A comparative study of the fundamental elements of chinese and english company law

International and Comparative Law Quarterly

Volumn 48, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 88-126

  Ong, Kingsley T W ^a   Baxter, Colin R ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HULL   (United Kingdom)

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EID: 79955109646     PISSN: 00205893     EISSN: 14716895     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0020589300062898     Document Type: Article

References (220)

1. E.g. Singapore Sunday times, 8 Sept. 1996, p.1
2. The Economist, 28 Nov. 1992, p.1.
3. Masaji Chiba (ed.), Asian Indigenous Law in Interaction with Perceived Law (1986), London.
4. R. Drury and P. Xuereb (Eds), European Company Laws: A Comparative Approach (1991),p.1.
5. N. Enonchong, “Public Policy in the Conflict of Laws: A Chinese Wall Around Little England?” (1996) 451. C.L.Q. 633 criticises the English courts for “undue insularity” in their attitude towards foreign law.
6. V. H. Li, Law Without Lawyers: A Comparative View of Law in China and the United States (1978), p.17.
7. Presently the world's most populated nation, with 1,175.36 million people– accounting for a fifth of the world's population (The Economist, Pocket World in Figures (1996)).
8. The Economist, 28 Nov. 1992, p.3, predicted China's economy will match Japan's performance by 2002.
9. See infra n.12.
10. The US and EC blocked China's bid to rejoin the GATT and WTO in April 1996. This is partly attributed to worries caused by China's impressive annual growth rates and economic potential in the 21st century: J. S. Mo, “China, the World Trade Organisation, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures” (1996) 30 J. World Trade 89.
11. China's average annual growth in real GDP from 1985 to 1993 was 9.2%, compared with the 23% growth of US and the 2.0% growth of the UK: The Economist, J. World Trade.
12. The Economist, 17 Aug. 1996, p. 11 predicts that China's economy will overtake the US in less than 20 years.
13. According to World Bank projections, China's net imports in the year 2002 will be US$639 billion, compared to US$521 billion for Japan. Under similar projections, China will have a gross domestic product of US$9.8 trillion in 2002, compared to US$9.7 trillion for the US (cited in D. D. Skeen, “Can Capitalism Survive under Communist Rule? The Effect of Hong Kong's Reversion to the People's Republic of China in 1997” (1995) 29 International Lawyer 175,206).
14. For a further discussion, see P. S. P. Hu, “Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China: The Chinese Productivity Triangle” (1993) 27 International Lawyer 523.
15. Management Today, 4 Dec. 1995.
16. Cited in Mo, Management Today, at p.93.
17. Idem, pp.93 and 112.
18. Although the Scottish legal system differs from that of England (see S. W. Thorpe and J. Levy (Eds), Company Law in Europe (3rd edn, 1994), p-520, for a discussion on the principal differences), Scottish company legislation is relatively similar in substance.
19. The differences between Scottish and English law will diminish even further as EC law continues to increase in importance: idem, p.521. However, because it remains arguable that differences still exist between the two systems, it is necessary to make clear that the term “UK law” will refer only to the law of England and Wales, unless otherwise stated.
20. Drury and Xuereb, Company Law in Europe, at p.4.
21. Jones et al. Law of the PRC iii (28 Dec. 1993, unpublished ms.)
22. (cited in T. R. Benson, “Taking Security in China: Approaching US Practices?” (1996) 21 Yale J.I.L. 183,188).
23. See also Liang, “Explicating ‘Law’: A Comparative Perspective of Chinese and Western Legal Culture” (1989) 3 J. Chinese Law 55
24. cited in Benson, J. Chinese Law: “Law is an inadequate translation of the underlying culture in China where law is not even conceptualised as the basic organising norm for society.”
25. Wang Guiguo, China's Company Law: The New Legislation (1994), p.1.
26. J. K. W. Cheung, “Reorganizing Chinese State-Owned Enterprises into Joint Stock Companies”, in Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business (1995). This article also discusses, in greater detail, the reasons for the fall of State-owned companies.
