Annual discussion on rights of the child——by Ms. Hong Ping,China Family Planning Association

正The quality of early childhood development has a life-long crucial impact on the development of a person. Over the past 30 years, children's health care system in China has made great progress. The government is committed to providing free vaccination and physical examination to all children and continuously improving the quality of medical care.     

Western law vs. Asian customs: Legal disputes on business practices in India,British Malaya and Hong Kong, 1850s–1930s

In traditional Asian societies, economic activities were always embedded with political and religious forces under the protective disguise of such institutions as communal temples and lineage groups. In India and China, for instance, it was very common that wealth was retained and accumulated in the form of religious endowments, and in the names of deceased ancestors or patron deities. Business activities, therefore, was a segment of the complicated web of kinship, ethnicity, and personal relations. Nevertheless, with the rise of British colonialism starting from the 19^th century, the presence of British legal system in Asia threatened the material interests of many of these endowments. Starting from the 1850s, the British courts have passed down as legal precedents that these perpetual trusts violated the British Rule against perpetuities. Nevertheless, the Hindu religious endowment was granted exemption to the Rule whereas the Chinese Tong was not – as the British courts ruled that endowments held in the name of Tong did not meet the test of being religious or charitable. This verdict was detrimental to traditional Chinese business practices, as Tong, being a common unit of share-holding in business investments, was not entitled to accumulate, transfer and inherit business shares. The gap between these decisions highlights the differences in the social and historical circumstances in which the respective British policies were formulated. The material described in this paper was supported by a Faculty Research Grant from HK Baptist University and an Earmarked Research Grant from the Research Grant Council of HK. The author would like to express her gratitude for the support.     

Clinton's China Visit and The New Trends in Sino-U.S.-Japanese Relations

The just-concluded successful trip of U.S. President Bill Clinton's to China andthe upcoming state visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin to Japan are twogreat diplomatic events in the Asia-Pacific in 1998 and mark the beginning of a newstage of positive interaction in relations among China, Japan and the United Statesat the turn ot the century.     

U.S.,Europe and China in Russia''''s Foreign Policy

Regardingitsmilitarystrengthespeciallythenu-cleararsenalRussiaisstillmoreorlessaglobalpowercomparedwiththeU.S.Howeverintermsofthecomprehensivenationalstrengthitisatmostaregionalpowerrankingahead.ThreeyearsagoRussiawascalleda″second-classcountry″byPutin.AlthoughRussiapaysattentiontobothglobalandregionalissuesitconcernsmoreaboutthosehavingdirectbearingonitsnationalinterests.U.S.EuropeandChinaarevalueddifferentlyinRussia'sforeignaffairs.Nomatterwhatkindofroleeachofthemplaysleadingindispens…     

Illiberal China – the ideological challenge of the People’s Republic of China,by Daniel F. Vukovich

Democracy and Decision: The Pure Theory of Electoral Preference by Geoffrey Brennan and Loren Lomasky. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Pp.x + 237; £30. ISBN 0 521 33040 8

Representation and Party Politics: A Comparative Perspective by B.D. Graham. Oxford and Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell 1993. Pp.242 + table; £40 (hardback); £13.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 63117 395 1 and 0 63117 396 X

The Market, Competition and Democracy: A Critique of Neo‐Austrian Economics by Stavros Ioannides. Aldershot, Hants: Edward Elgar, 1992. Pp.194; index; bibliography; appendices. £39.95. ISBN 1 85278 531 4

Democracy and Difference by Anne Phillips. Oxford: Polity Press, 1993. Pp.175; index. £39.50 (hardback); £11.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 7456 1096X and 0 7456 10978

Out of the Shadows: Women, Resistance and Politics in South America by Jo Fisher. London and New York: Monthly Review Press; London: Latin American Bureau, 1993. Pp.228; index; bibliography. £17.99 (hardback); £7.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 906156 78 5 and 0 906156 77 7

Democracy in the Third World by Robert Pinkney. Buckingham and Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press, 1993. Pp.182; index; bibliography. £37.50 (hardback); £12.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 3351 5705 X and 0 3351 5704 1

Russia's Road to Democracy: Parliament, Communism and Traditional Culture by Victor Sergeyev and Nikolai Biryukov. Aldershot, Hants: Edward Elgar, 1993. Pp.vii + 227; index; bibliography. £39.95 (hardback). ISBN 1 85278 851 8

Cinderella Goes to Market: Citizenship, Gender and Women's Movements in East Central Europe by Barbara Einhorn. London: Verso, 1993. Pp.vii + 280; index. £34.95 (hardback); £11.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 86091 410 0 and 0 86091 615 4     

U.S. Mid-term Elections and America’s China Policy in the Coming One or Two Years

The Democratic Party won a majority in both houses of the Congress for the first time since 1994 in the recent U.S. mid-term elections. By analyzing the major reasons for the Democratic Party's victory in the elections, we can conclude that in the coming one or two years, the U.S. domestic politics will focus on     

Tackling Challenges in the Global Economy and Building a New World Order—China’s Influence and U.S.Factors

Great expectations rest upon the U.S. and China, as the biggest economies in the developed and developing worlds, with regard to tackling challenges in the global economy and building a new world order.     

ID with IE foreign debt——by Mr. Gao Zhikai,Center for China and Globalization

正This is Victor Gao, on behalf of CCG(Center for China and Globalization). It is our great pleasure to attend this important meeting. In today's world,many developing countries have the utmost need to develop economy to build up their capacities. I would urge all countries in the world to provide as much support as possible to the economic development of these developing countries, including both equity and debt. I think nation-building and capacity-building is a very important way to create more jobs and to lift people out of poverty in many parts of the world.     

Contradictions and Compatibility between China＇s Multilateral Cooperation System and the U.S.-led Bilateral Alliance Structure in East Asia

The bilateral alliance structure dominated by the United States and the multilateral cooperation system advocated by China exist side by side in East Asia, which presents distinct dualistic structural feature of the international system in the region. These two systems, in essence, are contradictory and mutually opposing and neither of which could replace the other in reality. In a relatively long period of time, these international systems in East Asia will drive the region to and stability in the process contradictions and compatibility. develop in a direction of peace of accommodation between     

Reflections on My New Experiences in China──Mr. Turkmen,the Former Turkish Foreign Minister and Columnist on His Visit to China

Editor's Note: At the invitation ofthe Chinese Association for InternationalUnderstanding, after visiting China fromthe 12th to 19th last March, Mr IlterTurkmen, former foreign minister ofTurkey and a columnist of Hurriyet, wrote3 articles for Hurriyet based on his experiences in China, giving an objectics accountof China's policy of reform and opening tothe outside world as well as the success ofthis policy. What follows is an excerpt ofthe translation of his article" Seeking truthfrom …