Mega-Regional Trade Deals in the Asia-Pacific: Choosing Between the TPP and RCEP?

The emergence of “mega-regional” trade agreements has recently become the most significant trade policy issue in the Asia-Pacific. Since 2010, governments in the region have launched negotiations for two new trade agreements: the United States-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Differentiated by their membership, scope and level of ambition, the TPP and RCEP embody competing visions for how the Asia-Pacific trade system should evolve, and regional governments must now make choices over which initiative better serves their economic and political interests. This article explores the trade policy choice posed by these mega-regional trade negotiations, reviewing the evolution of the Asia-Pacific trade system, the recent emergence of the TPP and RCEP, and the competitive dynamics inherent in the development of the two proposals. It argues that four key considerations (trade policy ambition, the role of ASEAN, US-China geopolitical rivalry and defensive concerns) will be of key importance in informing regional governments’ decisions as the TPP and RCEP move towards completion in 2015.     

台湾当局自由贸易协议实践的亚太转向及其前景

自20世纪90年代以来,为因应全球区域一体化的浪潮,台湾当局力推自由贸易协议（FTA）战略,但成效不佳。2008年马英九执政后,两岸关系在“九二共识”的基础上得以缓和并稳步发展,台湾参与区域经济一体化的问题被重新提上议事日程。当前,台湾当局的FTA战略目标逐渐从传统的中南美洲“友邦”逐渐转向亚太地区,从单纯的“政治驱动型”向“政治经济平衡型”特征转变。未来,台湾当局FTA实践的进展,并不单纯取决于台湾当局作为世界贸易组织成员的身份,更取决于两岸经济整合的深度和两岸政治互信的程度。台湾当局FTA实践的经验,对于未来参与TPP同样具有借鉴意义。     

与犯罪形态有关的三个特别问题

由于分别直接关联着共同犯罪、罪数形态和犯罪的阶段形态,故＂片面共犯＂、罪数标准和＂意志以外的原因＂,构成了与犯罪形态有关的三个特别问题。基于事物的真相,＂片面共犯＂问题应按共同犯罪定性或处置,而罪数标准问题应以＂犯意与刑法特别规定结合说＂予以解答。至于＂意志以外的原因＂对犯罪阶段形态的影响,应立足于＂意志以外的原因＂作用于犯罪意志的程度及最终结果予以解答。     

‘Done to death by father or relatives’: Irish families and infanticide cases, 1922–1950

In February 1929 the Bishop of Ossory commented on the fact that in Ireland illegitimate infants were often ‘done to death by father or relatives’ (Irish Catholic, 16 February 1929). There were many instances where family members of unmarried women who gave birth were the sole defendants or co-defendants in infanticide cases in post-independent Ireland. Although illegitimate infants were ‘done to death’ by their fathers in a number of cases that were tried at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin between 1922 and 1950, this article will focus on cases where infants were murdered or suspected of having been murdered by relatives of the birth mother both in the Twenty-Six Counties and in Northern Ireland (Irish Catholic, 16 February 1929). For the purposes of this article I have referred to the murder of illegitimate infants as ‘infanticide’ even though there was no separate charge of infanticide in the Irish Free State until 1949. The English infanticide acts of 1922 and 1938 also applied to Northern Ireland. This article discusses the motives of the relatives of single mothers who played a part in the deaths of illegitimate infants. Unmarried motherhood was severely frowned upon in Ireland and the relatives of single pregnant women assisted their female kin in destroying the evidence of extra-marital conception in order to protect the family's honour and moral reputation in the wider community. The records of infanticide trials provide a great deal of insight into the ways in which mainly working-class families dealt with the strain of pregnancy outside wedlock in Ireland between 1922 and 1950.     