27. Wu Naitao, “Guarantee for Modern Enterprise System”, Beijing Review, 4–10 Apr. 1994.
28. The Economist, 28 Nov. 1992, p.6.
29. Undeniably, China experienced turbulent events in 1989 (Tiananmen massacre), which have caused many people outside China to fear that the decade-long policy of opening to the outside world might be reversed. However, Professor Don Wallace observes that “China is embarked in an irrevocable course of modernisation”: M. Rui and G. Wang (Eds), Chinese Foreign Economic Law: Analysis and Commentary (1990), p.xxiii.
30. In 1978 China's exports totalled a mere US$9.8 billion. By 1994 they were US$121 billion, making China the eighth largest exporter of manufactured goods in the world: The Economist, 17 Aug. 1996, p.16.
31. Between 1979 and 1989 the total investment portfolio amounted to US$170.6 billion and over 20,000 foreign investment enterprises were established: Johnson Stokes and Master, China Prospectus, p.2.
32. PRC Joint Venture Law, Art.1.
33. Wang Joint Venture Law, at p.2.
34. In reviewing PRC's current developments in 1993, prior to the enactment of the PRC Company Law, Wang Guiguo, Business Law of China—Cases, Texts and Commentary (1993), p.xxxvi, accurately anticipated the adoption of the legislation by the end of 1993. The urgency catalysed the enactment of the Company Law by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, instead of the full Session of the Congress, which is the more appropriate organ for enacting important laws such as this.
35. Wang (1994), Joint Venture Law.
36. For a further background discussion on the situation before the enactment of the PRC Company Law, see Fu Tingmei, “Legal Person in China,: Essence and Limits” (1993) 41 A.J.Comp.L. 261.
37. Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Gongsifa (The Corporation Law of the PRC) (enacted 29 Dec. 1993).
38. W. Friedmann, Legal Theory (5th edn, 1967), p.556.
39. Dicey, Law of the Constitution (8th edn), pp.87–88.
40. Cited Legal Theory.
41. For Chinese works, see Liu Han (1988), pp.37–74, 95–110, Li Buyun (1988), chap.1, Zhang Youyu (1989), chap.2, Zhao Zhenjiang (1990), chaps.3,4.
42. Chiam Boon Keng, Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore
43. cited in Sia Sau Hura, Business Firms and Companies, 4th edn. (1996), Singapore, p.5.
44. Hu Yebi, China's Capital Market (1993), pp.67–68.
45. This view was endorsed by Premier Li Peng in 1991. See Cheung, China's Capital Market, for more theories and arguments.
46. Sobel, M.A. and Zhang, D. “The Evolution of Foreign Secured Lending in China: Socialism and Property” (1989) Vol. 52 No. 3 Law & Contemp. Probs. 185.
47. For further references to discussion on this issue, see Fu, Law & Contemp. Probs, at p.282, n.106.
48. For further discussion on property rights of legal persons prior to the CL, see idem, pp.282–289. Fu provides a comprehensive discussion of the law of Chinese legal persons immediately prior to the enactment of the CL.
49. Guo Feng, “Gufenzhi Qiye Suoyouquan Wenti de Tantao” (Discussion of the Issue of Ownership Right of Joint Stock Companies) (1988) 3 Zhongguo Faxue 3.
50. Wang Liming, “Lun Gufenzhi Qiye Suotouquan de Erchong Jieguo” (On the Two-Tier Structure of Ownership Rights of Limited Companies) (1989) 1 Zhongguo Faxue 47.
51. Tong Rou and Shi Jichun, “Woguo Quanmin Suoyouzhi ‘Lianquan Fenli’ de Caich anquan Jieguo” (The Property Rights Represented by the Separation of Ownership and Management in Our State Ownership System) (1990) 3 Zhongguo Shehui Kexue 159.
52. See Macaura v. Northern Assurance Co. [1925] A.C. 619.
53. See C. A. Png, “Some Concerns About Chinese Company Law” (1996) 17 Co. Lawyer 199, 200–201, for a further discussion of the uncertain nature of property rights in the PRC.
54. Sia (1994), p.18.
55. Wang, Co. Lawyer, at p.2.
56. Wang, Co. Lawyer, at p.147.
57. Png, Co. Lawyer, at p.200.
58. Sia, Co. Lawyer n.45.
59. R. C. Art and M. Gu, “China Incorporated: The First Corporation Law of the People's Republic of China” (1995) Yale J.I.L. 273, 274–275.
60. Idem, p.275.
61. However, see Song (1995), p.73, who believes that the CL is to work in conjunction with old laws, rather than repeal or replace them.
