran nación.

¡Viva México!

¡Viva México!

¡Viva México!

Zócalo de la Ciudad de México, 1 de diciembre, 2018

Primer Discurso a la Nación del Presidente Constitucional de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos desde el Zócalo de la Ciudad de México (1 Dec. 2018)

ENGLISH SUMMARY (By Pressenza Int'l News Agency)


Latin American Summary, December 2, 2018.

Here in the Zócalo of Mexico City, the country’s main public square, after receiving the command staff of the native peoples of our great nation, I reaffirm the commitment not to lie, not to steal and not to betray the people.

Today I spoke in Congress about the old regime and the new policy to carry out the Fourth Transformation of public life in Mexico; now I want to express what we have already done and are about to begin; what we could well call, a modernity forged from below and for everyone.

I reaffirm our commitments, on the following points:

1. In the first place, we are going to give special attention to the indigenous peoples of Mexico; it is an ignominy that our original peoples have lived for centuries under oppression and racism, with poverty and marginalization on their backs. All government programmes will have as their preferred population the indigenous peoples of the country’s diverse cultures.

All Mexicans will be served regardless of beliefs, class, organizations, sex, parties, economic or cultural sectors, but the principle will be applied that, for the good of all, the poor come first.

3. The children’s rooms of the former Ministry of Social Development shall be maintained and the CENDIS promoted by the Labor Party shall be regularized; both programmes shall have guaranteed resources in the budget and shall become part of the Welfare and Public Education Secretariats.

4. Primary and Secondary students from low-income families will receive educational scholarships.

5. All students from high schools, technical schools, vocational schools and public high schools will receive a scholarship of 800 pesos per month.

6. Three hundred thousand young people, in conditions of poverty, who enter or are studying at universities, will be entitled to a scholarship of 2400 pesos per month.



7. In 2019, 100 public universities will be operating, with careers according to each region of the country to provide quality education without tuition fees to 64,000 students at the higher level.

8. Mexico’s cultural heritage will be protected. Artistic training will be promoted from basic education and support will be given to creators and cultural promoters.

9. Scientific and technological research will be promoted; students and academics will be supported with scholarships and other stimuli for the good of knowledge. Conacyt will coordinate the National Plan for Innovation for the benefit of society and national development with the participation of universities, peoples, scientists and businesses.

10. The so-called Educational Reform will be cancelled, the right to free education at all levels of schooling will be established in Article 3 of the Constitution, and the government will never again aggravate teachers.

11. Today begins the plan to support the victims of the earthquakes with work, housing and public services. This includes a programme of construction and reconstruction of schools, health centers, public buildings and temples that are part of the country’s cultural heritage.

12. Also today begins a programme of urban improvement in marginalized neighborhoods of the northern border: Tijuana, Mexicali, San Luis Rio Colorado, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Acuña, Piedras Negras, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros.

13. The right to health will become a reality. The purpose is to guarantee free medical attention and medicines to Mexicans; we will begin in the Social Security medical units located in the poorest areas of the country and little by little the program will be expanded until we manage, in the middle of the six-year period, to establish a first class health system, as in Canada or in the Nordic countries.

14. The salaries of high officials will be lowered and the salaries of grassroots and unionized workers who earn less than 20,000 pesos a month will be increased proportionally.

15. Pensions will be increased for older adults throughout the country; that is, 1,274 pesos per month will be given to each one.

16. This support will also be given to a million poor disabled people, especially children from marginalized towns and colonies.

17. Two million 300 thousand unemployed young people will be hired to work as apprentices in productive activities in the countryside and the city, and will earn a salary of 3 thousand 600 pesos per month.

18. This month we begin the construction of concrete roads in forgotten municipalities of Oaxaca, Guerrero and other states. These roads will be built with workers from the same communities to achieve a multiplier effect: the budget will remain there, the economy will be reactivated from below, jobs will be created with fair wages and works will be done for the benefit of the people.

19. Small farmers in the countryside, ejidatarios, communeros or small landowners will receive six-monthly economic support for the planting of food.

20. We will begin a programme of delivery of fertilizers taking care that the soils are not damaged, to benefit agricultural producers; next year, this programme will be applied free of charge in support to all the peasants of the state of Guerrero and thus we will be expanding it to the rest of the country. In addition, soon we will have enough raw material and will start operating the fertilizer plant in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.

21. The small producers of corn, beans, rice, wheat and milk will be paid guaranteed prices in warehouses of Diconsa and Liconsa.

Fishing activities will be encouraged to improve the lives of coastal and riparian communities. Tuna and sardine fishermen will receive a fair price for their products.

23. Preparations have already begun to plant one million hectares of fruit and timber trees over the next two years, with the goal of producing food, reforesting, improving the environment, creating 400,000 jobs, and rooting people in their communities of origin.



Diconsa and Liconsa will be united in a single company for the supply and distribution of food for popular consumption. It will be called Mexican Food Security (SEGALMEX). In the warehouses, stores and dairies of this new agency, a basket of basic foods will be distributed at low prices to combat malnutrition and hunger of the people.

25. Interest-free loans will be granted to parcel holders, communeros and small landowners for the acquisition of heifers, cows and stallions.

26. The artisans, owners of workshops, shops and small businesses, will also receive cheap credits by word of mouth, without so much paperwork and waste of time.

27. The tax charged to companies for mineral extraction will be transferred to the mining communities.

28. The price of gasoline, gas, diesel and electricity will not increase, only the inflation component will be applied; that is, there will be no gasoline usury.

29. The support granted by the government to the people will be delivered directly, without intermediaries, to avoid “moches”, corruption and political manipulation. That is why a house by house census is being carried out to identify each beneficiary, to give them a card and for them to withdraw this support.

30. The Welfare Bank will be created so that poor people, even in the most remote villages, can receive government aid and in that same account can also receive remittances and other income, as well as maintain their savings with yields and security guarantees.

31. The increase in the budget to finance the welfare programmes will be obtained from savings for not allowing corruption and governing with Republican austerity.

32. Taxes will not be increased beyond inflation and no new taxes will be created. Nor will we increase public debt. We will not spend more than what enters the public treasury.

33. We will be respectful of the autonomy of the Bank of Mexico and its policies to avoid inflation or devaluations.

34. A strict policy of republican austerity will be applied. There will be no cronyism, nepotism and influence, none of those scourges of politics. The payroll and assets of public officials and their close relatives will be transparent; we will make few, very few trips abroad and only for justified reasons; new vehicles will not be purchased for officials; only officials responsible for security tasks will have escorts; there will only be three advisers per secretariat; there will be no private medical care, nor exclusive savings banks for officials.

No computer systems will be purchased in the first year of government.

36. Private secretaries will only be available to the staff members of the enlarged cabinet.

37. Trusts or any other mechanism used to hide public funds and evade legality and transparency will be cancelled.

38. All duplicate structures and programmes (major official offices, press offices, publications, legal ombudsmen, procurement, internal comptroller’s office and others) will be eliminated and these functions or programmes will be centralised in a single unit or coordination, dependent on the secretariat related to the matters in question.

Government advertising expenditure will be reduced by 50 per cent.

40. Officials from the Treasury, Communications, Energy and other agencies will not be able to share parties, meals, sports games or travel with contractors, large taxpayers, suppliers or investors linked to the public function.

41. No public official may occupy workers in the service of the State in their home if not permitted to do so or not authorized to do so.

42. No official, without cause of emergency, may order the closing of streets, the stopping of traffic or the passing of stops or parking in prohibited places.

43. No extra merchandise already existing in public warehouses in sufficient quantity shall be purchased.

44. Offices shall not be remodeled, nor shall luxury furniture be purchased.

45. Only secretaries and undersecretaries will have the support of drivers.

46. Unless fully justified, the police and military of the different corporations will not be at the service of civil servants or individuals.

47. Items for costumes or any protocol and ceremonial expenses dedicated to the President, his close collaborators and relatives shall be eliminated.

48. The assets of the offices at the disposal of public servants shall be taken care of in order to protect the collective patrimony.



49. Avoid unnecessary expenses abroad. The only government offices will be embassies and consulates. There will only be one federal government delegation in the states, and all offices will save electricity, water, telephone, internet, gasoline, and other supplies paid for by the treasury.

Citizens will be treated with kindness in public offices and elsewhere, humbly accepting that they are the principals of us public servants.

51. Government purchases will be made in a consolidated manner; through convocation and with citizen observation and the UN transparency office.

52. Government work contracts will be carried out with the participation of citizens and UN observers.

53. The hiring of offices to prepare bills, development plans or any type of analysis, recommendations, reports and other documents that can be prepared with the work and professional capacity of public servants will not be authorized.

54. The federal government will be decentralized and the secretariats will be located in different states of the republic, because the whole country is Mexico. This process will be carried out on a voluntary basis, without affecting workers in the service of the State; on the contrary, they will have opportunities for the acquisition of housing, education for their children, medical care and social security.

55. There will be an authentic rule of law. No one shall be allowed to violate the Constitution and the laws, and there shall be no impunity, favours or privileges.

56. Impunity will end; Article 108 of the Constitution will be amended to try the incumbent President for any crime he commits, just like any other citizen.

57. Corruption, fuel theft, illegal carrying of firearms, falsification of invoices for tax evasion, electoral fraud, vote buying and the use of budget to favour candidates and parties shall be prohibited and shall become a serious crime, without the right to bail.

58. There will be no budget items available to deputies or senators. There will be no more shameful practice of so-called “moches”.

59. No public official may receive gifts worth more than 5,000 pesos.

60. In commercial or financial relations with international companies, preference shall be given to those originating in countries whose governments are characterized by their honesty and punish without any tolerance the practices of bribery or kickbacks.
corruption.

61. As of today, the doors of Los Pinos are open, which has ceased to be the official residence of the President and has become a space dedicated to recreation, art and the culture of the people.

62. The Presidential General Staff is now part of the Secretariat of Defence; in the same way, the Cisen disappears. There will be no espionage of opponents or citizens, and the successor office will have as its sole task to do intelligence work to guarantee peace and preserve national security.



63. The presidential airplane and the entire fleet of airplanes and helicopters that were used for the transfer of senior public officials are for sale.

64. Former presidents will no longer receive a pension, nor will civil or military civil servants be in their service.

65. There will be no inspectors on public roads to be supervising commercial, business or service establishments. We are going to trust the citizens and a surveillance program will be implemented by lottery. Bribery or the cut will be avoided, we will give confidence to citizens, who under protest of telling the truth will act with rectitude and fulfill their responsibilities.

66. We reiterate: we are not against those who invest and generate jobs and are committed to the development of Mexico, but against bad wealth.

67. Tourism will be fostered to boost development and create jobs; also, starting this month, an urban improvement program will begin in the marginalized neighborhoods of five tourist centers: Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Bahía de Banderas, Acapulco, and Solidaridad.

68. The Mayan Train will be built to communicate by this means of fast and modern transport to tourists and national passengers in the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo.

