"This book explores the evolution of property, contract, tort, and business organization laws in China and Taiwan. Given the drastic changes in the two jurisdictions in recent decades, the book covers not only the current law, but also how these laws evolved into their current forms. Moreover, this book not restates black-letter laws, but also offers economic analysis of the driving force behind the legal evolution and examines whether the legal changes are economically efficient. Given China's dazzling economic development in the past three decades, few would question the importance of studying China, particularly the four basic legal fields that will shape the future of the Chinese regime and greatly affect the interest of foreign investors. Why Taiwan? To put China's legal changes in context, one has to find a proper benchmark. Hong Kong and Singapore are ruled by Chinese people, but their laws are fundamentally shaped by English common law, and they are both much smaller than Taiwan. Macao is in a similar situation, except that it has imported Portuguese law, which has hardly any influence on laws in China. By contrast, in the property, contract, and tort laws of China and Taiwan, the doctrinal structures are both civil-law, whereas in business organization law, the U.S. law is the main inspiration. Moreover, in many ways, private laws in China and Taiwan are heavily influenced by German jurisprudence, making the comparison even more meaningful. There is also strong evidence that Chinese scholars and legislature, in formulating these four areas of laws, widely consult laws and legal scholarship in Taiwan"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.