62. Wang, Yale J.I.L. Official statistics show that the number of registered companies in China has grown from 486,700 in 1992 to 1,448,000 in 1994
63. per Wu, Yale J.I.L.
64. cited in Png, Yale J.I.L., at p.199.
65. Singapore Straits Times, 10 Aug. 1996.
66. Cohen Committee, Cmnd 6659 (1945).
67. Birds (1995), pp. 1–4.
68. “Relevant departments” authorised by the State Council would be the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC, an organisation analogous to the Companies Registry in the UK) or the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC, formerly known as Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, MOFERT) for foreign-owned companies (Khattar Wong & Partners, Investing in China (July 1993), p.2).
69. See Friedmann, Investing in China, at chap. 34.
70. Art and Gu, Investing in China, at p.291.
71. Companies Act 1985, s.24.
72. Wang, Companies Act, at p.3.
73. Art and Gu, Companies Act, at p. 292. However, allowing JSCs to have any number of shareholders does not imply a lack of control. All JSCs must satisfy conditions laid down in CL, Arts.73,75,79(5).
74. Thorpe and Levy, Companies Act, at pp.04–44.
75. Companies Act. At time of press companies can be bought at $46 (“Exchange & Mart”).
76. Cohen, Companies Act, at para.5
77. cited in L. S. Sealy, Company Law and Commercial Reality (1984), p.6.
78. Art and Gu, Company Law and Commercial Reality, at p.289.
79. The Law Committee of the National People's Congress, Report Concerning the Examination of Chinese Company Law (draft), 17 Dec. 1993 (in Chinese).
80. Art and Gu, Report Concerning the Examination of Chinese Company Law, at p.290.
81. Report Concerning the Examination of Chinese Company Law.
82. Report Concerning the Examination of Chinese Company Law.
83. H. G. Manne (1967) 53 Virginia L.R. 259
84. cited in J. H. Farrar, N. E. Furey, B. M. Hannigan and P. Wylie, Farrar's Company Law (3rd edn, 1991), p.317.
85. G. Morse, Charlesworth & Morse Company Law (1995), p.312.
86. Companies Act 1985, s.319.
87. Idem, s.303.
88. Bushell v. Faith [1969] 2 Ch. 438.
89. A. Hicks, “Disqualification of Directors–Forty Years On” (1988) J.Bus.L. 27,28.
90. Companies Act.
91. J. Shearman, “Corporate Governance–An Overview of the German Aufsichtsrat” (1995) J.Bus.L. 517,529–530.
92. Idem, p.530.
93. See also A. Hicks, “Disqualification of Directors for Persistent Default in Filing Documents; Section 155, Companies Act” (1985) Malayan L.Rev. 329, 357, who expresses a similar concern in Singapore.
94. Shearman, Malayan L.Rev.
95. Freedman, “Small Businesses and the Corporate Form: Burden or Privilege (1994) 57 M.L.R. 555.
96. Companies Act 1985, Table A, Art.70.
97. A director can be charged with over 200 kinds of offence under Companies Act 1985: V. Finch, “Personal Accountability and Corporate Control: The Role of Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance” (1994) 57 M.L.R. 880.
98. A. J. Boyle, J. Birds, E. Ferran and C. Villiers, Boyle & Birds' Company Law (3rd edn., 1995), p.430.
99. See Farrar et al, Boyle & Birds' Company Law, at chap.28, for a detailed discussion on disclosure requirements in the UK.
100. For further information, see the DTI Handbook of the Companies Inspection System (1990).
101. For criticisms on accounting disclosure requirements, see T. Smith, Accounting for Growth (1992), passim.
102. For discussions of DTI investigations, see Farrar et al., Accounting for Growth, at p. 509.
103. Companies Act 1985, s.246. It is estimated that about 90% of all registered companies in the UK qualify as small companies (Cmnd 9794, para.8.5).
104. Hicks, Accounting for Growth, at p.356.
105. For an outline of German law, see Thorpe and Levy, Accounting for Growth, at pp.E130–141.
106. For a more detailed discussion of the German supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat), see Shearman, Accounting for Growth.
107. The German concept of supervisory councils, with labour representation, has been used in newly adopted company laws in Eastern Europe (Art and Gu, Accounting for Growth, at p.295, n.144).