69. An economic and commercial corridor will be created in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec that will communicate Asia and the east coast of the United States. A container railroad will be built; the road will be widened; the ports of Salina Cruz and Coatzacoalcos will be rehabilitated; the region’s oil, gas, water, wind and electricity will be harnessed; assembly and manufacturing plants will be installed; and there will be tax subsidies to promote investment and create jobs.

70. We will allocate more public investment to urgently produce more oil, gas and electricity and thus face the crisis left by neoliberal politicians and those responsible for the so-called energy reform. I call on the technicians and oil workers, active or retired, to act with patriotism as was done in the times of General Lázaro Cárdenas, and that we return to rescue the national oil industry.

71. The six existing refineries will be rehabilitated and, in a few days, the construction of a new refinery will begin in Dos Bocas, Paraíso, Tabasco, so that in three years all the gasoline we consume will be produced in Mexico.

72. The dismantling plan of the Federal Electricity Commission will be halted; not one more plant will be closed; on the contrary, the existing ones will be modernized and special attention will be given to the hydroelectric plants to produce more clean energy at a lower cost.

73. We will promote the development of alternative renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, geothermal and tidal.

74. We will protect Mexico’s biological and cultural diversity. We will promote agroecological practices that increase productivity without damaging nature. The introduction and use of transgenic seeds will not be allowed.

75. We will not use methods of extraction of raw materials that affect nature and exhaust water sources such as fracking.

76. No economic, productive, commercial or tourist project that affects the environment will be permitted. Pollution of soil, water and air will be avoided and flora and fauna will be protected. Water will not be privatised.

77. There will be universal telecommunications coverage and the country will be connected to the Internet using the infrastructure and lines of the Federal Electricity Commission. This service will be free of charge in highways, plazas, schools, hospitals, etc. and public facilities.

78. In three years the problem of the saturation of the current airport in Mexico City will be definitively solved; by then the roads, two new runways and the passenger terminal at the Santa Lucía air base will be working, which will save Lake Texcoco and we will have saved 100 billion pesos.

79. From January 1, a free zone will be created in the 3,180 kilometers of border with the United States; that is, next year in that part of our country productive activities will be promoted, investment will be promoted, jobs will be created, VAT will be lowered from 16 to 8 percent and the Income Tax will be 20 percent. Fuels on this and that side of the border will cost the same, and the minimum wage will be doubled.

80. The minimum wage will never be set below inflation, as happened in the neoliberal period.

81. Article 35 of the Constitution will be amended to remove all obstacles and locks in the holding of citizen consultations, so that the people always have the right to participate in decisions of public interest.

82. On the first Sunday of July 2021, there will be a consultation to ask Mexicans if I continue in the presidency or if I resign, because as I believe and have said many times, the people put and the people take away, the people are sovereign.

83. There will be no divorce between power and the people, I will never lose communication with you, with the people; I will spend five days a week in municipalities and states of the country gathering the feelings of the people and solving problems and evaluating the progress of development and welfare programs.

84. Every day, starting next Monday at 6 a.m., I will lead the Security Cabinet meeting at the National Palace to guarantee peace and tranquility to Mexicans.

85. If approved by the people and the Congress, a National Guard will be created to guarantee public security in the country.

86. Two hundred and sixty-six public security coordinations will be set up throughout the country under the national guard to protect citizens who are victims of murders, kidnappings, robberies and other crimes.

87. The President of the Republic, in accordance with the law, is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and will never order the Army or Navy to massacre the people. The war will end; we will build peace and seek brotherhood among all Mexicans.

88. Today the amnesty process began to release political prisoners or victims of reprisals by caciques, officials or governors of the former authoritarian regime. The criminal accusations fabricated against activists and social fighters will be cancelled. The Ministry of the Interior is in charge of making this determination a reality.

89. The disappearance of the young people of Ayotzinapa will be thoroughly investigated; the truth will be known and those responsible will be punished.

90. Freedom of expression will be respected; the government will never apply censorship to any journalist or media.

91. The Attorney General’s Office will, in fact, have absolute autonomy; it will not receive a slogan from the President of the Republic and its practices will adhere to the principle of liberal law, according to which, “outside the law, nothing and above the law, no one”.

92. We will maintain respectful relations with the Legislative Power and with the Judicial Power and the Executive Power will cease to be the power of the powers.

93. Since last night the Civil Protection Plan came into effect; the ABC for floods, fires, earthquakes and other disasters.

94. Foreign policy will be based on diplomatic caution and the principles of self-determination of peoples, non-intervention, peaceful settlement of disputes, legal equality of states, cooperation for development, friendship, peace, defense of human rights, protection of the environment and respect for the rights of migrants; ours, Central Americans and those of all countries and continents.

95. The relationship with the U.S. government will be one of respect, mutual benefit and good neighborliness. It is time to shift the bilateral relationship toward development cooperation. Creating jobs in Mexico and Central America is the alternative to migration, not coercive measures.

96. As we promised, the 50 consulates that Mexico has in the United States are going to become ombudsmen for the defense of migrants. We are going to defend the human rights of our countrymen.

97. Mexico’s rebirth will be achieved by making progress a reality with justice and a way of life based on love for family, neighbour, nature, homeland and humanity. We will promote material well-being and the well-being of the soul.

98. The free expression of ideas and religious beliefs and the freedom of the press shall be guaranteed. We stand for dialogue, tolerance, diversity and respect for human rights.

99. We will convene teachers, anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, philosophers and professionals from other disciplines, as well as religious, freethinkers, respectable elders and citizens in general for the holding of a congress at which a Moral Constitution will be drafted, which will help to strengthen national, cultural and spiritual values.

100. We will also preserve our historical memory. We will promote the reading in general and particularly of history, civility and ethics; we will never forget where we come from; that is why our original cultures, historical transformations and the sacrifice of our heroes will be exalted; for example, next year, 100 years after the assassination of Emiliano Zapata, his name and his motto “Earth and Freedom” will be remembered in all the government’s stationery.

Friends:
I invite all of us to help make these commitments a reality and that each year, here in the Zócalo, we review them one by one included pending ones so we can make them a reality.

Let us discuss in all public squares of Mexico whether or not we move forward, with the aim of transparency and ending corruption and impunity.

Let’s analyze in the houses, streets and squares if the economic and social situation of our people improves or worsens and let’s always take among all the agreements that best suit society and the nation.

Let’s not stop meeting: let’s always maintain communication. There will be no divorce between the people and the government. I need them because, as Juarez said, “with the people everything, without the people nothing”. Don’t leave me alone because without you I am worth nothing or almost nothing; without you, the conservatives would easily overwhelm me. I ask for your support, because I reiterate the commitment not to fail you; dead first than betraying you.

But above all, let us act with optimism and joy because we have the enormous joy of living in interesting times; we are before a stellar moment in history because together we begin to build the justice and happiness that our people deserve and a new life for our great nation.

Long live Mexico! Long live Mexico! Long live Mexico!
Mexico City Zócalo, December 1, 2018

The 100 commitments of the new president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, are published below. In addition to his ambitious roadmap, yesterday’s day was marked by an unprecedented and exciting ceremony in Mexico City’s Zócalo, in which AMLO received the baton of command from the indigenous peoples.

Thousands of people participated in this ceremony with a strong spiritual and political charge, being protagonists of this historic moment, exemplary for everyone.

Latin American Summary, December 2, 2018.

The original peoples performed a ritual and with chants they received the new president.

“We are going to consecrate our president of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador,” they said.

“It is an honor to be with you, we, the original peoples, are present, we ask you to allow us to perform a ritual of purification,” they said, then began the it.

Shortly after, they gave him the Baton of Command, “here is the symbol with which he will lead our people.

They asked to be taken into account and expressed their commitment to the president.

Shouting “president, president,” followed by other exclamations of “Obrador, Obrador,” at 5:05 the arrival of Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the capital’s Zócalo was announced.

And the people turned in joy, and began to chant “it’s an honour…”.

“Here is the baton of command with which you will lead our people, as long as, we want to remember, we are taken into account in the plans you have for these six years,” they told him when they handed him the baton. “Receive from our hands and on behalf of our people who will guide you, the indigenous peoples and the Mexican people give you their trust and commitment.

In the ceremony they explained that “the cane was consecrated at five o’clock in the morning, in the ceremonial centre that guards the wisdom of our ancestors, those men and women who came to this place to populate Tenochtitlán, the first town that today we call Mexico”. The cedar cane was made in Ayutla Mixes, in the northern highlands of Oaxaca.

Prior to the delivery of the cane, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Beatriz Gutierrez received a purificatio from traditional doctors. At one point, one of the doctors knelt in front of López Obrador and while he was talking, his voice broke. Faced with this, visibly moved, the president also knelt.

In the greeting to the four cardinal points, the entire Zócalo participated, in what is probably the greatest ritual that there has ever been in the country.

“After the Cold War ended, we allowed this liberal order to begin to corrode. It failed us in some places, and sometimes it failed you and the rest of the world. Multilateralism has too often become viewed as an end unto itself. The more treaties we sign, the safer we supposedly are. The more bureaucrats we have, the better the job gets done.” (Pompeo 2018).

“This is what President Trump is doing. He is returning the United States to its traditional, central leadership role in the world. He sees the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. He knows that nothing can replace the nation-state as the guarantor of democratic freedoms and national interests. He knows, as George H.W. Bush knew, that a safer world has consistently demanded American courage on the world stage. And when we – and when we all of us ignore our responsibilities to the institutions we’ve formed, others will abuse them.”

“Our mission is to reassert our sovereignty, reform the liberal international order, and we want our friends to help us and to exert their sovereignty as well. We aspire to make the international order serve our citizens – not to control them. America intends to lead – now and always. Under President Trump, we are not abandoning international leadership or our friends in the international system.”(Pompeo 2018). 

Weijun Ge, Professor & Vice Dean, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics School of Law
Opened the conference with words of welcome.

Xiaoyan Song, Professor & Dean, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics School of Law
Dean Song also welcomed the participants.  Over the past year much has happened but delighted to have old and new friends to come together to speak to the complex and emerging issues of corporate law in a rapidly changing world.  Corporate social responsibility and independent directors are vital topics in that conversation. A sophisticated international background is essential now more than ever.  Especially during this time of transition in relations between the U.S: and China there is much scholars can do to bridge the gap and foster solutions.

Xudong Zhao, Professor, China University of Political Science and Law Civil, Commercial and Economic Law School
Also expressed welcome from his institution. He thanks the SUFE leadership for its role in arranging this Conference.  The Conference theme is particularly apt in this time of great change.  As fast as the world changes, corporate law and practice must also adapt. This is especially important in the context of commercial law in the 40 years since the start of the Reform and Opening Up Era. China’s market economy is growing fast and that requires constant attention and reform, so that law remains relevant to practice and the challenges that change brings. In such an era of reform there is a very important pathway, learning from the rest of the world. China has been able to adapt expertise it has acquired from abroad, both for its internal development and to better synchronize with global practice  China is now an innovator as well as a recipient of the values and practices of commercial and corporate law.  One important method to continue this is through internal conferences and workshops, like this one.  This conference provides a significant window for mutual learning.  Now in its second year  has formed its own unique style that has been useful especially for younger scholars. One hopes that this year’s symposium will also produce excellent learning and mutual discussion to develop corporate law principles.  I wish you all great success.

