Victims,sex workers and perpetrators: gray areas in the trafficking of nigerian women

Some Nigerian women entrepreneurs of the Italian sex market were trafficked women in the past who made a career in the trafficking hierarchy and its organized crime groups. The female mobility towards the organizational side of the trafficking offense represents the most striking characteristic of the Nigerian trade industry: in fact, the trafficking victims are driven by their persecutors to take an active part in the trafficking offenses over time. This criminal modus operandi explains why several difficulties arise in defining sharp dividing lines between trafficking victims and trafficking perpetrators. Facing such a distinctive issue, this paper wants to highlight the multiple roles that women hold in the trafficking industry by focusing on: a) the gray areas in the Nigerian trade industry; b) the intermediate roles that individuals hold within the victim/offender model; c) the female vertical mobility in the trafficking hierarchy. Thanks to such an analysis, the author wants to overcome dominant binary approaches (mostly based on the victim/perpetrator dichotomy) in the analysis of Nigerian trade industry.     

Environmental management by law in China: The Guangzhou experience∗

Taking enviornmental management in Guangzhou as an example, this article explores the theory and practice of Communist China's idea of “environmental management by law.” Based on the Guangzhou experience, it argues that environmental management by law in China is mainly an administrative system of environmental management which takes law strictly as a tool for efficient and effective environmental protection. This system is operated on the principle of ‘rule by law’, and is the antithesis of the Maoist practice of “rule by person.” Contrary to its Western counterpart, China's environmental management system is built on a state‐centered conception of administrative law instead of a ‘right‐centered’ one which is the core of the ‘rule of law’ tradition.     

Anti-triad legislations in Hong Kong: issues, problems and development

One way to tackle triad societies is through effective legislation. The present article first describes and reviews the legislation dealing with triad activities in Hong Kong – The Societies Ordinance – and highlights the main issues and problems. Four issues are discussed, namely ambiguity in the definition of triad membership, doubtful neutrality of triad experts, outdated triad-related literature cited in the court, and the contradiction with human rights and freedom of expression. The article further examines the effect of the ordinance in suppressing triad activities and argues that the law is not very effective in penalizing senior triad members, thus justifying the need for a new legislation to contain the growth of triad activities and organized crime.     

From support to pressure: The dynamics of social and governmental influences on environmental law enforcement in Guangzhou City,China

This paper examines how changes in governmental and social influences affect environmental enforcement in Guangzhou city, China, between 2000 and 2006. The paper finds that a form of “decentered regulation” has developed. Regulatory enforcement is no longer the sole affair of the government and the regulatory bureaucracy, but has been increasingly influenced by societal forces. The transformation over time shows the promises and limits of decentered regulation in Guangzhou's dynamic authoritarian setting. Analyzing a set of longitudinal survey data and qualitative interviews, the paper finds that by 2006, the rise of civil society and its increased support for protecting the environment had a double‐edged impact on the enforcement of environmental regulations. The paper demonstrates that on the one hand, by 2006, when government support for enforcement was low, societal forces developed an ability to counterbalance such lack of governmental support and positively influence enforcement. However, it also shows that when government support was high, a concurrent rise in societal support created a negative effect on enforcement. Thus too much societal support can become an enforcement burden.     

Toxicological screen on gastric aspirates: the Singapore experience.

In the early eighties, in response to increasing self-poisoning incidents by pharmaceuticals in Singapore, a comprehensive wide-sweep screen for these drugs in clinical gastric aspirates was devised and implemented by us. The toxicological screen which involved quadruplicate extractions, two in acidic conditions and the other two in alkaline conditions, required the following analyses to be carried out: UV on the acidic fraction, TLC on the basic fraction and mega-bore capillary GC/NPD (nitrogen phosphorus detector) on the combined fraction. The combined fraction if necessary was subjected to GC/MS analysis. Our screen satisfied the need to confirm the analytical outcome of one method by another. Combining the acidic and basic fractions for a single GC analysis saves on instrument time and manpower. All coma and emergency cases were required to undergo GC/MS analysis to prove the identity of toxic agents beyond reasonable doubt. Quality control procedures were instituted at key steps to ensure quality of analytical outcome.     

Political liberalization in the People's Republic of China: Its linkage to the Mainland-Taiwan reunification

This article examines the impact of China's liberal political reforms on its reunification with Taiwan from the perspective of linkage theory. Through the liberalization of domestic politics, the post-Mao leadership has effected a fundamental change of regime type, transforming the Maoist totalitarian state to an established single-party regime. Because of this change, the Chinese Communists have increasingly considered China more as a developing country than a Marxist regime that needs a favorable regional and international environment for implementing its modernization programs. This has led to the emergence of a secular and stable China. The liberal tendencies in internal politics have produced four domestic-international linkages favoring China in the settlement of the Taiwan issues. Despite the presence of some negative linkages against China, it seems that the post-Deng leadership can take charge of the reunification issues as long as they can continue to make progress in institutionalizing its political system and in liberalizing its monolithic institutions.