108. Art and Gu, idem, p.295.
109. Accounting for Growth.
110. See Shearman, Accounting for Growth, at p.530, who discusses the advantages of the German supervisory board.
111. Companies Act 1985,s.318.
112. Idem, ss.198–200.
113. Shearman, Companies Act, at p.531.
114. Companies Act.
115. Companies Act.
116. Companies Act.
117. Idem, p.517. The suggestion of implementing the supervisory board concept in England was raised as part of the underlying EC objective of a standard European market economy.
118. See Farrar et al, Idem, at chap. 3, for a discussion of the harmonisation of company law in the EC
119. Png, Companies Act, at p.202. This is partly because courts are considered by nonjudicial officials to be co-equals with the State bureaucracy. Another problem is corruption owing to judges' low pay.
120. See Drury and Xuereb Companies Act, at p. 142
121. who cite examples of the French, Italian and English law.
122. Farrar et al. Italian and English law, at p.321.
123. Galgano, in Drury and Xuereb, Italian and English law, at p.86.
124. Idem, p.87.
125. Italian and English law, citing the ideas of Rathenau.
126. See Farrar et al., Italian and English law.
127. See L. C. B. Gower, Modern Company Law (4th edn, 1979), p.143, for a more detailed discussion.
128. German law was the first Continental European legal system to repudiate the concept of general meeting sovereignty, in 1937: Galgano, Italian and English law.
129. In Marshall's Valve Gear v. Manning [1909] 1 Ch. 267, the board of directors decided 2:1 not to sue a person infringing the company's patent. But it was held that the general meeting (in which the dissenting director was a majority shareholder) could sue.
130. Automatic Self-Cleansing v. Cunninghame [1906] 2 Ch. 34, where an extraordinary resolution to override the board was required.
131. This has been reaffirmed in Breckland Group Holdings v. London & Suffolk Properties [1988] 4 B.C.C. 542, where Harman J considered Marshall's Valve Gear was overwhelmed by the weight of authorities against it.
132. Farrar et al., B.C.C.
133. Companies Act 1985, Table A, Art.37, which is adopted by most companies in England.
134. Art and Gu, Companies Act, at p.293.
135. Companies Act 1985, s.14.
136. Mozley v. Alston (1847) 1 Ph.790
137. Bentley-Stevens v. Jones [1914] 2 All E.R. 653.
138. But see Wedderburn [1957] C.L.J. 194, 212.
139. See also Goldberg (1972) 35 M.L.R. 362
140. Prentice [1980] Co. Law 179.
141. Eley v. The Positive Government Security Life Assurance Co. Ltd (1876) I Ex.D. 88 (CA).
142. Percival v. Wright [1902] 2 Ch. 421.
143. (1843) 2 Hare 461.
144. Prudentials. Newman (No.2) [1981] Ch. 257
145. NW Transportation v. Beatty (1887) 12 App. Cas.589.
146. Estamanco v. GLC [1982] 1 All E.R. 437.
147. See Drury and Xuereb, All E.R., at p.146.
148. In Ebrahimi v. Westbourne Galleries [1973] A.C. 360, the House of Lords' decision emphasised that the scope of “just and equitable” grounds under the Insolvency Act 1986, s.l22(l)(g) should not be confined to special situations.
149. Re a Company (No. 007623 of 1984) [1986] B.CL.C. 362 (per Hoffmann J).
150. This view is endorsed in Re a Company (No. 00314ofl989) [1990] B.C.C 221
151. Re Castleburn Ltd [1991] B.G.L.C. 89
152. Re a Company (No. 005685 of 1988), ex p. Schwarcz (No.2) [1989] B.C.L.C.
153. Cited from Farrar et al, B.C.L.C., at p.474.
154. Farrar et al., idem, pp.474, 475.
155. Art and Gu, B.C.L.C., at p.297.
156. B.C.L.C.
157. B.C.L.C.
158. Art and Gu, B.C.L.C., at p.298.
159. For a further discussion on German law, see Thorpe and Levy, B.C.L.C., at pp.E130–141.
160. F. Lin, “The PRC's New Labour Law–A Workers' Charter?”, in A. J. de Roo and R. W. Jagtenberg (Eds), Yearbook Law and Legal Practice in East Asia 1995, Vol.1, p.23, at p.27.