Cindy Schipani, Professor, University of Michigan Ross School of Business
Expressed gratitude for the holding of the conference and thanked the conference organizers for bringing us all together for this important event.  She was grateful for the opportunity to continue the discussion begun last year. Those conversations with representatives form all over the world sparked substantial research  projects and embedding new ideas into current work.  Looking forward to what this conference will add to that conversation.

Yulin Qian, Professor & Acting Vice Dean, East China University of Political Science and Law School of Economic Law
Honor and pleasure to co host this event. Corporation law must be founded on mutual learning because of the way in which economies now interact. Companies also must should corporate responsibility.  We need to strike a balance among the various interest in economic activity.  Themes of corporations and topics of concern contributed by the speakers reflect these concerns.  No longer merely concerned about investment, there is a broader understanding of the interests that must be subsumed within the study of corporate law and practice. Hope that the exchanges will profit form mutual learning and wish the conference much success.

Speakers:

9:40–10:00 Ciyun Zhu, Professor, Tsinghua University School of Law Corporate Governance of Chinese Listed Companies: Practice and Research Highlights

Corporate governance principles for listed companies was published in 2015 and was reformed again in 2018. Her students collected documents related to the changes to principles of corporate governance worldwide. Focus of talk was on comparative approaches to corporate governance to inform Chinese reform. Reform is required in a number of areas.  One is in the area of the rights of minority shareholders. This requires changes to voting rights, and greater transparency and disclosure mechanisms relating to majority interests, especially with respect to control relationships exercised through proxies or other means.  Reform of dividend rules are another area that requires some consideration. Additionally, the rights to put forward shareholder proposals offers some benefit to shareholders, but it is subject to abuse when used in ways that suggest conflict of interest. Have a long way to go yet.  Should also consider the capacity of supervisory boards.  Should it be shareholder or board centered? Right now it is board centered but perhaps some accountability to shareholder is appropriate.  But what mechanisms? Not clear but they should be directed toward managing incentives toward abuse.  In that respect, the terms of board members require some attention—sometimes board elections are not held regularly, and that should be better policed.  Improving board committees merits attention as well.  Avoid abuse by delegating authority is an important element but other measures of accountability need to be built in as well.   The role of independent directors also is important. Enterprises ought to better report on their CSR but listed companies can be guided to do better. They need to respect rules and otherwise describe /explain why they failed. Xudong Zhao, in comments, noted the difficulty of CSR reporting under the current system. Listed companies will only do what is required either by listing agreements or in law.  That speaks to the value of nonmandatory schemes. 

10:00–10:20 Gongyun Gu, Professor, East China University of Political Science and Law The Governance of Internet Platform Companies

Offered ideas for the governance of internet companies. Two layers of implications of conference theme: (1) the world is changing; (2) companies are also changing. Responds to theme of the Conference by focusing on internet companies. Biggest influence—new types of companies emerged because of the development of the internet.  These companies are distinct from traditional enterprises.  This kind of internet platform company is different because it combines two distinct corporate organizations—the organization of the enterprise itself, and the organization of the platform (where effectively it becomes a regulator or market maker).  This combination produces challenges to governance that combines traditional issues of corporate governance with the issues of government that face a regulator.  To what extent can one separate the regulatory business of the platform, from the traditional profit driven enterprise that manages that governance apparatus?  This is to be distinguished from state owned enterprises because it is to the ownership but the functions of the business that distinguish them from both traditional companies and SOEs.  If that is the case, then how can one approach the issue of corporate governance for the business of market making or of governance? Perhaps one way is to treat internet platform companies the way one treats the business of stock exchanges.  But there are differences. Internet platforms not only make and manage markets, but they tend to regulate the characteristics of the market itself, and they do so in close connection with the imperatives of the state.  He offered some suggestions for governance and reform.  Chinese e-commerce law is one step.  Impose duty to monitor the markets they make; compliance of users, the quality and conduct of the people and businesses that use the platform.  This is a form of governmentalization of the private sector by leveraging regulation through private actors. The internet platform then standing in the role of the state, but the state can go after the enterprise where it fails in its monitoring and controlling functions.  He then provided a typology of internet platform companies—and suggested that compliance and monitoring duties ought to be different depending on the type of platform that is being supported. He noted as well, the government ought to retain certain responsibilities even as it delegates regulatory authority to internet platform companies. He offered the example of shared bicycles in Shanghai where government intervention in the shared bike market caused bankruptcies and reduced the utility of this service rather than to enhance its efficiency. Xudong Zhao, in comments, noted the difficulties of aligning autonomous governance, external governance, and the supervisory role of the government over governance. 

10:20–10:40 Cindy Schipani, Professor, University of Michigan Ross School of Business The Elusive Monitoring Function of Independent Directors.

Looked to the question of the effectiveness of independent board members as gatekeepers in corporate governance. Noted the central importance of the principle of independent director as a foundation of good corporate governance.  Yet scandals continue in all facets of corporate activity—corruption, safety issues, sex harassment, and the like—despite the presence of independent board members in the corporations involved in these scandals. These may point to board failures to comply with its gatekeeper responsibilities.  Contradiction—independence means that such directors are inherently not fully informed.  The information gatekeepers, the officers, are the very people the independent directors are supposed to oversee. Stated with an examination of board independence, then looks to empirical evidence of effectiveness and ended with some suggestions for reform. The ideology posits that independent directors are neutral, unbiased.  That premise produced the expansion of rules mandating independent directors from the 1980s. Courts have deferred to the determinations of independent directors in the area of fiduciary duty.  Perverse incentives—the more directors monitor, the less officers might reveal. Institutional framework may also impede effectiveness of the independent directors. Empirical evidence is mixed. Some evidence reveals the possibility of coopting outside directors by CEOs who may have a hand in selection process, yet outside directors are positively correlated with ousting poor performing CEOs. Her study suggests that independent directors did not appear to have as great an effect on positive corporate governance cultures than might have been assumed. For example, insider trading manifests with both insiders and outsiders on the board.  Their study showed evidence of complicity related to “abnormal” profits. The data indicated that officers, top executives, and outside directors earned similar premiums, suggesting some participation. SOX impacted the rate of insider trading but not by as much as they might have suspected.  Post SOX outside directors still earned 16% premium. Xudong Zhao, in comments, noted that the role of independent directors is problematical in China, at least as currently implemented. He noted that while the Chinese were looking to the US for guidance on fixing the problems of the independent directors, he noted that it seems that both systems requires further study on the matter. 

10:40–11:00 Ezra Mitchell, Professor, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics School of Law The Irreparable Failure of Independent Directors and Boards of Directors in Chinese Listed SOEs and A Workable Replacement

Looked to the issue of independent directors in the Chinese enterprise. He argues that govern the realities of the way that partially listed SOEs operate, then the principle and use of independent directors do not serve their purpose in enterprises in which the state, the CPC, and the private sector meet.  It is not enough to place the forms of independent directors over the realities of the SOE, but rather to embrace the nature of the SOE. He argues that in this context, it makes no sense to keep a board of directors in SOEs, but rather to restructure the SOE in ways that mimic the government apparatus to which it is responsible.  The object is not to create a corporate with Chinese characteristics, but rather to create Chinese corporations.  He briefly described the rise of the independent board in the United States from the 1960s.  He noted the connection between corporate governance reform form the 1960s to political and social changes of that time.  From prioritizing a principle of efficiency and wealth maximization to cultures of compliance and risk management tended to work in the background to move from an insider to outsider set of board governance principles. The process was effectively completed by the end of the 1990s, at least as a n ideological matter.  It was useful not only for internal governance but also streamlined the efficiency of markets for corporate control by commodifying the enterprise. It was at this stage that Chinese corporations began to consider reform. Yet none of the problems that contributed to the shift to independent directors in the U.S. had anything to do with the problems faced by Chinese companies at the time China turned seriously to corporate reform.  Perhaps the U.S. forms might have contributed to ameliorating the most egregious breaches of Chinese corporate practice.  Yet it has little to do with the realities of corporate organization within a Leninist State. Do independent directors make sense at all in China?  Is there a better mechanism?  He argues yes, by placing ultimate authority in the CEO. The CEO’s exposure to discipline by the state, the CPC, and the market, would make for more efficient governance.  In effect, it makes more sense to start with the pre 1960s U.S. position, than to apply the forms of post 1990s U,S, corporate ideological sensibilities. Indeed, collective corporate decision making in China may not need a board—balancing interests is undertaken with the Party units, and worker units, a bard is unnecessary. The contemporary monitoring board does not fit.  More importantly, the principles of democracy inherent in the U.S. board has little resonance with the Leninist principles of Chinese governance.  It should mirror the organization of the CPC and state rather than from the principles of voting for representatives that incorporates political ideologies of the West in its construction. He concluded by suggesting that the Chinese supervision law and anti-corruption laws make a better basis for good corporate governance in China—aligning corporate and political practice with Chinese characteristics. Board. Xudong Zhao, in comments, noted that his approach was broadly in line with some thinking among Chinese academics. He noted especially the problem of legal transplantation in this area.  He noted as well the interesting proposal of importing the anti-corruption laws into the corporate sector.

11:00–11:10 Jianwei Li, Professor, China University of Political Science and Law Civil, Commercial and Economic Law School.  Sharp words about the failure of the supervisory board; but is this a failure that is irreparable? Perhaps it would be useful to find solutions in the current context.  Disagreed about the utility of the use of the Supervisory Law. He agreed that independent directors work differently in Chinese SOEs than in Western SOEs. That difference ought to inform the analysis and may affect the positioning of the CPC within corporate governance in SOEs. Unmentioned was the role of the CPC in private companies, though also worth considering.  The connection with the CPC is indeed worth noting, but the translation of the Supervisory Law to corporate practice would prove difficult. For example, the duty of the CPC is to protect state assets, and not necessarily the interests of small private investors in the partially listed SOE. That produces a conflict of interest that shapes the CPC board relationship. CSRC system appears to work better. Legal system in China not good for independent directors. In practice in regulating everyday work legal transplantation is thus problematic. Still independent directors do still have some use—even if only symbolic. 

11:10–11:20 Wei Yu, Deputy Chief Judge, Shanghai High People’s Court Civil Trial Chamber II. Noted the difficulty of regulating internet platform enterprises, combining market regulation with governmentalization of the sector. He noted that the approach might differ between small platforms and the very few large ones in China. Perhaps using competition law principles. With respect to corporate governance, he noted that listed companies rarely litigate corporate governance issues compared to private companies. At least with respect to listed companies, resolution appears to lie elsewhere than the courts.  With respect to those issues around controlling rights, Judges tend to be cautious in these cases, respecting corporate autonomy, yet are increasingly sensitive to bullying by majority or controlling shareholders.  

