Chinese Yearbook of International Law and Affairs. Volume 12 (1992-1994) (review)

Reviews 119 five subjects covered. The five subject areas are: the impact ofreforms on women in China (by Wu Qing), education and the production ofproductive labor (by Stephen Ting), health care for the rural populace (by Li Enlin), Christianity in China in the reform years (by Philip L. Wickeri), and life for the urban poor in China (by Jaime FlorCruz). The most striking commonality among all the entries is a tendency to offer sweeping conclusions, many times in one-line sentences, without bothering to build a substantive case. Thus, one cannot help thinking that their views seem to be oriented toward lazy journalists waiting for a quick and clean headline or quotation. In short, the volume provides a very, very preliminary introduction to the impressions ofpost-Mao socialism in China by a handful ofnongovernmental field specialists. It is readable but falls far short ofwhat its title promises to offer. Daojiong Zha University ofMacao DaojiongZha is an assistantprofessor ofgovernment and public administration specializing in Chineseforeign policy studies. Hungdah Chiù, editor. Chinese Yearbook ofInternational Law and Affairs. Volume 12 (1992-1994). Baltimore and Taipei: Chinese Society ofInternational Law. iii, 847 pp. Hardcover $28.00, isbn 0-925153-95-8. This collection, an assortment of articles, book reviews, and other items, is an annual production ofthe Chinese Society ofInternational Law, which is the Chinese (Taiwan) Branch of the International Law Association. To avoid confusion, this learned body must be distinguished from an association which bears the same name and is based in Beijing, People's Republic of China. To a large extent, this volume resembles its predecessors, reading more like a diplomatic annual ofthe Taiwan government, with a sprinkling ofacademically oriented pieces on international law and relations. Ofthe seven articles contained in it, two (by Frederick F. Chien and Hungdah Chiù, respectively) reflect the official position ofthe Taiwan government, with special emphasis on its interest in© 1996 by University an(jproactive stance toward regaining its membership in the United Nations oj awai ? resswnichwas lost to the People's Republic in 1971. Ofthe remaining five articles, the one contributed by Su-Ya Chang on the subject ofJohn Foster Dulles and the creation of the United States-Republic ofChina Mutual Defense Treaty of1954, de- 120 China Review International: Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 1996 serves special mention because ofher thorough research and insightful interviews. The other four articles have either been published in other works (Charlotte Ku's article on China's Unequal Treaties) or are ofrather "average" academic quality, although the background research is both detailed and adequate. The section on "Recent Developments" consists ofthree contributions: (1) "Political Participation ofWomen in Taiwan," (2) "Asian Pacific: New Scenarios after the Cold War;" and (3) "Request by Twelve United Nation Member States to Include the Republic of China UN Membership Issue." All of these inclusions are strong indications that the attempt to regain UN membership will be a top priority on Taiwan's diplomatic agenda in the years to come. The balance of the volume is devoted to book and article reviews and summaries ; other materials on international affairs; a list of bilateral treaties and agreements, with texts, between Taiwan and other countries in 1993; a list of agreements, with texts, concluded between the American Institute in Taiwan and the Co-ordination Council for North American Affairs in 1993; and a list of Taiwan foreign missions abroad and foreign diplomatic and other missions (of different designations) in Taiwan. Some of the books reviewed have no direct relation to either China or Taiwan—for example, Donald G. Gifford's book on legal negotiation. There is also a selected bibliography ofbooks and articles published in Taiwan that relate to international law and international affairs (1992-1993). Like preceding editions of the Yearbook, this volume is an indispensable tool for international lawyers and academic institutions with a particular interest in the development ofinternational law and relations on Taiwan. The editor and his team should be congratulated for continuing their methodical collection ofmaterials for the benefit of scholars and researchers. Frankie Fook-lun Leung Stanford Law School and Loyola Law School Frankie F. Leung is a lecturer on Chinese law at Stanford University School ofLaw and an adjunctprofessor ofChinese law...