161. Art and Gu.Yearbook Law and Legal Practice in East Asia, at p.297.
162. Lin, Yearbook Law and Legal Practice in East Asia, at p.23. The most serious accident was a fire incident in Zhili Factory in Shenzhen at the end of 1994. Approximately 100 workers were killed.
163. Labour Law, Art.l.
164. Lin, Labour Law, at p.39.
165. Though Deng Xiaoping had relinquished all his offices prior to his death on 19 Feb. 1997, there was still widespread concern that his death might alter the course of reforms and government policy. This suggests that real power in China does not always require formal trappings. See Art and Gu, Labour Law, at p.299.
166. See also Beijing Review, 17–23 Mar. 1997, pp.4–5, “A Stable China Left by Deng”.
167. This explains the relatively large distance between formal and actual law in China, as compared to developed countries like the US and UK, observed by Professor W. Alford, “Chinese Living Law: An Interview with Professor William Alford” (1989) 7 Arizona J.Int.L. & Comp.L. 135, 136.
168. However, Benson, Arizona J.Int.L. & Comp.L., at p.227, believes, based on current developments, that the Chinese system on paper and in practice will over time increasingly resemble US and other Western models.
169. Companies Act 1985, s.309.
170. Idem, s.235.
171. Idem, s.743.
172. Note, however, that this is just a theoretical emphasis. In reality, enforcement of derivative civil actions by shareholders is not easy. However, this difficulty has been eased by idem, s.459. See Companies Act Section IV.C.
173. Art and Gu, Companies Act, at p.299.
174. Companies Act Section IV.B.
175. Such corruption includes insider trading of securities: Art and Gu, Companies Act, at p.300.
176. See UK Cork Committee Report, paras.1817, 1826. The Committee was against automatic disqualification, despite recognising some possible benefits.
177. Hicks, UK Cork Committee Report
178. For some Chinese views on human rights, see Ren Yanshi, “A Look at the US Human Rights Record”, Beijing Review, 17–23 Mar. 1997, pp.12–19. This article attacks US human rights policies. “The US government, posing as the ‘human rights judge of the world’, turn a blind eye to the serious human rights problems in its own country. Facts prove it is the US itself that has a poor human rights record in the world today. Reuter Reports on 16 Jan. 1996: 26 million or 10% of Americans lived on hand-outs from charity institutions.”
179. See also “US Human Rights Report Criticised by Chinese Scholar”, Beijing Review, 10–16 Mar. 1997, p 30. This article criticises the US for interfering with China's internal affairs and violating the UN Charter.
180. Bryan S. Bachner and H.L. Fu (eds.). Commercial Law in the PRC: Regulation and Reform Affecting the Market (1995), p.34.
181. Idem, p.35. See CL, Art22.
182. See Companies Act 1985, s.2, for list of company memorandum items in the UK. S.l (3) further adds that memoranda of public companies in UK must state that the company is a public company.
183. Morse, Companies Act, at p.79, describes the articles of association of UK companies as the “internal arrangements and management of the company”. The UK articles of association correspond roughly to the non-basic elements list specified in the CL, Art 22. In the UK the provisions of the standard-form articles contained in the Companies (Tables A to F) Regulations 1985 will apply.
184. Art and Gu, Companies Act, at p.293.
185. Idem, n.126.
186. General Principles of Civil Law of the PRC, Art.43, 12 Apr. 1986.
187. General Principles of Civil Law of the PRC.
188. General Principles of Civil Law of the PRC.
189. See J. C. Smith and B. Hogan, Criminal Law (7th edn, 1992), p.182.
190. However, where the person committing the crime can be identified as the “directing mind and will” of the guilty company, the company can be held guilty of intent to deceive (DPP v. Kent & Sussex Contractors Ltd [1944] K.B. 146)
191. even guilty of manslaughter (R. v. P&O Ferries (1990) 93 Cr. App. Rep. 72). Nevertheless, while normal criminal sanctions may be applied to the Chinese “legal representative” (natural person), they cannot be applied to the company per se (artificial legal person).
192. Art and Gu, Cr. App. Rep., at p.294.
193. For a further discussion of the Marxist approach to punishment, see J. G. Murphy, “Marxism and Retribution”, in A. Duff and D. Garland (Eds), A Reader on Punishment (1994).
