When Private Capital Becomes a Security Asset: Challenging Conventional Government/Business Interaction

With the increase of cross-Strait economic activity, the interaction between Taiwanese business people and the Chinese government has gradually changed. As Taiwanese investment grew in volume, so did the number and frequency of contacts between the parties; a more institutionalised form regulating these contacts was established as a result. Nowadays Taiwanese businessmen have become an identifiable factor in Chinese governmental policy implementation; the process also has far-reaching implications. This paper argues that Taiwanese capital has become a Chinese governmental security asset and examines the importance of this factor when discussing conventional government/business interaction. This paper concludes that a superior national interest guides the warm welcome given by the Chinese government to Taiwanese businessmen.

Constitutional values and civil servant recruitment: The principles for filling revenue service positions in Poland

The functioning of public administration should be consistent with the general interest, common to all citizens, and independent from the particularized interests of changing political forces. A condition for the proper functioning of administration is the selection of appropriate personnel to perform the duties defined by the state. According to the premises of this paper, the recruitment of personnel based upon objective criteria is of fundamental importance for the effective realization of the administration's mission. This article analyzes the weaknesses of personnel policy in fiscal administration in Poland after 1989 against the background of the broader process of creating a Polish civil service. The study aims at determining the extent to which the actual relations between politics and administration reflect legal regulations. The article focuses on personnel policy with regard to senior positions in fiscal administration, whose occupants have leverage over decision-making processes and human resources policy in various agencies. It turns out that after every parliamentary election there is major turnover in the personnel occupying senior positions in the fiscal administration offices, that is, the persons associated with the previous governing team are replaced with individuals enjoying the confidence of those who have just come to power. In light of these findings one can infer that, contrary to the constitutional principles guiding the functioning of the government administration in Poland, its politicians have deliberately designed legal regulations in such a manner as to enable them to assume control over fiscal administration.     

Legal change in post-communist states: Contradictions and explanations. Introduction

Reformers had high hopes that the end of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union would lead to significant improvements in legal institutions and the role of law in public administration. However, the cumulative experience of 25 years of legal change since communism has been mixed, marked by achievements and failures, advances and moves backward. This special issue of the journal Communist and Post-Communist Studies documents the nuances of this process and starts the process of explaining them. This introductory essay draws on the findings of the articles in this issue to explore the impact of three potential explanatory factors: regime type, international influences, and legal (or political) culture. Regime type matters, but allows for considerable variation within authoritarian and democratic states alike and the possibility of reversals. The influence of international organizations (like the European Union) is also far from predictable, especially once states have joined the organization. Finally, legal cultures and political traditions play a large role in explaining developments in individual countries, but there is nothing inevitable about their impact.     

Kawabata's views of language and the postwar construction of a literary genealogy

Abstract

This paper shows the ways in which, in the immediate post-war period (1945–1951), Kawabata Yasunari (1899–1972) reflected on his earlier, pre-war literary career and re-envisioned his postwar literary trajectory by constructing a new genealogy of the modern novel in Japan, in relationship to the intricate issues of the literary styles of the modern novel, ‘national language’ (kokugo), and the literary tradition. By examining his Shin bunshō tokuhon (New Guide to Literary Language, 1950), which presents Kawabata's past and present views of literary language, I will argue that Kawabata's changing views of language and literary style must be understood in the context of contemporary debates over national language policy and language reform movements. I will show the manner by which Kawabata formulated his views of language in dialogue with his two rival writers: Yokomitsu Riichi (1898–1947) in the prewar period and Tanizaki Junichirō (1886–1965) in the postwar period. As we shall see, the death of his close literary colleague Yokomitsu in 1947 and Tanizaki's unflagging literary exploration during and following the war prompted Kawabata to position himself in a genealogy of modern Japanese literary writers as well as in relationship to the linguistic and literary tradition of Japan.     

The changing relationship between the state and the voluntary philanthropic sector: special reference to Singapore

There has been a significant proliferation of voluntary philanthropic organizations to deliver basic services in the current context of anti-welfare neoliberal policies pursued by the state. While there are numerous studies and publications on these voluntary organizations, the nature of their relationship with the state remains relatively under-researched. This article attempts to explore this issue in the case Singapore where, in the absence of an active welfare state, the voluntary philanthropic organizations—especially the Voluntary Welfare Organizations (VWOs)—have played a crucial role in serving citizens’ welfare needs. In evaluating the nature and determinants of this state-VWO relationship, the article examines some relevant theoretical models and applies them to the Singapore case.     

论习近平的大局观

习近平的大局观是中国共产党大局观的重要组成部分。习近平总书记的"两个大局"致力于从全球发展和世纪伟业的高度来解决中华民族前途命运问题。把握这"两个大局"还必须与总体布局、战略布局、新发展格局贯通起来,放到中国特色社会主义事业发展的整体中去考虑。     

英国殖民初期缅甸掸邦土司制度下的茶叶贸易

英国殖民初期缅甸掸邦的茶叶贸易在殖民者＂分而治之＂政策的统治下,在当地土司头人和代理商的重税盘剥下艰难地向前发展,最终迫于各种压力,困扰茶商的税费问题得到解决。同时,茶叶生产和茶叶贸易也带动了掸邦山区社会经济的发展。     

沪综指走势的马尔可夫链模型预测

将上海股票市场走势分为三种状态,建立马尔可夫链模型,发现只要交易日足够多,各个状态都是相通的,而且上涨、持平、下跌的概率基本相同;在短期上,该模型可以比较准确地预测沪综指的走势,比现有技术分析法更有优势.     

行政上诉审中禁止不利益变更原则之构想

禁止不利益变更原则是各国刑事诉讼法、民事诉讼法、行政诉讼法共有的原则.而在我国行政上诉审中,禁止不利益变更原则明显缺失,引入这一原则既可以为上诉法院确定上诉审查的范围提供依据,又可以使行政相对人的上诉权有效制约二审审判权,从而使上诉制度的价值得以充分实现.     

国税公务员招考现状及其完善

从专业需求、学历要求、政治面貌和辅助条件等视角分析国税系统公务员招考现状及利弊得失,并提出以下策略:规划人才战略、规范专业需求、放宽学历要求、强调政治面貌和利用辅助条件。