Farzana Aslam on Harvey Weinstein and the Bystander Effect (HKPF)

"Harvey Weinstein and the bystander effect: How sexual predators persist in a conspiracy of silence"

Farzana Aslam

Hong Kong Free Press

29 October 2017

Harvey Weinstein’s fall into disgrace bears remarkable similarities to the scandal a few years ago in the U.K. about the British celebrity, Jimmy Savile. These two cases have common features in terms of how sexually predatory behaviour is perpetrated, perceived, and ultimately perpetuated.

     The male perpetrators in each case had achieved a certain status and standing in society; they were powerful and popular. Their alleged predatory behaviour was directed at the young and vulnerable. The predatory behaviour spanned decades... Click here for the full text.

Farzana Aslam Reflects on Hong Kong's Education System on Children's Day (SCMP)

"Hong Kong's education system is still failing to prepare children for the future"

Farzana Aslam
South China Morning Post
4 April 2017

April 4 marks Children’s Day in Hong Kong, a time for reflection on whether we as a society are doing enough to ensure the well-being of our children.

     There has been much attention on the intense pressure faced by children in the local school system. In order to keep up with the demands of continuous assessment, children have hours of homework to complete daily, at the expense of sleep and play, both of which are fundamental to their growth.

     As a result, education reform is high on the political agenda. Recent calls for the government to scrap the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) for Primary Three pupils resulted only in a move to replace it with a Basic Competency Assessment that the government says is much improved... Click here to read the full article.

Farzana Aslam Interviewed on Apple's Removal of New York Times App in China (NY Times)

"Apple Removes New York Times Apps From its Store in China"
Katie Benner and Sui-Lee Wee
The New York Times
4 January 2017

Apple, complying with what it said was a request from Chinese authorities, removed news apps created by The New York Times from its app store in China late last month.

     The move limits access to one of the few remaining channels for readers in mainland China to read The Times without resorting to special software. The government began blocking The Times’s websites in 2012, after a series of articles on the wealth amassed by the family of Wen Jiabao, who was then prime minister, but it had struggled in recent months to prevent readers from using the Chinese-language app.

     Apple removed both the English-language and Chinese-language apps from the app store in China on Dec. 23. Apps from other international publications, including The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal, were still available in the app store.

     “For some time now the New York Times app has not been permitted to display content to most users in China and we have been informed that the app is in violation of local regulations,” Fred Sainz, an Apple spokesman, said of the Times apps. “As a result, the app must be taken down off the China App Store. When this situation changes, the App Store will once again offer the New York Times app for download in China.”

...

     Farzana Aslam, associate director of the Center for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong, noted that in matters involving customer privacy, Apple requires governments to submit subpoenas, search warrants or other legal documents. 

     “Maybe in the end they have to do it, but I think there’s something to be said about standing up for what you believe in and purporting to put principle before profit in a country like China, to show that actually there is this tension there,” Ms. Aslam said. “It’s not as simple as, ‘Because we operate in your jurisdiction, we’ll do anything you ask of us.’”... Click here to read the full article.

Glofcheski & Aslam's Employment Law and Practice in Hong Kong (2nd Edition)

Employment Law and Practice in Hong Kong, Second Edition
General Editors: Rick Glofcheski and Farzana Aslam
Sweet & Maxwell
2016

Content highlights of the Second Edition: A string of ground-breaking Court of Final Appeal decisions in a number of important areas, including: (i) Trade union discrimination protections and an expanded interpretation of Employment Ordinance s 21B “activities of a trade union” (Blakeney-Williams v Cathay Pacific Airways, 2012); (ii) Restrictions on multiple concurrent employers (Chung Yuen Yee v Sam Woo Bore Pile Foundation, 2013); (iii) Reach of the Employment Ordinance’s statutory annual leave provisions (Kwan Siu Wa Becky v Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, 2012); (iv) The extension of a contractor’s duty of care to subcontractor’s employees (Luen Hing Fat Coating & Finishing Factory Ltd v Waan Chuen Ming, 2011); and (v) Damages awards for failure to conduct contractually entitled disciplinary hearings (Blakeney-Williams v Cathay Pacific Airways, 2012). Important statutory developments examined in this edition including: (i) The introduction of the Minimum Wage Ordinance (2010); (ii) Criminalization of the failure to pay awards made by the Labour Tribunal and Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board (2010); (iii) Expansion of the scope of the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund (2012); and (iv) The introduction of paternity leave and paternity leave pay (2015).