194. Sia, Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Xingzheng Jiancha Tiaoli (The Provisions of Administrative Supervision of PRC), at p.4.
195. Art and Gu, Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Xingzheng Jiancha Tiaoli (The Provisions of Administrative Supervision of PRC), at pp.299–300.
196. “Chinese Woman Executed Over S$62m Fraud” Singapore Straits Times, 1 Feb. 1997. The case was reported in the China Business Times.
197. Per Finch, Singapore Straits Times, at p.880.
198. China's most-favoured-nation (MFN) status with the US has been an issue since June 1989 (following the Tiananmen massacre). A number of US Congressmen put forward bills to remove or extend China's MFN status with pre-conditions. During President Clinton's first year in the White House, he decided to link the renewal of China's MFN status with human rights. This decision was condemned and opposed by China. President Clinton finally decided to de-link MFN status with human rights issues in 1994. For further discussion of human rights in China, see “A North-South Struggle Over Human Rights”, Beijing Review, 14–20 Apr. 1997, pp.7–10.
199. Chen Wenjing, “The Status Quo and Prospects of Sino-US Trade Relations” (1996) 30 J. World Trade 19, 20.
200. J. World Trade.
201. Fu, J. World Trade, at p.295, cites the three most notable legal concepts established in China in the last decade as company law, bankruptcy and intellectual property.
202. B. Black and R. Kraakman, “A Self-Enforcing Model of Corporate Law” (1996) 109 Harv.L.Rev. 1911, 1979.
203. Png, Harv.L.Rev., at p.202.
204. See Png, idem, P. Keller, “Sources of Order in Chinese Law” (1994) 42 A.J.Comp.L. 711
205. A. Seidman and R. B. Seidman, “Drafting Legislation for Development Lessons From a Chinese Project” (1996) 44 A.J.Comp.L. 1–all passim.
206. See Mo, A.J.Comp.L., at p.91. China's bid to rejoin the GATT in April 1996 was blocked by the US and EU, and to some extent Canada and Japan.
207. They raised concerns about weaknesses in the present Chinese legal system. However, see “IPR Protection Achieving Progress”, Beijing Review, 27 Jan.-2 Feb. 1997, p.5: Chinese courts handled 20,000 civil IPR cases from 1991 to June 1996. According to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) 90% of these cases have been resolved. To date, more than 3,000 judges in China have been trained to try IPR cases. Furthermore, a Chinese IPR Training Centre is in preparation.
208. R. B. Schlesinger, “The Past and Future of Comparative Law” (1995) 43 A.J.Comp.L. 477 defines “compare” as “to observe and to explain similarities as well as differences”.
209. Seidman and Seidman, A.J.Comp.L., at p.37.
210. CL, Art.123 (directors and managers), Art.128 (supervisors). A more accurate translation of the Chinese text would be “sincerely and diligently”: Art and Gu, A.J.Comp.L., at p.296.
211. M. Hurlock, “Social Harmony and Individual Rights in China” (1993) 93 Col.L.Rev. 1318,1332 cites Hong Kong's then impending handover (on 1 July 1997) to illustrate the radical difference between Chinese and English concepts of the role of law in society. The failure of previous attempts to combine these two systems raised questions concerning the future of law in Hong Kong.
212. State-owned enterprises are expected to remain the dominant feature of the Chinese economy for the foreseeable future: Art and Gu, Col.L.Rev., at p.307.
213. Col.L.Rev.
214. Col.L.Rev.
215. Keller, Col.L.Rev., at pp.712–713.
216. See Keller, idem,passim for a discussion of the ways in which ideas concerning proper organisation of positive law have been adapted to the political and administrative realities of China.
217. Mo, Col.L.Rev., at p.93.
218. Art and Gu, Col.L.Rev., at p.307.
219. Edward Epstein is sceptical about the attitudes of both the legal officials and the community towards formal legal institutions. He argues that the future of Chinese law reform must depend on its political development. Unless the Chinese leaders themselves support it, China cannot be a State limited by the rule of law (cited in Png, Col.L.Rev., at p.202).
220. Lee Kuan Yew, Senior Minister and former Prime Minister of Singapore. Quoted from The Economist, 28 Nov. 1992, p.18.