11:20–11:30 Gairong Hu, Professor, East China University of Political Science and Law School of Economic Law. Noted the difficulty of reconciling democratic centralism principles in CPC discipline with Board duties in the case where the board member is a CPC member who is asked to vote on a matter with respect to which the local CPC committee has already adopted a position. On the other hand, she noted that it would be difficult to engage in radical change to the forms of corporate governance at this stage; and moreover, that might present problems for the outward activities of Chinese companies. 

Speakers:

13:30–13:50 Larry Cata Backer, Professor, Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law. Making Sausages?: Internationalized Regulation of Corporate Responsibility and the Reshaping of Corporate Law Through the Lens of Human Rights. Suggested that corporate law was no longer driven solely by its own self referencing ideology. Instead international human rights law has now started driving corporate law, especially with respect to human rights and sustainability issues, in ways that may upend core principles of corporate law and organization.  At issue is the approach to the question: what is the purpose of economic activity? The ideologies of corporate law and governance, and of international law and sustainability, including human rights, differ substantially. The differences were illustrated by considering the provisions of the recently distributed  “Zero Draft” of a Comprehensive Treaty for Business and Human Rights. The implications for Chinese corporate law was also highlighted. 

13:50–14:10 Jian Wu, Associate Professor & Vice Dean, East China University of Political Science and Law School of Economic Law; Protecting Shareholders and Creditors in Corporate Charitable Donation. Charitable donations can be tied to marketing.  How to respond to creditors and shareholders with respect to donations? New Charity Law is silent on the internal mechanisms for corporate philanthropic activities. It tends to be left to the discretion of the enterprise as specified in its charter.  Can shareholders block an intended board donation decision? Corporate law permits the articles to give the authority either to board or shareholders.  Most articles fail to specify the mechanisms. That produces problems. Art. 74 and 104 of the Company Law offer some help but are ambiguous, especially where the donation is opposed for reasons of breaches of duty or corporate waste. The issue of corporate waste is a difficult one in Chinese law, especially in the context of excessive donations. Tax law has something to say about this as well.  In that it shows some parallels to Delaware law of charitable contributions.   

14:10–14:30 Barnali Chouhdury, Senior Lecturer, University College London Faculty of Law; Corporate Duties to the Environment. Not duties (e.g. legal obligations), but rather responsibilities (e.g., soft law). She started with the case for corporate responsibility for the environment.  This is grounded on corporate power to impact environment. Primary responsibility belongs to states, responsibility to corporation, and also to individuals.  She turned to the tension between profit and planet conflict, paralleling Backer’s fundamental tension in purpose of economic activity (as an ends for investors versus as a means for collective welfare).  There is a business case for corporate responsibility for corporate responsibility for the environment. Looking for a win-win situation.  Concern—this risks commodifying environmental concerns. One might also privilege only environmental concerns that align with corporate economic goals. And it may create incentives toward greenwashing. To overcome this, she makes am intergenerational equity rationale—that long term time horizon is critical in corporate decision making sensitive to environmental responsibilities. If that is taken as a baseline, then what are corporate responsibility to the environment? No one defining instrument, no analogue to UNGP. But due diligence obligation transposes to the environmental area (environmental management system: duly diligent to prevent harm). As the bottom line corporations ought to embed environmental considerations at all decisions—at board level. Three options offered: (1) board environmental committee; (2)  environmental advisory panel staffed by experts and reporting to the board; (3) independent director for environmental issues.   

14:30–14:40 Xujun Gao, Professor, Tongji University Law School.  He noted that making sausages might produce something tasty but the process is complicated, but in the course of cooking you may not like what you see. The Zero Draft approach was critiqued. He noted that there were substantial implications for Chinese companies.  The extensive jurisdiction, transparency and other provisions were noted. He also noted the importance of the difference between the official policies of the United States with respect to the Zero Draft  (negative) and those of its intellectuals (supportive). The amorphous nature of human rights would cause trouble.

14:40–14:50 Shan Jiang, Deputy Chief Judge, Shanghai Putuo District People’s Court. He provided detailed commentary on the operation of the Charity Law on the management of charitable giving by corporation.  He noted the interplay between legal regimes and social norms in the regulation of charitable given.   

14:50–15:00 Jian Fan, Lecturer, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics School of Law. First summarized the ideas of Chouhdury. And then he provided his own insights.  He noted the sometimes difficult balancing between economic and environmental goals.  The illustration was the decision of Beijing to allow coal fired plants to operate, causing severe pollution in Beijing, in order to avoid threatening the livelihood of its workers. The prudence principle in environmental decision making was also discussed. He noted that China had a longer way to go than in the West in this respect.

Speakers:

15:30–15:50 Jean du Plessis, Professor, Deakin University Law School. Delving deeper into some recent corporate collapses: Have voluntary corporate governance codes failed us?

Confronts the quite controversial issue of the utility of corporate governance codes.  These had been very much in favor since the end of the last century as a set of guides to aid corporations in reforming their corporate cultures and aligning them with governance ideals. The Cadbury Commission Report of 1982 and its Code then gave birth to similar efforts worldwide.  He looked at the Hong Kong Code but focused on the Australian one: 8 general principles of corporate governance principles. Most principles grounded in soft law approach. Enforcement by stock exchanges through listing rules and soft enforcement. The principle of comply or explain at the core of all of the CG codes.  Focus on non-executive (independent) directors. Listed companies must have an audit committee. Driving forces; (1) scandals; (2) retain competitiveness; (3) avoid black letter law; (4) corporation self-determination. He then turned to two case studies to consider the effectiveness of these CG codes. The first was Steinhoff in South Africa—a global retailer listed on Frankfurt and Johannesburg exchanges. The collapse occurred in 2017 with a German local investigation of CEO. CEO resigns; stocks fall, losing 10.3€ in 3 days. Steinhoff was organized as a complex interlocking set of enterprises. With he debts mounting why did no one pick this up? Two tiered board structure with a supervisory function did nt work because of relationship among members. Lawsuits filed against controlling individuals.  What went wrong? What did the CG Code do for the enterprise? The second was the Carillion Company a UK enterprise, 43K employees worldwide. Huge debts and government contracts when they collapsed. Massive failure of corporate governance at all levels.  Gross financial mismanagement. As it collapsed, they increased salaries and dividends.  He argued on that basis that soft law does not work; that CG Codes need to be rewritten to reflect the times; time to rethink shareholder primacy model. 

15:50–16:10 Feng Deng, Professor, Peking University Law School. Industry Controls Finance in the form of Corporate Group:What’s the Problem?

In China the problem is understood as the integration of economics and finance.  At the 1^st level there are 3 phenomenon; (1) private dominant companies; (2) big SOEs; (3) multinationals with internal financing or financial institution arm. What they have in common is that parent engages in industrial business but with subsidiaries that have licenses to engage in financial business.  From 2004 there was a big increase in the number of companies in the financial business embedded within larger enterprises, or have shares in such companies. Provided statistics about ownership among SOEs. They have integrated their industry and financial operations. By the end of 2015 there were up to 224 entities as financial subsidiaries. Why enter into this sector? High profit margins, and substantial monopoly position –barriers to entry are high. Aided by local governments seeking to increase the number of top 500 companies in their territory. Central governments encouraged because it appeared to help the financial position of operating companies as well. The principal issue here goes both to the corporate governance and conflict of interest in the context of financing—augmented where the SOE owned a financial institution—and the related problem of anti-competitive activity.  But the other is the broader structural problem of financing policy and the management of macro issues in economic policy. The only comparable model is the Koncern concept in German law. Otherwise unprecedented. In 1993 adopted US model of banking law. The twist was the way that the industrial companies began to control the financial companies. In 1994 law was reformed to try to reduce ability of industrial companies to invest in financial institutions slightly harder but by 2010 the integration was strong.  No one knows how to deal with this model.  What are the risks of industrial companies controlling banks and other financial institution. He offered several solutions to the problem of this sort of integration. 

16:10–16:30 Mutsuhiko Yukioka, Associate Professor, Kobe University Graduate School of Law & Faculty of Law. “Parent-Subsidiary Listing” – A Brief Overview of Corporate Governance Issues.

Unique Japanese phenomenon. Issue touches on questions when both the parent and the subsidiary are listed on stock exchanges.  This form of dual listing commonly used to structure corporate groups in Japan.  The structure was debated before Japanese corporate reform in the early 2010s.  Characteristics: controlling block held by parent company while the rest of the shares are widely held. The parent company’s shares are also widely dispersed. No individual or family that controls the corporate group. Absence of ultimate control a distinguishing feature. Fairly prevalent in Japan. 10.9% of companies have a parent company (383 companies out of 3507 listed on Tokyo Exchange). More than 80 % of listed subsidiaries have a listed parent. Why adopt this structure?: (1) increase incentive for sub’s management and employees; (2= market price of sub provides additional monitoring device; (3) parent can maintain the synergies from the group; (4) capital raising becomes easier.  This raises corporate governance issues: (1) managerial agency problems mitigated by parent’s monitoring effects; the horizontal agency problem between the controlling and minority shareholders tend to arise. With respect to the last, the controlling shareholder may abuse its influence in pursuit of its own interests. Fiduciary duties of controlling shareholder not recognized; derivative actions nor class actions permitted. This puts minority shareholders in a bad situation. But dispersed ownership of the parent may mitigate against risk of abuse. The reputational risk to the parent may also produce incentives against abuse. He then discussed the 2014 reforms: hotly debated.  Moderate procedural reform—more disclosure of conflict transactions, and narrow definition of outside director. But there were strong arguments against regulatory reform: (1) not clear that minority shareholders were systematically harmed; (2) costs of imposing duty would be large compared to the benefit; (3) to determine the desired level of legal intervention is very difficult. Concluding remark: path dependency affected the debate and the outcome.

16:30–16:40 Jing Leng, Professor, East China University of Political Science and Law International School of Law and Finance.  Commented on Du Plessis presentation. She noted that China has a CG Code just recently reformed in 2018.  She noted the driving forces described by du Plessis and speculated that focusing on the bad actors missed the stories of successes. Yet case study does not prove persuasive in light of lack of empirical research.  She posed unsettled question; (1)  while du Plessis noted in the case study that no one picked up over indebtedness, yet high leverage rates are not unusual among industries; (2) regarding effectiveness of soft law approach; two recent cases is too small a sample; in addition, even soft law can be hardened by contract. 

16:40–16:50 Ke Chen, Chef Judge, Shanghai High People’s Court Enforcement Chamber. Commented on Deng presentation. He focused on issues of intra-group governance. In that context might all group be united by a single obligation to maximize the group’ interests,  He then considered Yukioka’s paper and considered the issues of multiple subsidiary listing. He agreed that transparency was critical. 

