"In this increasingly globalized and competitive world, there is no excuse for limiting your realm of knowledge to the country named on your passport."
Christopher Cassidy, Blogger (http://asiabizlaw.blogspot.com/)
Today, I like to introduce you to a blog about Asian Business (http://asiabizlaw.blogspot.com/) that has come into existence with the efforts of 4 law students of at Hastings College of the Law of the University of California. They are Jason Lohr, Christopher Cassidy, