Amsterdam Law School has ten (salaried) PhD positions open, and applicants interested in China with excellent legal and language skills are encouraged to apply. You would have the privilege of working with Benjamin van Rooij, author (among other things) of a terrific book on Chinese environmental law that combines unique fieldwork with theoretical sophistication.

Details here.

Ultra-nationalist Peking University professor Kong Qingdong (孔庆东), who boasts of being a direct descendant of Confucius, stirred up a controversy the other day with televised insults to the people of Hong Kong - mocking their accent, calling them dogs (he later claimed he only meant some of them), and declaring that all Chinese had a duty to be able to speak Mandarin. (Here's a video of his remarks and the Hong Kong subway incident that prompted them.)

I want to look particularly at his claim that all Chinese have a duty to speak Mandarin. Here's what he said, in the original and in transla

Fresh from its triumph over the dark forces of Hollywood in their attempt to topple the state by shaking the hand of a blind man, the people's democratic dictatorship has now set its sights, once again, on Ni Yulan, already crippled by earlier police beatings. Apparently she and her husband have been "picking quarrels" and "disturbing public order", both criminal offenses. The New York Times story is here. Apparently the leaders have not been reading books about how China is destined to take over the world. They seem extraordinarily unconfident and fearful.

Chinese prison authorities have apparently notified Gao Zhisheng's brother that he is being held in a prison in Xinjiang. Here's the report from China Aid Association (I added the link about the alleged probation violation):

China Aid Association

(Washington, D.C. – Jan. 1, 2012) For the first time since his most recent forced disappearance 20 months ago, the whereabouts of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng were confirmed on Sunday.

ChinaAid learned that Gao Zhisheng’s older brother, Gao Zhiyi, received written notification on Sunday of Gao’s incarceration in Shaya Prison in the

I was shocked and very saddened to hear of Prof. Larry Ribstein's sudden death (apparently from a stroke) on Dec. 24th. In addition to teaching Chinese law, I also teach business associations, and so was familiar with Larry's name and fame before actually meeting him when we were both visiting professors at NYU Law School in 2007-08. You can get a sense of Larry's personality by reading his voluminous writings and blog posts - his style is crystal clear and highly readable, his ideas original and important. But I needed to meet him in person to get a full sense of the man and to realize what a cool guy

Gao Zhisheng welcomes revocation of probation, looks forward to prison beatings

DATELINE: Somewhere in China, Dec. 16, 2011 -- Noted Chinese dissident Gao Zhisheng today welcomed the news that his probation had been revoked and that he would be going back to prison. “I’ve gotta admit, life on the outside has been a bit tougher than I expected,” he said through clenched teeth, as his broken jaw had been wired shut. “But at least I’ll know where I am.”

Speaking from an undisclosed location, Gao also said that he looked forward to meeting his new cellmates and to being beaten by them daily. “Hey