16:50–17:00 Dongguang Wang, Associate Professor, East China University of Political Science and Law School of Economic Law. Focused on Yukioka’s presentation. He raised efficiency concerns.  And further noted that changing the perspective o efficiency changes the analysis. He did not think that conflict of interest was necessarily large. Yet minority shareholders solicitude is grounded in vulnerability. But all such rules do not get to the heart of the problem, which is inherent in the nature of their ownership interest. Perhaps alternatives exist besides giving them voting rights; are there not more practical solutions to their vulnerability? That is worth exploring. 

Speakers:

9:00 – 9:20 Roseanne Russell, Lecturer, University of Bristol Law School The corporation in a changing world: Companies and the rise of neoliberal feminism

Speaking to issues of companies and feminism. Theme: women are good for business. Rise of a trend in popular culture of powerful women discussing issues of gender in business. The coincides with rise of neoliberal feminism; Sandberg “lean-in” manifesto of self-empowerment and self-investment; Ivanka Trump speaking to life changing journey as mother and entrepreneur.  These high-profile interventions appear positive, but Russell is more cautious.  She maintains the focus on women in its current guise is deeply problematic.  It is grounded in woman as stock framework, or as a form of gender capital.  Women treated as instrumental, and that ought to trouble. This has the collateral effect of pushing other voices to the margin.  Need to return to key feminist ideas of early debates that speak to injustice. She first describes “neo-liberal feminism”: focus on self-empowerment (does not challenge the structures of work), equates women with feminism, closely aligned with market idea (tends to reward those at the top of the economic ladder), highly seductive (e.g., “my best self;” “be a better you”, etc,; encourages people to turn themselves into brands).  Different from liberal feminism and relational feminism.  These differences inform the current gender based governance debates (e.g., women in the board room on a diversity framework). Selling idea of women empowerment by selling women on the idea of finding emancipation in the market. This can be traced back to the ideology of shareholder (usually short term) welfare maximization. The two ideologies converge.  But this is a political choice rather than a jurisprudential truth.  But this allows us to make other political choices in its place. She ends by suggesting the way that feminism might provide a way forward: (1) recognize corporate dependencies in unpaid labor, especially care (the ideal worker supported by support at home; culture of overwork); (2) acknowledge complex dependencies created by globalization (migration bringing in cheap labor as women leave home but need to purchase care); and (3) reform corporate purpose (proportionality principle in the Equality Act of 2010 a model?).   

9:20 – 9:40 Eli Bukspan, Senior Lecturer, The Radzyner Law School of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya; Class Actions and Class Actions Public Fund.

The “class action funding” fundis both a model fo its kind and a laboratory for considering the normative issues of corporate discipline through litigation.  He started by reviewing the role of class actions as a disciplinary technique—vesting disciplinary power not in the state but in the shareholders through collective action. The extent to which that collective right to remedy is broadened provides a substantial modality for accountability in corporate governance and social responsibility issues. He noted the rise of class action as a vehicle for vindicating constitutional rights (Brown v. Board of Educ.). China has one of the few legal systems aside form the US that permits class actions in line with its collectivist traditions.  Class actions, of course, are inhibited by limitations on scope, by procedural rules, and by the costs of maintaining collective action. Israel has a relatively young class action law  but it has produced a substantially effect.  It is intended to promote a variety of objectives. He argues that the objectives were broad enough to include social and public issues against business corporations in the conduct of their economic activity. That possibility is enhanced by the Israeli Class Action Fund, provided to enhance the use of class actions.  He described the organization of the fund.  The Fund Committee represents many sectors of society. Fund does not engage in securities class actions (there is another fund for that). He noted a correlation between financing by the fund and the chance of a suit’s success, though it is not clear that there exists a causation effect. Fund use approval varied over a variety if rights, mostly consumer related and insurance claims. He gave some examples (e.g., discrimination against women, discrimination against Arabs, environmental claims, etc.). He then turned to the broader normative implications: eroding separation between public and private law (class actions and CSR); use as a substitute for state regulation (more efficient means of regulation than law or markets), and complements civil and criminal actions by the state. It is this last normative point that he then developed. Tied in to the UN Accountability and Remedy Project started in 2014. Class actions would improve access to justice through well-ordered judicial mechanisms. 

9:40 – 10:00 Lei Duan, Associate Professor, East China Normal University Law School
The Reform in Share Repurchase Rules and Its Influence: Comparing with Japanese Law

His focus was on the changes to share repurchase laws, comparing Japanese efforts with those of China. He elaborated three principal areas: How was the corporation law amended, how will it influence listed companies, what problems remain unresolved for future direction of reform. With respect to the first, he reviewed the six principal areas of reform.  Wirth respect to the reform itself, he noted its objective to simplify procedures and to make the device more flexible. Also public companies can use repurchases as a means of dividend distribution. Dividend payout useful to shareholders especially with respect to tax implications. It also affected considerations of corporate finance, creating incentives for the issuance of convertible securities. Lastly, still to be resolved is the issue of fairness among shareholder classes. Another issue relates to the availability of this mechanism to public companies; the issue of fairness for private companies remains unresolved.  In Japan there is regulation  that may suggest a way forward—focusing on transparency and equal access to buy back schemes. But fairness to shareholders remains the central issue, and the avoidance of strategic actions that may effectively freeze out minority shareholders. Spoke as well to the utility of “tag along” rights for shareholders. As well the need for a “wrap up” clause was noted. Going forward, it remains to be seen whether listed companies will use this mechanism as a defensive tactic against hostile acquisitions. 

10:00 – 10:20 Fan Yang, Partner, King & Wood Mallesons. Practice and Unique Problems of Valuation Adjustment Arrangement in China.

 Shared experience in valuation adjustment arrangements in China. In China valuation adjustment is broad, including put options triggered by conditions negotiated in contract. These shareholder buy backs are useful. China does not fully recognize effectiveness of cases, but beyond that there is little clear guidance,  Supreme People’s court cases are quite useful despite their lack of legal effect. He discussed the leading cases that flesh out the issues and approaches to valuation adjustment (e.g., Haifu v Shiheng, Wisdom Asia and Lu Bo (the Haifu case)) dealing with VAM (valuation adjustment mechanisms demanded by private equity investors and the cases that then developed those principles since 2012. Other leading cases were discussed, fleshing out approaches to interpreting ambiguity in the legislation and regulations. VAMs now ubiquitous, as a basic protection for investors. In the past it was limited to companies going public, but now more widely used, especially when connected to share buy back when contingencies fail. It is an alternative to taking over the company, which investors sometimes are not interested in doing. He then turned to unique issues in China.  The first includes issues touching on foreign companies.  VAM was problematic especially where all aspects of transactions were reviewed and approved by the state regulators.  But that has changed since the revision of law that has reduced the scope of government review. The second concerns the triggering mechanisms for VAMs.  There is a strategic dimension, and especially where the difficulties arise from political conditions (trade war, local violence, etc.).  The role of force majeur remains unresolved (market risk versus triggering even).   

10:20–10:30 Wei Shen, Professor & Dean, Shandong University Law School. Commented on Prof. Russell’s presentation.  Noted that the background of corporate law did not fit well within the analysis.  Placing liberal feminism within this context raises a contradiction with the profit maximization principle.  Thus, it was understandable the need to advocate reform of core corporate purpose principle.  But that may be a near impossible project. Major argument in favor is gender equality, but wondered whether efforts to correct gender inequality can create greater inequality.  Noted the problems of affirmative action programs in that regard. He noted issues of practical effect: does it actually improve corporate governance as a whole.  There are some empirical studies focusing on Nordic states. He wondered about the viability of women as stakeholder in that context gender inequality might be easier to frame.  Globalization makes feminism issues more complex.  With respect to Professor Bukspan’s presentation, he wondered about the characterization of the program. Unsure why the fund is addressed to private enforcement, trying to link to public enforcement. Second question related to the use of the fund—does it increase caseload, and thus reduce quality of judgement? Does it achieve its purpose; and are more class action cases good for society. The issue of societal versus corporate welfare may require more thought. He noted parallel issues in China, noting the difficulties of the class action device in China in the face of political and societal constraints. In that case the issue of using court cases might promote social instability, an issue that may be different from the context of Israel. 

10:30-10:40 Xiaoning Li, Associate Professor, Fudan University Law School. With respect to Professor Russell, she noted the trend of highly educated women in China to go back home to raise children. The issue is to get these women back to work in the face of social custom and constraints. This includes fostering idea of fathers staying at home, and more flexible work time. In China there may be a CSR issue about corporate provision of child care and elder care for employees. With respect to Professor Bukspan, she noted the differences between Chinese and Israeli approaches to class actions.  Major difference is the use of an opt in rather than an opt out role. With respect to the other presenters she noted the difficulty of finding sources in Chinese law.  She noted that the Supreme People’s Court attitude has been changing. Article 142  of Company Law should help understand the place of VAMs.  Is the problem that all of these are really forms of distribution and ought to be treated as such.  If it reduces the net value of the company, would that impair capital, and should that be the basis of the analysis?

10:40 – 10:50  Daile Xia, Lecturer, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. For Prof Russell, she was more interested in the feminism part.  Reminded her of the progress of gender equality in China. Wondered what kind of difference more women leaders will bring.  More research needed.  But that suggests that women are different than men, and thus they will stress different thing and approach issues differently. But are they educated and nurtured to be different; does gender equality on that basis then reinforce gender differentiation in nurture? For Prof. Bukspan, she asked whether there are studies that point to who benefits from the funds? She wondered whether it was the lawyer class rather than the plaintiffs who were the primary beneficiaries. For Prof. Lei, she agreed with the general approach. Seems the legislator paid more attention to conflict of interest between shareholders than between the company and shareholders.  That ought to be considered. She also noted the changing interpretations of the Supreme People’s Court, criticizing some of the recent decisions. She noted, with respect to Mr. Fan’s presentation that a debtor-creditor model might be a better basis for analysis.

Speakers: Larry Cata Backer, Professor, Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law

Closing Remarks

“Since the start of his leadership, President Xi Jinping has emphasized the Chinese principle of mutually beneficial cooperation. That policy has been the cornerstone of Chinese foreign policy since the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949, and is at the heart of China’s Go Out Policy, and now its Belt and Road Initiative.  It is central to socialist modernization and an essential part of the approach to the fundamental contradiction of the New Era—the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. These three principles, mutually beneficial cooperation, global engagement, and fairer distribution of the fruits of economic activity, are also central issues in the West. 

This Conference was filled with that spirit of mutually beneficial cooperation, global engagement, and fairer distribution of the fruits of production. And for that we are grateful to the leadership of SUFE and the conference organizers, the China Commercial Law Society, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics School of Law, and East China University of Political Science and Law School of Economic Law. Special thanks to the organizer SUFE Law School Commercial Law Center, Dean Song, Acting Vice Dean Qian, Vice Dean Sun, and my old and dear friend Ezra Mitchell.

