Weixia Gu spoke at International Arbitration Symposium at Cornell Law School

International Arbitration Symposium Provides Better Understanding of International Arbitration

Pictured (from left to right): Dr. Yuh-Ming Yan, Dr. Weixia Gu, Bianca Lin, and Professor Yun-chien Chang

On 18th April 2025, the International Arbitration Society, in collaboration with the Clarke Program in East Asian Law and Culture, hosted the Cornell International Arbitration Symposium at the Cornell Law School. This event brought together leading experts in the field to discuss various aspects of international arbitration in the East and the West. Dr. Weixia Gu, a leading scholar on international arbitration at our Law Faculty, has been invited to speak at this eminent event.

The symposium began with a morning panel featuring experts with Sinophone backgrounds. Dr. Yuh-Ming Yan, Associate Professor from Taiwan’s leading law school, National Chengchi University Law School, shared insights on arbitration developments in Taiwan. Dr. Weixia Gu, Associate Professor from Hong Kong’s top law school, The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, then provided law and development insights into international arbitration in Hong Kong. Dr. Wei Gao, Associate Professor from mainland China’s top law school, Peking University Law School, analysed mainland China's arbitration landscape, and Bianca Lin, Partner from Allegaert Berger & Vogel, shared her experiences combining East Asian background with her legal practice in the U.S. The panel emphasized on how international arbitration frequently involves cross-border collaboration, and how understanding the practices and contexts of different jurisdictions is crucial. Moderated by Yun-chien Chang, Jack G. Clarke Professor in East Asian Law and Culture at Cornell Law School, the morning panel laid the groundwork for a deeper understanding of international arbitration in a cross-border and cross-cultural context.

The discussions continued in the afternoon panel, which focused more on American perspectives of international arbitration. Lee Caplan, leader of Arent Fox Schiff’s international arbitration practice group and a former assistant attorney at the State Department Office of the Legal Adviser, discussed the politics of investment arbitration in the U.S.. Afterwards, Ted Lynch, Partner of International Arbitration at Jones Day, talked about the enforceability of international arbitral awards in US. Stephen Anway, global co-chair of International Dispute Resolution at Squire Patton Boggs, compared arbitration practices in mainland China and the U.S., and finally Muna Ndulo, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of International & Comparative Law and Director of the Berger International Legal Studies Program, outlined global efforts to reform international arbitration laws and practices. Justice Gambino 26′, President of the Cornell International Arbitration Society at Cornell Law School, moderated the afternoon panel.

The Cornell International Arbitration Symposium provided better understanding of international arbitration, highlighting the importance of collaboration and understanding diverse legal contexts of international arbitration in today's globalized world.

The official news report from the Cornell Law School is available here.

Sida Liu and Joonsik Kim on About the Patient Named Taiwan: The Rise of Doctors in Party Politics (Journal of Contemporary Asia)

"About the Patient Named Taiwan: The Rise of Doctors in Party Politics"
Joonsik Kim, Sida Liu
Journal of Contemporary Asia
Published online: April 2025

Abstract: Doctors are not typically known for engaging in party politics. However, in Taiwan, many doctors have assumed prominent roles within the Democratic Progressive Party, including Dr Lai Ching-te who became president in May 2024. This article examines the factors contributing to the rise of doctors in Taiwan’s party politics since democratisation, particularly in the Democratic Progressive Party. Although the existing literature focuses on regime transitions and capital convertibility in elite circulation, this study proposes an alternative explanation: the symbiotic relationship between the Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan and the Democratic Progressive Party. Utilising extensive archival data from Taiwan, the article argues that this alliance, which combined an influential medical association with a weak political party, facilitated the emergence of doctor-politicians during Taiwan’s democratisation. The findings suggest that professional associations can serve as political vehicles, transforming individual efforts into collective action by participating in policymaking and mobilising resources for social movements and electoral politics. Furthermore, the case of doctor-politicians in Taiwan offers valuable insights into professional mobilisation, demonstrating how scientific expertise can be harnessed to wield moral authority and establish political coalitions within and beyond professional boundaries.

New edited book by Daniel Bell on Being Chinese, Becoming Chinese (The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press)

Being Chinese, Becoming Chinese
Edited by Daniel Bell
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press

Published in April 2025
300 pp.

Book Description: This edited volume presents a multidisciplinary exploration of Chinese identity, bringing together contributions from leading philosophers, historians, and legal theorists. The book examines the question of what it means to be, or to become, Chinese, and offers a rich collection of perspectives that span both historical and contemporary contexts. Through a series of thought-provoking chapters, the authors explore the complexities of “Chineseness,” shedding light on its relational and multifaceted nature. This book is an essential resource for scholars and students of China studies, philosophy, history, political science, sociology, and law.

New edited Chinese book by Say Goo and Shen Wei on FinTech and Legal Evolution: Credit, Currency, and AI (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

金融科技與法律變革-信用 貨幣和人工智能 (FinTech and Legal Evolution: Credit, Currency, and AI)
主編(Edited by): 沈偉 (Shen Wei), 吳世學 (Say Goo)
上海交通大學 (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
出版日期 (Publication date)：March 2025

內容簡介(Description): 以數字為基礎的新技術革命和數字經濟正在改變我們的生活。人工智能、量子計算等高科技正在深度嵌入社會生活，從金融市場到海上船舶，從司法實踐到智慧城市 建設速度之快、規模之廣和介入之深都令人有日新月異、歎為觀止之感。技術與金融相互結合的金融科技改變了貨幣、商業銀行、保險服務、信用體系、證券交易等許多傳統領域的法律面向，對監管提出了更新的要求。本書從監管視角探討金融科技、技術 治理和科技法治的新問題、新視角和新挑戰，揭示技術浪潮對國家治理和法律制度的深刻影響。

Book review of Allison Powers's Arbitrating Empire: United States Expansion and the Transformation of International Law by Jedidiah Kroncke

"Recovering an Erased Era of Early American Imperial Legal Experimentation"
Jedidiah Kroncke
Jotwell - The Journal of Things We Like (Lots)
Published online: March 2025

Book Review: Inherent in historical work is recovering aspects of the past lost to contemporary awareness. In her new book, Arbitrating Empire: United States Expansion and the Transformation of International Law, Allison Powers recovers one such aspect that has been more than passively forgotten—it was actively erased. Her target is a series of state-to-state arbitral claims commissions central to American international law during the country’s rise as a global power. Here Arbitrating Empire revises understandings of early international arbitration as an instrument of “civilized” non-violent dispute resolution by exposing its function as a legal technology of imperial power. Powers’s intervention is a powerful and persuasive addition to the rapidly expanding literature on the evolution of the legal forms used to project American power abroad while denying accountability for its violence. The initial history of American international arbitration, she shows, was governed by the imperative “to secure territory, wealth, and political power across the globe while disavowing charges of colonial aggression.” (P. 7.)

Arbitrating Empire centers on five different claims commissions......

(Please click here to view full text of the book review)