Farzana Aslam on Balancing Global Concerns with Local Issues (SCMP)

"Don't blame globalisation for all society's ills, in Hong Kong or elsewhere"

Farzana Aslam

South China Morning Post

19 September 2016

With six “localists” among winners of the Legislative Council election in Hong Kong, following on the heels of Brexit, the nomination of Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for US president, and the rise of populist politics across Europe, it is tempting to think that the era of globalisation is coming to an end, or is at least facing an alarming backlash.

     Hong Kong “localists” are outspoken over the question of autonomy, but the political platform upon which they have garnered support is a protest against the establishment and its failure to address the pressing social issues that affect Hong Kong as a community – namely, rising inequality, the lack of affordable housing and the public’s perception that government is serving the interests of big business at the expense of the increasing ranks of the poor. It is a common thread that runs through all political shifts occurring around the globe.

      Outside of Hong Kong, the rhetoric has been squarely directed against globalisation, specifically international trade and open borders allowing the free flow of capital and people. This, however, is to equate the forces of globalisation with the forces that drive inequality, the stagnation of real incomes, the erosion of job security and of welfare services provided by the state.

      Politicians worldwide have been too ready to invoke globalisation as the cause of their domestic woes, when the reality is that the decline in the prosperity and social well-being of the average citizen of these nations has been the result of deliberate domestic policies promoted under the banner of globalisation... Click here to read the full article.

Farzana Aslam on Proper Care for Overseas Employees (China Daily)

"Employees working overseas must be properly cared for"
Farzana Aslam
China Daily
31 May 2016

With the impact of globalization resulting in increased transnational business opportunities, Hong Kong-based companies are faced with an ever-increasing requirement to send their employees abroad on business-related activities.

     Many employees are expected and required to be mobile, flexible and ready to travel at short notice in pursuit of business opportunities, or to manage operations, personnel or crises overseas. Others are required to spend longer periods of time on assignment or secondment in a foreign jurisdiction as part of their training, knowledge exchange or career development.

     While many employees welcome the prospect of overseas travel and assignments, employees traveling and working overseas may be exposed to a number of risks that fall outside of the scope of risks contemplated by health and safety management systems applicable to workplaces in Hong Kong. For instance, employees who contract an illness or pandemic disease may, in countries with weak healthcare infrastructure, be exposed to an increased level of risk. As borders open and markets emerge in areas that are politically, socially or economically unstable, risks related to personal safety and security present themselves alongside more readily assumed health-related risks.

     From a legal perspective there is a duty of care on employers to ensure the health and safety of their employees at work. The duty of care is a personal, non-delegable duty. It is thus no defense for an employer to say he has delegated his responsibility to the employee himself or to another company to which the employee is assigned, even if the workplace is located overseas. An employer’s breach of this duty will give an employee a right to bring a claim to recover damages for losses suffered as a result of the breach, for example for the pain and suffering of any personal injuries and for loss of earnings for any period of time which the employee was unable to work as a result of such injuries... Click here to read the full article.

CCPL White Paper on Employer's Duty of Care for Employees Working Overseas

"White Paper on Employer's Duty of Care for Employees Working Overseas"

Farzana Aslam
Centre for Comparative and Public Law
May 2016
Abstract: This paper presents the findings of a study to identify the nature of health and safety risks faced by Hong Kong-based employees who are required to travel and work overseas, together with human resource policies and procedures that are used by Hong Kong employers to manage and respond to such risks. The first part of this Paper discusses the extent to which a Hong Kong-based employer’s duty of care for the health and safety of its employees has extra-territorial application by reference to legal duties imposed upon an employer at common law and by health and safety-related legislation, as well as broader obligations arising from principles of corporate social responsibility. The second part of this Paper presents the research findings from the study together with recommendations to inform best practice human resource policies and procedures with a view to improving the management of health and safety for employees required to travel and work overseas.  Click here to download the full paper.  To read more about this project, click here.  Farzana presented her paper at a HKU talk and panel discussion on 24 May 2016. 

Farzana Aslam on Whether Hong Kong Has Reached a Tipping Point (The Diplomat)

"Three Strikes: A Tipping Point for Hong Kong?"
Farzana Aslam
The Diplomat
24 March 2016

For the past few decades, Hong Kong’s business networks with mainland China and neighboring countries have positioned it advantageously for intraregional trade and investment activities. A low tax regime, a wealth of financial, logistics, legal, and accounting professionals, a transparent legal environment, and a commitment to the rule of law have enticed transnational companies to locate their headquarters in the territory, defining Hong Kong as the “Gateway to the East.” Confident in the longevity of this role, in 2001 Hong Kong designated itself as “Asia’s World City.” However, three recent events have marked a tipping point in the geopolitical relevance of Hong Kong.