The conference brought together scholars from around the world. We considered the challenges of independent board members, of corporate social responsibility, of good governance, of corporate engagement in the world, of the value of corporate codes of conduct, of integration between the commercial and financial sectors, of gender fairness, and of the challenges of corporate groups. Through their careful scholarship our conference scholars demonstrated the ways that mutually beneficial cooperation can become part of the working style of academic engagement across borders and systems, and the way in which such mutually beneficial cooperation sits at the heart of the study of finance and economics, generally—and of the study of corporations in particular. We will spend the next year thinking carefully about the many themes explored during this conference, taking advantage of the many ways in which, we continue to learn from each other." For that I am truly grateful.

Thank you.

Ezra Mitchell, Professor, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics School of Law. 

Thanked all participants and hosts.  Looking forward to next year.  Noted the great spirit cooperation and shared learning that can be possible under these circumstances.

1) Available data indicates that at least 24,570 Indian workers died in the six Gulf countries between 2012 and mid-2018. This number could increase if the complete figures for Kuwait and UAE are made available publicly. This amounts to more than 10 deaths per day during this period

Dear Members,


2018 marked the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers’ Association (ICoCA). This last year was an important milestone in the life of the Association, as we consolidated our operations and concluded our transition into full operational mode. This report covers the key activities of the Association from Oct 1, 2017 to Oct 31, 2018.

Finally, as we mark our five year anniversary, we are engaging with members and other stakeholders for guidance on the strategic orientation of the Association, laying the groundwork for a five-year Strategic Plan for 2019-2023. We look forward to working with you all in the months and year ahead as we finalise this Plan to realise ICoCA’s mission of promoting the provision of responsible private security and implementation of the Code of Conduct.

The Cuban model of communism has been an inspiration—from both a positive and negative perspective—for social movements, political leaders, and cultural expressionists around the world. With changes in leadership, the pace of change has accelerated following decades of economic struggles. The death of Fidel Castro and the reduced role of Raúl Castro seem likely to create further changes, though what these changes look like is still unknown. For now, Cuba is opening in important ways. Cubans can establish businesses, travel abroad, access the internet, and make private purchases. Paths for Cuba examines Cuba’s internal reforms and external influences within a comparative framework. The collection includes an interdisciplinary group of scholars from around the world to explore reforms away from communism.

Introduction

Reforming Communism: Cuba in Comparative Perspective 

Comparative Lessons for “Updating” Cuban Policy: Politics, Economics, and Society
Scott Morgenstern and Ronald Linden

Officials said Mr. Mattis went to the White House with his resignation letter already written, but nonetheless made a last attempt at persuading the president to reverse his decision about Syria, which Mr. Trump announced on Wednesday over the objections of his senior advisers.  Mr. Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, was rebuffed. Returning to the Pentagon, he asked aides to print out 50 copies of his resignation letter and distribute them around the building. (Jim Mattis, Defense Secretary, Resigns in Rebuke of Trump’s Worldview).

For the first time since World War II, Russia has been the nation that has redrawn international borders by force of arms in Georgia and Ukraine, while pursuing veto authority over their neighbors' diplomatic, economic and security decisions. Putin seeks to shatter NATO. He aims to diminish the appeal of the Western democratic model and attempts to undermine America's moral authority. His actions are designed not to challenge our arms, at this point, but to undercut and compromise our belief in our ideals.

In response to these competitive challenges of urgency, power and will, this last January, our Department of Defense released its first National Defense Strategy in over a decade, and this filled a vacuum, one of strategy-free actions. To protect America's experiment in democracy, our National Defense Strategy has three lines of effort.(Ibid.).

Resignation Letter (reproduced in James Mattis’s Letter of Resignation 20 Dec. 201, The Atlantic)

Dear Mr. President:

I have been privileged to serve as our country’s 26th Secretary of Defense which has allowed me to serve alongside our men and women of the Department in defense of our citizens and our ideals.

I am proud of the progress that has been made over the past two years on some of the key goals articulated in our National Defense Strategy: putting the Department on a more sound budgetary footing, improving readiness and lethality in our forces, and reforming the Department’s business practices for greater performance. Our troops continue to provide the capabilities needed to prevail in conflict and sustain strong US global influence.

One core belief I have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to the strength of our unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships. While the US remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies. Like you, I have said from the beginning that the armed forces of the United States should not be the policeman of the world. Instead, we must use all tools of American power to provide for the common defense, including providing effective leadership to our alliances. NATO’s 29 democracies demonstrated that strength in their commitment to fighting alongside us following the 9-11 attack on America. The Defeat-ISIS coalition of 74 nations is further proof.

Similarly, I believe we must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose strategic interests are increasingly in tension with ours. It is clear that China and Russia, for example, want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model—gaining veto authority over other nations’ economic, diplomatic, and security decisions—to promote their own interests at the expense of their neighbors, America and our allies. That is why we must use all the tools of American power to provide for the common defense.

My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues. We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances.

Because you have the right to a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position. The end date for my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the Department’s interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include Congressional posture hearings and the NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in February. Further, that a full transition to a new Secretary of Defense occurs well in advance of the transition of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September in order to ensure stability within the Department.

I pledge my full effort to a smooth transition that ensures the needs and interests of the 2.15 million Service Members and 732,079 DoD civilians receive undistracted attention of the Department at all times so that they can fulfill their critical, round-the-clock mission to protect the American people.

I very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform.

James N. Mattis

Remarks By Secretary Mattis at the U.S. Naval War College Commencement, Newport, Rhode Island 15 June 2018

Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES N. MATTIS: Thank you, Admiral Harley, distinguished guests, those of you who took time to attend today. You're most welcome here. A very significant day, I would say, for our forces and for those of our allies and our partners, on this beautiful, sunny, picture-perfect day.

(Laughter.)

I say that with no tongue in cheek, since any day outside Washington, D.C. is sunny for me.

(Laughter.)

I believe it --

(APPLAUSE)

-- it probably adds seven years to my life to be with you today.

But -- and, for you mothers there who have got young ones who are yelling out a little bit, please stay in your seats. Whatever your little ones say can only add to the intellectual content of my remarks. (Laughter.)

So no problem at all. Those little ones are a reminder of why we do what we do here at the Naval War College. And I would also tell you --

(APPLAUSE)

Yeah. They really are, aren't they?

But congratulations to all of you graduates on your achievements here today, and to the families that stood by you as you burned the midnight oil here, in a school known for its intellectual rigor.

I would tell you that, having tried unsuccessfully several times in my career to make the cut to attend one of the schools, I felt, to say the least, a little bit humbled when I got the invitation, and surprised.

I attribute that to the professional courtesy of your -- of your president here, because I owe him a lot, and, in the naval service, we do not forget the debt that we owe to our shipmates. So thank you, Admiral, for inviting me up here. You helped to get me out of every jam that I got us into. (Laughter.)

But it is an honor to be with you because I couldn't make the cut, so, obviously, I come here with a certain amount of envy of those of you who got the benefit of this great education up here.

And I would just tell you that we expect that, if you turn to a fresh page in your lives, that you're at the top of your mental, physical and spiritual game.

You've had a year to refresh, to learn from each other and a superb faculty. And I think your education will continue even after you leave here, along the lines of what we just hear our chaplain pray for: that we continue to go forward and meet these challenges that surely await us.

Admiral Stephen Luce, when he founded the college on this rocky shore so many years ago -- I think it was about 134 years ago -- he wanted a lighthouse for leaders, a lighthouse where they could exchange ideas and broaden their perspectives and thus illuminate the path ahead for generations to come.

And we saw it start immediately, certainly with then (kept ?) and Alfred Thayer Mahan's lectures on sea-power that served as the foundation for maritime strategy and shaping naval thought for decades and decades to come.

Captain Charles Stockton -- he came here. He added to that legacy when he developed the first code for international law for naval operations, which became the basis for our modern law of naval warfare and, certainly, when we saw this campus exercise its intellectual prowess, helping to develop the Rainbow Plans of the 1930s and preparing its students for the challenges to come.

That's what you get when you testify too often in front of Congress, by the way. (Laughter.)

But, in the words of Admiral Chester Nimitz -- he said nothing he encountered in the Pacific during the war was either strange or unexpected, for this campus had prepared him well. I'm very confident -- thank you very much. (Laughter.)

If this was vodka, it would be a lot better speech. (Laughter.)

(APPLAUSE)

But I'm not supposed to glamorize alcohol anymore, so, young folks, you ignore what I just said. (Laughter.)

I am confident that you're going to carry forward that legacy of what those officers found here or brought to this school as you take your intellectual firepower forward and tackle the security problems of our time, because we are witnessing a world awash in change, as former Secretary of State George Schultz described it, a world beset by the reemergence of great power competition.

And we define the categories of challenges in the following way: urgency and power and will -- political will.

First, on urgency, we see it epitomized by the North Korea situation, as well as by the threat from violent extremist organizations, two very, very different challenges that have our ongoing attention.

Certainly, President Trump's historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proves, and I quote here, "The past does not have to define the future," unquote.

But, while a possible new avenue to peace now exists with North Korea, we remain vigilant regarding pursuit of nuclear weapons anywhere in the world.

And, meanwhile, half a world away and despite our international coalition's significant success against ISIS' geographic caliphate, extremist organizations continue to sow hatred in the Mideast and murder innocents around the world, from Europe and Africa, to south Asia and the Sulu Sea.

It is the urgency of this fight that compels us all to act decisively against terrorism, denying terrorists the safe haven they seek. And we carry out this counterterrorism campaign by, with and through our allies and partners, with over 70 nations united the -- in the Defeat ISIS campaign, and 41 nations united under NATO's flag to defeat terrorism in Afghanistan.

The second category of competition is military power, and we see the Russian Federation as the nation closest to us in nuclear parity, and proven willing to use conventional and irregular power in violation of international norms.

For the first time since World War II, Russia has been the nation that has redrawn international borders by force of arms in Georgia and Ukraine, while pursuing veto authority over their neighbors' diplomatic, economic and security decisions.

Putin seeks to shatter NATO. He aims to diminish the appeal of the Western democratic model and attempts to undermine America's moral authority. His actions are designed not to challenge our arms, at this point, but to undercut and compromise our belief in our ideals.

The third category is that of political will, and that is a potential rivalry, with China harboring long-term designs to rewrite the existing global order.

The Ming Dynasty appears to be their model, albeit in a more muscular manner, demanding other nations become tribute states, kowtowing to Beijing; espousing One Belt, One Road, when this diverse world has many belts and many roads; and attempting to replicate on the international stage their authoritarian domestic model, militarizing South China Sea features while using predatory economics of piling massive debt on others.

After World War II, our Greatest Generation, in collaboration with our allies and partners, built the open international order that has benefited global prosperity. It's unrealistic to believe, today, that China will not seek to replicate its internal authoritarian model elsewhere, as it expands globally.

China has benefited enormously from the open international order, but it had no say in drafting it. Today, how we engage with China and how the Chinese choose to collaborate by it dictates to the world that it will provide the roadmap for our future relationship.