Japan's military research and development: A high technology deterrent

Abstract

This article examines the increased linkage between domestic and foreign policy that has been a consequence of democratization and globalization in Korea. It argues that while prior to 1987 foreign policy-making saw very little public input, and while democratization did not lead to a weakening of domestic political institutions nor a rise in nationalism, it did open up domestic political space where foreign policy-making increasingly became part of the contentious electoral competition. The globalization policy, initiated with the purpose of raising Korea's international status, which has remained a goal of succeeding administrations, created a complex interdependency which led to a breakdown in the separation between the domestic and international, and that often brought with it a domestic backlash. As a consequence foreign policy-making, in the absence of a tradition of political compromise, increasingly runs the risk of either inconsistency, or even deadlock.     

中国（上海）自由贸易试验区公安警务工作实践研究

2013年7月3日,国务院正式批准建设中国（上海）自由贸易试验区。上海自贸区的各项创新举措是对现行行政管理模式与管理体制的一次挑战,也将给负责公共安全与社会治安服务管理的警方带来全新的考验。公安机关应当深入分析上海自贸区的建立可能对警务工作产生的影响,并制定相应的工作对策。     

刑法中赌债的认定

刑法中的赌债行使时与合法债权一样构成排除一定刑事责任的正当化事由,具有合法债权消极意义上的功能,不同于民法上赌债不具有债的法律关系,即赌债非债的性质。刑法中赌债的认定应从赌博射悻法律行为的性质出发,必须具有参与赌博的意思表示,符合赌博本身的偶然性质,方才构成赌博,成立赌债。     

The Impact of Rural Votes in Foreign Policies: The FTA Policies under the DPJ Government in Japan

The recent trend of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) has pressured the governments of many countries to make such arrangements with their trade partners. Since its foundation in 1998, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has advocated free trade policies, partly because the party was an urban-based party. Thus, many expected that, when the DPJ assumed power in 2009, it would implement free trade policies as it had promised in the past. However, the DPJ government failed to deliver on its promise after spending three and a half years in office. It contrasts sharply with the Korean government under the leadership of Lee Myung-bak, which managed to conclude FTAs with its major trade partners, including the United States and the European Union. Both governments' free trade policies faced strong opposition from the agricultural industry, as farmers in Japan and Korea lacked international competitiveness. What explains the reasons why the Japanese government has been struggling to implement its free trade policies, while its Korean counterpart succeeded in signing a number of FTAs? Focusing primarily on the case of Japan and using the Korean case as reference, this study tries to provide an explanation for this puzzle by analyzing the impact of rural votes in the policy-making process.     

“印太战略”:以美印日澳的战略逻辑、利益与策略选择为分析视角

"印太战略"是美国均势+有限遏制+规制+话语诋毁的混合型战略。它意在前沿、中间地带与后方的三层构建不对称的对华遏制性力量,突破中美双边、单区域战略竞争的狭窄战略空间;在多地域与多维度孤立中国,拉拢更多国家在产业价值链、数字经济等层面与中国切割;制订基础建设投资透明化的新标准,嵌入有利于美国利益的规制;通过国际法、舆论等软性手段抹黑中国的"一带一路"与海权发展。虽然共同逻辑都是制衡中国崛起,但日澳印在策略上强调非对抗性。其中避免成为中国优先反制是日本重要的策略目标;印度在拉达克边界冲突后尚没有形成一个完全倒向美国的战略,因为这必定使其背上沉重的战略包袱,成为美国的附庸;澳大利亚作为地缘政治影响有限的中等国家,在美国反华行动中冲在最前列已使其利益严重受损。而"印太战略"与东盟所推动的包容性、合作安全理念也有着本质的区别,东盟要在"印太地区"发挥中心领导作用,定位"印太"为对话与合作区域。所以由于东盟的抵制、印日澳的消极政策,这个战略形成的攻势将很难保持可持续性,其长期前景并不看好。     

西方自由贸易理论与发展我国劳动密集型产业的思考

我国拥有丰富而且廉价的劳动力资源,以劳动要素和资源禀赋差异形成的比较优势参与国际分工。带动了国内劳动密集型产业的快速发展。但这种优势目前正在面临挑战。要努力实现人力资源优势由数量型向质量型的转变,将比较优势转化为竞争优势,营造核心竞争力,推动产业升级。