Strike One: The TPP

The first of these events took place on February 4, 2016 with the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The 12 nations that are party to the TPP — Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam — have reached an ambitious new trade agreement. Significantly for Hong Kong, China is not a signatory. While the TPP will eliminate trade restrictions, tariffs, and barriers in order to facilitate trade and foreign direct investment between signatory states, it is also likely to disrupt existing patterns of trade and investment in Asia Pacific for non-signatory states in the region. As such, the TPP represents a strategic play by the U.S. government to assert its influence in the region by shifting flows of foreign direct investment and trade away from China.

     Part of TPP’s approach is to achieve its aims by raising labor standards across the Asia-Pacific region, rather than by taking advantage of a pool of cheap labor at the expense of minimal labor protections, as has been the net impact of many foreign trade agreements. In this way, TPP’s architects hope not only to avoid a “race to the bottom” by improving the conditions of workers in the Asia Pacific region, but also to level the playing field for American businesses... Click here to read the full article.

Farzana Aslam Writes on the Value of Domestic Work on International Women's Day (SCMP)

"Women's quest for equality will remain out of reach until we begin to respect the value of domestic work"
Farzana Aslam
South China Morning Post
8 March 2016

In the lead-up to March 8, International Women’s Day, I have found myself humming one of Alicia Keys’ most memorable tunes and reflecting upon the line: “A real man just can’t deny a woman’s worth.” I have many friends who have fallen into patterns of domesticity that I associate with 1950s divisions of labour; namely, that the man of the household goes out to work while the woman gives up her career in order to look after the children and the running of the household.

      The fact that, when children come along, one partner may need to sacrifice his or her career in order to take primary responsibility for care-giving is perhaps inevitable; that it invariably falls to the woman is less so.

      But what is certainly not inevitable is the lack of value accorded to women once they do so. Some of my female friends express guilt or a sense of worthlessness for not making any financial contribution to the household.

     Others, who have been out of the workforce for some time, have lost confidence in their ability to rejoin the workforce. On the flip side, I have male friends who define their wives as “stay at home”, “a kept woman” or “not working”.

     Why do I have a problem with this? Well, because implicit in this discourse is that the running of a household and the care of young children are viewed as “non-work”. Women undertaking labour such as budgeting, shopping, cleaning, cooking, driving, care of children or other family members are regarded as dependents rather than “workers”. This is a misrepresentation of the contribution that women make to the economy and well-being of the family unit and society as a whole... Click here to read the full article.

Farzana Aslam on Domestic Helpers' Day Off (SCMP)

"Up to domestic helpers themselves to decide how to spend their day off in Hong Kong"

Farzana Aslam

South China Morning Post

21 November 2015

Three letters have been published recently on the subject of where and how migrant domestic workers spend their days off.

     The tone that has been used throughout this series of letters is polarising, patronizing, and problematic. The latest has the letter writer suggesting that the Hong Kong government provide training courses in community centres or city halls. The rationale being: "This will prevent them from mixing with the wrong company, which most of Hong Kong employers are afraid of…"

     The writer goes on to argue, "nowadays it is not uncommon for maids to have to look after family members with certain health conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease … In such cases, professional training courses can be offered to the helpers, who often have no experience in looking after people with such conditions. Wouldn't this be a more meaningful way for helpers to spend their days off, rather than mingling with other helpers?"

     Really? Yes, there are many migrant domestic workers who choose to congregate in Central and other urban areas on their day off. But, then again, there are many Hong Kong residents who also choose to spend their day off in Central and other densely populated areas of the city.  Click here to read the full article.

CCPL Submission on the Review of the Environment, Social and Governance Guide (HK Exchanges & Clearing)

"Submission for Public Consultation on the Review of the Environmental, Social and Governance Guide"
Farzana Aslam
Centre for Comparative and Public Law
September 2015

Introduction: The Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL) at the University of Hong Kong welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEx) Consultation Paper on the Review of the Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Guide (‘the Consultation Paper’). CCPL commends the HKEx’s desire to improve the quality, sustainability and reputation of the Hong Kong market, and to align Hong Kong with international best practice related to sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. CCPL broadly supports most of the proposals put forward by the HKEx in its Consultation Paper including the need to upgrade many of the environmental and social disclosure requirements to require issuers to report on a ‘comply and explain’ basis... Click here to download the full submission.