In response to these competitive challenges of urgency, power and will, this last January, our Department of Defense released its first National Defense Strategy in over a decade, and this filled a vacuum, one of strategy-free actions. To protect America's experiment in democracy, our National Defense Strategy has three lines of effort.

First, we are building a more lethal force. Our adversaries must know -- work with our diplomats and within the international order, for, if you threaten our experiment in democracy, it will be your longest and worst day.

Second, we are strengthening our military alliances and building new partnerships, for history is clear: nations with allies thrive. Every allied and partner-nation officer here today brings value.

The third line of effort is we are reforming and modernizing the Department of Defense for greater performance, accountability and affordability, ensuring that we earn the trust of Congress and the American people.

We have an obligation to spend wisely every tax dollar entrusted to us, while adapting our department to tomorrow's security challenges. And this is to preclude us from being dominant, yet irrelevant, because we didn't adapt in the tradition of the Naval War College in the interwar years.

In support of these lines of institution, lines -- excuse me, these lines of effort, this institution has embraced the ever-changing character of warfare, updating your curriculum to reflect the strategic environment of today and, more importantly, of tomorrow.

If we are to uphold a rules-based order for the international community, one beneficial to all, military leaders must embrace the ethos of a fighting admiral, as defined by William Toohey, describing an approach to warfighting in all domains.

"A fighting admiral is the ultimate embodiment of an adroit leader possessing an eagerness to close with the enemy, an unflappable ability to execute operations in the heat and confusion of battle, and the power to instill a fighting spirit in those under their command."

After the year here, we expect you to be at the top of your game mentally, physically and spiritually, and to work to maintain that standard throughout the rest of your career. You now have the credentials to measure up in the crucible of combat, and your character must do the rest.

Your education here has prepared you well to integrate Naval, joint and coalition campaigns across all domains: air, land, sea and, now, the contested warfighting domains of outer space and cyberspace.

We are counting on you graduates to live and breathe this fighting admiral ethos, regardless of your rank or position, branch of service or nationality.

Don't shy away from the hard problems and even tougher solutions by saying that something is above your pay grade. Your nations and services did not invest a precious year of the finest education possible for you to take a timid view of your leadership responsibility.

Keep your wits about you. Keep your grace under fire, your civility with subordinates, inspiring those you lead with humility and intellectual rigor in reconciling war's grim realities with your political leaders' aspirations.

As you take your next steps, put into action our line of effort of strengthening our alliances and partnerships using your initiative, remembering that not all the good ideas come from the nation with the most aircraft carriers.

Down in Washington, D.C., four statues stand in Lafayette Square, overlooking the White House, and they are there as reminder. These are statues of men who hailed from France, Poland and Prussia, and they came -- and I quote here from one of the monuments -- "to offer their swords to the American colonies, serving as fellow laborers in the cause for liberty during our Revolutionary War."

These four men -- Lafayette, Rochambeau, Kosciuszko and von Steuben, serve as reminders, just as this War College student body does today, that America does not stand alone. No single nation resolves security challenges in this world.

For all the times that I was privileged to fight for America, I never fought in a solely American formation as a U.S. Marine. And seldom, if ever, will you, in your future leadership roles -- shall find yourself carrying out your -- your mission without communication and collaboration across national lines, for your ability to build trust and harmony will be as critical to victory as your operational ability.

So, as you depart this year of study and newfound friends, remember: You are your nations' unconventional ambassadors, strengthening relationships in every interaction with allies and partners.

The War College has prepared you well for this endeavor, with 66 foreign nations, nearly 20 percent of the student body, represented here today.

So carry these relationships forward. Reinforce them while forging new ones, for, by knowing how to fight well together, you strengthen deterrence and help to hold on to peace for one more year, one more month, one more week, one more day, as our diplomats work to solve problems.

In closing, I want to venture back to the college's earliest days, when Admiral Luce laid out his admittedly lofty expectations for this new institution.

He said, "If attendance here will serve to broaden an officer's views, extend his mental horizon on national and international questions and give him a just appreciation of the great variety and extent of the requirements of his profession, the college will not have existed in vain."

You graduates now must give proof that Admiral Luce's vision was not in vain, for you carry our hopes, you fine young graduates of many nations, for a better world. And I am confident that, thanks to Admiral Harley and his Newport team, you are primed to meet the many challenges that lie ahead.

Congratulations to all of you, and thank you again for allowing me to take part today. (Applause.)

President Trump's new national security adviser, John Bolton, was eager to find a face-saving way to remove Keith Kellogg from his senior role on the National Security Council, three sources with knowledge of the high-level internal conversations tell Axios.Between the lines: When Vice President Mike Pence suggested the idea of taking on Kellogg — a man the president loves — as his national security adviser about a week ago, senior officials including Chief of Staff John Kelly and Bolton viewed it as a “win-win. (The backstory on Pence’s decision to bring on Keith Kellogg).

Forgotten by those who overlooked the creation of an Islamic State caliphate. Forgotten by those who let its thuggish leaders hide in plain sight. And forgotten by those who halfheartedly committed our armed forces without clear direction or purpose. President Trump did not forget. He led, and under his leadership, we succeeded. It is now time for other stakeholders in the Middle East to take ownership of their security. (Ibid).

In December, Italian graffiti artist Laura Ghianda was forced to remove an image of the naked paleolithic woman, who dates back to somewhere between 25,000 and 28,000 BC. . . . Ghianda had appealed the censorship four times since December by the time Facebook finally apologized, saying it was a mistake due to its algorithms. . . . It is not the first time Facebook has penalized users for sharing images of famous artwork. Late last year, the company took down the iconic image of Marisol who was pictured nude on the cover of the magazine Interviu in 1976.Paintings by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani and Gustave Coubet‘s 19th-century work ‘The Origin of the World‘ were both removed for showing female genitalia and breasts."Too hot to handle: Facebook mistakes Willendorf Virgin for porn]

[("So far, the efforts of exporters to tap the Venezuelan market through the Dubai route have not been successful due to payment issues. Rao estimates that India could export up to half-a-million tonnes to Venezuela on a regular basis, if a rupee-based payment mechanism is set up. ") India eyes rupee-route, barter for Venezuelan crude; ("The petro is designed to raise hard currency and to function as a payment method for foreign suppliers now that most transactions have been stymied by financial sanctions imposed by Washington last year. But some analysts see the petro as a desperate move to secure cash amid an unprecedented economic meltdown brought about by Maduro’s socialist policies.") Venezuela's new bitcoin: an ingenious plan or worthless cryptocurrency?]

[("The members-states of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) gathered in Havana, Cuba to celebrate 14 years of working to defend regional peace and consolidate Latin American and Caribbean integration.") ALBA-TCP Summit: In Defense of Latin America and the Caribbean].

[Just Published-- "Between the Judge and the Law: Judicial Independence and Authority With Chinese Characteristics," Connecticut Journal of International Law 33(1):1-41 (2017). The article suggests the value of approaching an analysis of the state of the Chinese judiciary and its reform from within the context of the normative structures of the Chinese political system--including its separation of powers principles. That approach is a necessary predicate to understanding both the trajectory of judicial reform in the "New Era" and the range of plausible approaches it may take move toward universal objectives of "good" or "sound" judicial function. ]

[("Bannon praised Le Pen’s ambivalence over the left-right divide, saying “she described it perfectly”. The more pertinent political split, he said, is whether “you consider the nation state as an obstacle to be overcome or as a jewel to be polished, loved and nurtured”.. . . “Let them call you racist, let them call you xenophobes, let them call you nativists. Wear it like a badge of honour. Because every day we get stronger and they get weaker,” he said, before concluding on a “God Bless America. And vive la France,” sending FN supporters leaping to their feet to cheer.") Wear 'racist' like a badge of honour, Bannon tells French far-right summit]

[("Several professors and students demanded the statue be taken down due to Gandhi's well-documented racism towards Africans. According to BBC Africa, India's former President Pranab Mukherjee unveiled the statute in 2016 as a symbol of the strong ties between the two countries. Shortly after, professors organized a petition, citing racist passages that Gandhi had written in which he called Indians "infinitely superior" to black Africans. Gandhi lived and worked in South Africa between 1893 and 1914.") A Statue of Gandhi Has Been Removed From the University of Ghana Following Student Protests]

[("Okra busts like these are good reason for taxpayers to be skeptical about the wisdom of sending guys up in helicopters to fly around aimlessly, looking for drugs in suburban gardens. And that's not to mention the issue of whether we want a society where heavily-armed cops can burst into your property, with no grounds for suspicion beyond what somebody thought he saw from several hundred yards up in a helicopter.") Heavily armed drug cops raid retiree’s garden, seize okra plants].

[("Rather than investing the time and energy spent on reshaping ATS (and the constructions of relevant international law) to suit the times (as the legal community has sought to do for a generation), the opinion appears to suggest that this time might be better spent on getting the desired result in Congress. And that, the possibility of direct statutory authority creating extraterritorially applied liability against persons and corporations for violations of international law wherever committed, to some real extent, is a victory (and the great challenge) for those who seek to do exactly as Justice Sotomayor and the dissenting Justices argue is both right and good.") Brief Thoughts on Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC, 584 U.S. --- (2018): The State of Judicial Remedies for Corporate Liability for Human Rights Violations].

[("And there was mockery aplenty directed toward the leaders of Penn State University. And that leadership now appears to have moved from the office of its titular administrative heads to another place, that is from the individuals designated as the lead officers of the university to the risk and compliance algorithms of the university (and the individuals who tend them), which now appear to have assume the highest authority at the university. That, at least, is what we appear to be told in the way in which some decisions are now made at American universities. . . . The recent decisions by the leadership algorithms of Penn State (not of course by those administrators who serve those decision makers) to disband three ancient student clubs because their activities were too dangerous  provide a nice but generalized example of the trend that affects all universities."Are Risk Algorithms the New Leaders of the 21st Century American University?: The Riskless University and the Veiling of Discretion)]

[(""three different aspects of the human rights project that might well be now worth a moment of thought. The first of these is the danger of a relentless focus on the rights aspects of the Universal Declaration.  The second is the mania for victimization. The third is the need to re-focus on the obligations of states, other collective actors, and individuals.) On the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights].

[("For (or with) Mexico, López Obrador has moved the center of that debate from the state, to the revolution, to the people. And now, of course, in all jurisdictions, the question becomes--to where will it migrate, again, when the people are moved to delegate its responsibilities? Better yet, it will return to the fundamental question--who are the people? For that all societies have provided answers that are both fragile and contextual. We will see where that takes the people, the state, and the revolution. There is much to think about here both for the overtones and its trajectories). “With the people everything, without the people nothing”: The New Mexican President Receives the Bastón de mando [Baton of Authority] from Indigenous Communities and Delivers His 100 Commitments")]

[("The value of knowledge production is measured by dollars. It's impact is now understood as a species of "clickbait," the value of which is to enhance the clickable potential of that which follows, which relentless follows, with regard only to time. For if time is now money, then the efficient use of time is measured by the artifacts, by the measurable things, with which it may be filled--graduation rates, bar passage rates, employment rates, citation rates, production rates, grant award rates, invitation rates, mention rates, collaboration rates.") The AAUP Will Now Investigate the Mass Terminations at Vermont Law School]

[("This year, the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show will be without one of its most popular — and cutest — features, the duck slide. The duck slide will not operate this year due to being “extremely labor intensive,” the state agriculture department told LehighValley.com.") Pa. Farm Show to go without its most adorable feature this year, report says].

[("Protesters stormed an Ebola triage center in the volatile eastern region of Congo on Thursday and set fire to parts of it in a new wave of violent political unrest, aggravated by delays in a long-anticipated election.")  As Congo Election Nears, Rioters Storm an Ebola Center and Unrest Grows].

["The Stanford University chapter of College Republicans is accusing the university of actively silencing conservative viewpoints on campus after the university blocked the group’s hosting of conservative speaker Dinesh D’Souza. . . .  Stanford’s Student Activities and Leadership Office told the College Republicans that they would be required to pay over $19,000 in security fees for the event. . . . The College Republicans secured a donation by a private donor who is willing to pay the security fees, but the group was hit with yet another obstacle from university administration.  They are now being told that “on-campus sources” must constitute at least half of the funding for their event." (Stanford CRs clap back at school after $19,000 D'Souza security fee; Controversial Dinesh D’Souza event tentatively set for Feb. 28, pending funding); ("Qiu Zhanxuan, head of the Peking University Marxist Society, was grabbed and forced into a waiting car outside the college’s east gate by a group of heavy set men who identified themselves as police, a student said. . . . Qiu had been on his way to attend an event to mark the Mao anniversary, that not only had he organised but had also been warned about the day before by a school adviser, the person said. “What’s wrong with remembering Chairman Mao? What law does it break? How can they publicly kidnap a Peking University student?” the student said. The Ministry of Public Security did not respond to a request for comment.") Chinese Marxist student leader taken away by police on 125th anniversary of Mao Zedong’s birth]

[("'Cold, hard interests will always carry the day' in international relations, said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center. 'The Muslim world's deafening silence about China's treatment of Muslims can be attributed to its strong interest in maintaining close relations with the world's next superpower.'") 'They want to eliminate Islam': Pakistani men reveals how Chinese authorities capture their Muslim wives were taken by Beijing and sent to internment camps to be 're-educated']

[("First and foremost, it will press forward with the “sinicization” of religions in China, a process intended to shape religious traditions and doctrine to better conform with Chinese society and CCP objectives. This has been a primary focus of Xi’s religious policies since his April 2016 speech at the National Religious Work Conference, in which he asserted that in order to “actively guide the adaptation of religions to socialist society, an important task is supporting China’s religions’ persistence in the direction of sinicization.”") The CCP’s Plan to 'Sinicize' Religions; ("") ].

[("The fugue state is the only possible way one territorial community can remain viable in the face of multiple simultaneous and incompatible assertions of rule of law and democratic normativity. The fugue state permits Pakistan to adhere to Western values in its outbound relations—that is to walk away from its Islam—when it interacts with the international community that requires conformity to global standards (at least as its members would see it interpreted). At the same time it permits Pakistan to adhere to national values in its political relations –that is to walk away from internationalism and strict religious rule of law premises (of the privileged sect at least) to continue the post 1947 project of constructing a viable political entity (Pakistan) from out of the bits and pieces of the South Asian sub-continent from which it was cobbled. And at the same time, the fugue state permits Pakistan to adhere to the rule of law of Islam as expressed locally—that is to walk away from both national aspirations and internationalism in the construction of a normatively legitimate state in favor of the older and more powerful ties of the dar al-Islam as expressed locally. The resulting fracture produces uncertainty in law. Yet perversely perhaps, it also produces the certainty that power relations and bargaining will effectively determine the outcome of collisions among these three rule of law domains. But for states like Pakistan, it also produces a contingency that is hidden behind aggressive and belligerent action by a state apparatus caught in multiple middles.") The Rule of Law's Fugue State in the New Era--Blasphemy and Asia Bibi in the Fractured Global] 

[("But more interesting still may be the way that discipline--at least at the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, employment status, weight, "foul" language, class, etc.--has now moved the state to the background.  Social norms have indeed begun to move, it seems--but perhaps only those of the employer class. They certainly do not seem to have moved much at the level of personal interactions among at least some individuals.  But it is the employer that seems to have become the vanguard in changing and enforcing rules of acceptable public behavior.  The state is essentially invisible. Yet the enterprises are engaging in this project of social reconstruction for their own reasons. ") At the Front Lines of Contemporary Intersectionality: A Side Dish of Life in a Fast Food Restaurant; "'F*** you, you white piece of s**t': Burger King employee is FIRED after shocking video shows her unleash racist rant against a HISPANIC couple"].

[("There are two trajectories whose arcs appear to be pushing in different directions, both of which appear to be joined in newer approaches to human rights instruments (discussed briefly here in that context). Both also appear to more and more clearly define the "new era" of human rights in economic activity, especially (and for some only) when undertaken by classical profit making enterprises. The first touches on the legal construction of the status of "victim" bound up in the relation between individual and their attached rights. The second suggests the way that this new legal status appears to strip its bearer of agency--the conferral of the status of victim makes an individual a victim twice over. The first takes place when the individual's (legal, moral, societal, communal or other) rights have been violated; the second occurs when the state confers a status on the rights holder that effectively shifts agency over both rights and vindication from the individual to those who mean to manage both. This post very briefly opens a consideration this perversion--in protecting those who bear rights, the normative structure of law commits a potentially greater offense.") Ruminations 80: If the Focus of Regulation is on the Victim, are Individuals Made Victims Twice? Rights, Autonomy, and the Emerging Governance Framework for Business and Human Rights].

[("The US Senate on Wednesday passed legislation overhauling the way the federal government lends money for foreign development, a measure developed largely in response to China’s growing influence. . . . The measure creates a new organisation, the US International Development Finance Corp, that consolidates the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and other government development organisations. Those institutions lend money for projects in developing countries such as energy, ports and water infrastructure.") US Congress, eyeing China, votes to overhaul how US lends money for foreign development].

[("The pardon, issued by then-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski before he was himself brought down by a corruption scandal, triggered a wave of protests by human rights organizations and by victims of Fujimori's crackdown.Fujimori, a Peruvian of Japanese descent, has been living in Lima but has been hospitalized four times since his release last December.") Peruvian court orders arrest of ex-president Fujimori, overturning pardon].

[("The point, worth considering, is that the emerging America First policy better aligns with the progressive ideals of the Global South than it represents some sort of reactionary fever dream (e.g., here).  And that, perhaps, may be the most irritating part for those elements in the global North that continue to cling to a world view that may well be passing.  But ironically enough, for the authors and advocates of America First, this may also be quite irritating for precisely the opposite reasons. ") "America First,""Belt and Road,""Mutually Advantageous Cooperation" and the Rise of the Global South: Preliminary Thoughts on Remarks by President Trump to the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (25 September 2018)]

[("First, the Moscow Patriarchate is terrified. Should a reunited Ukrainian Orthodoxy be recognized by Constantinople as “autocephalous” and therefore not subordinate to Russian Orthodoxy, Moscow’s claim to be the “third Rome” would be gravely imperiled. . . . Second, Russian Orthodoxy, continuing a long, unhappy tradition of playing chaplain-to-the-czar (whatever form he takes), has provided putatively religious buttressing for Vladimir Putin’s claim that there is a single Russkiy mir (“Russian world” or “Russian space”), which includes Ukraine and Belarus. . . . That is also why Putin is likely encouraging his new friend, President Erdogan of Turkey, to turns the screws on Bartholomew, whose presence in Istanbul (the former Constantinople) depends on Turkish governmental goodwill.") An Orthodox Fracture With Serious Consequences].

[("Europe appears to be faced, again, with the hard task of balancing its relations among frenemies while retaining its wealth. To that end it works from its strengths: it barters influence and the influence of ideas for material advantage; the influence of ideas, in this sense, may be Europe's most potent remaining basis of power. It rides on the embers of empire, and Europe's still potent productive and consumptive capacities, to serve a a global superego. It has been seen in earlier guises through the so-called "Brussels Effect" campaign (to embed European values in European regulations to which those seeking entry in European markets would have to conform). China, the United States, and Russia are left to squander muscle as they will, always subject to the legitimating judgment of this superego. ") The EU Parliament's "Statement on China-EU Relations"; Statement on China-EU Relations. ]

[("A 69-year-old Dutchman is battling to legally reduce his age by 20 years so he can get more work and attract more women on Tinder. Emile Ratelband argues that if transgender people are allowed to change sex, he should be allowed to change his date of birth because doctors said he has the body of a 45-year-old. . . . And he says his move would also be good news for the government as he would be renouncing his pension until he reaches retirement age again. The judge said that he had some sympathy with Mr Ratelband as people could now change their gender which would once have been unthinkable.")Pensioner, 69, 'who identifies as a 45-year-old' begins legal action to have his age reduced so he can attract more women on Tinder].

[("The Oluwo of Iwo, Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, has apologised to the victims of slave trade in Nigeria for the role played by traditional rulers who helped in selling their subjects to foreign buyers. . . . Thursday, the monarch said his apology was to establish the damage done by slavery, in order to make progress, adding that it was time Nigerian children were told of the roles of the various monarchies in slavery, which witnessed innocent blacks sold by their African brothers for peanuts. . . . “White men never forced us to sell our children as slaves. Our fathers voluntarily released their children on excitement for peanut. Then, there was no means of payment. Humans were offered in exchange for glittering material gifts.") Nigerian monarch apologises for traditional rulers’ participation in slave trade].

[("Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed himself chairman of Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, the latest move to consolidate his control over state institutions. The president announced on Wednesday that Berat Albayrak, his son-in-law, would act as his deputy as part of an overhaul of the board of the fund, which was founded in 2016 and later took over government shares in Turkish Airlines, Turk Telekom and a string of banks.")Erdogan takes control of Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund].

[("And now over 1,400 pages of leaked documents, obtained by The New York Times, has revealed rulebooks that the company uses to moderate the content on its platform, as well as how it polices posts and shortcomings of the 7,500-plus moderators who survey and control the posts from its 2 billion users.The documents published Thursday by the Times are purportedly used to advise thousands of moderators about how to deal with any content that may be deemed problematic and "distill highly complex issues into simple yes-or-no rules." The moderation work is outsourced and the Times notes that some moderators rely on Google Translate to make split-second decisions on what is deemed hate speech or not.") Facebook's leaked rulebooks highlight struggle with content moderation; ("How can Facebook monitor billions of posts per day in over 100 languages, all without disturbing the endless expansion that is core to its business? The company’s solution: a network of workers using a maze of PowerPoint slides spelling out what’s forbidden.")  Inside Facebook’s Secret Rulebook for Global Political Speech]