Subsidies to Big Oil Unjustified and Need to Stop

Inna Amesheva, PhD candidate

"The Fossil Fuel Industry's Continued Chokehold on State Resources"

Eco-Business

2 February 2015

Inna Amesheva

According to International Energy Agency (IEA) figures, in 2012 global fossil fuel subsidies amounted to $544 billion. On the other hand, the financial support provided to the renewable energy sector was under 20 percent of that, or $101 billion. The estimate of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for oil, coal and gas subsidies is much higher, putting the total nearer $2 trillion. The differences stem from the uncertain definition of what a ‘subsidy’ represents, but in any case, the figures are striking. Taking a national perspective, in the United States alone, reliable assessments of yearly fossil fuel subsidies range from $10 billion to $52 billion per annum. This number exceeds by 5-6 times the amount spent on renewable energy generation.

     This substantial chunk of the government’s revenue would be much better spent financing socially beneficial projects such as building new schools, hospitals and badly-needed infrastructure. In addition, fossil fuel subsidies, if diverted to the renewable energy sector, would serve a longer-term, more sustainable purpose that would not only provide for a cleaner environment, but would also reduce dependence on ‘dirty’ fuels that exacerbate the effects of climate change....  Click here to read the full article.  Ms Inna Amesheva is a PhD candidate in public international law in the Faculty of Law, supervised by Dr. James Fry.  She wrote this article as part of the requirements of Farzana Aslam's LLM course, Business and Human Rights.

Dark Truth About Chocolate Production

"The dark truth about chocolate production"
South China Morning Post
10 December 2014
Brooke Zheng (LLMHR student)
Legions of chocolate consumers should exert pressure on producers to stop the exploitation of child farm workers
At this time of year especially, it's worth stopping to consider how your gift of chocolate is made. For all the pleasure the eating of this food brings, its production often means a life of misery for the children in West Africa who harvest the cocoa beans - an essential ingredient - in hazardous conditions.While cocoa is consumed mainly by people in developed countries, some 70 per cent of it is produced in Africa. And the world wants more: recently, the world's biggest chocolate companies warned of a chocolate deficit by 2020. With increasing demand for chocolate, more children will be pushed into the labour force on cocoa farms. According to a 2011 report, some 1.8 million children, aged from five to 17, were working on cocoa farms in Ivory Coast and Ghana. Many are forced to work long hours, applying chemicals without protective equipment. Their rights to education are also largely denied; around 40 per cent of the working children on Ivorian cocoa farms were not enrolled in school...  Click here to read the full article.  The article was based on work done in Farzana Aslam's Business and Human Rights course.

CCPL's Myanmar Rule of Law Workshop (1-5 Dec 14)

The Centre for Comparative and Public Law held a week-long Myanmar Rule of Law Workshop from 1 to 5 December 2014 at the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong.  The workshop was co-sponsored by The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation and was the third rule of law collaboration with CCPL in recent years.  The main CCPL organisers were Farzana Aslam, Kelley Loper and Lindsay Ernst. 

Prof Ian Holliday

The participants were a small group of young professionals working on rebuilding the rule of law in Myanmar.  The five-day intensive workshop consisted of seminars and lectures given by legal academics, lawyers and judges, together with site visits to important rule of law institutions, including the offices of the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Equal Opportunities Commission.  

Panel on Independence of the Judiciary

Highlights from the workshop included a public lecture on the rule of law and development by Mr. Robert Pe, a panel on independence of the judiciary featuring Judge Frank Stock NPJ, Justice Queeny Au-yeung and former Justice Anselmo Reyes, a public lecture on the political context of rule of law by Mr. Frank Januzzi, and a public seminar by Professor Ian Holliday.

CCPL Submission for the EOC's Discrimination Law Review

The Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL) has made a written submission for the Equal Opportunities Commission's Public Consultation on the Discrimination Law Review.  CCPL broadly supported the EOC's proposals for modernisation, harmonisation and simplification of the existing legal framework.  It also highlighted the need to comply with international human rights standards, promote substantive equality and provide an effective remedy for all forms of unjustifiable discrimination.  Antonio Da Roza (Research Assistant Professor) deals with the issue of consolidation and harmonisation based on his study of the structure and content of the four existing anti-discrimination statutes.  From his original empirical study of discrimination litigants, he emphasises the need to ensure free and fair access to the judicial system when making discrimination claims.  Farzana Aslam (Principal Lecturer and Associate Director, CCPL) outlines shortcomings in promoting equality and non-discrimination and highlighted concerns with the EOC's conciliation mechanism.  She advocates for a consolidated human rights body that complies with the Paris Principles.  Kelley Loper (Assistant Professor and Deputy Director, CCPL) explains the need to comply with Hong Kong's international human rights obligations, which include duties to promote substantive and formal equality and to address all forms of unjustifiable discrimination.  She proposes amending the definition of 'indirect discrimination', strengthening the reasonable accommodation requirement, expanding the list of prohibited grounds to include sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion and immigrant status, and minimising or removing broad exceptions.  Click here to download the full report.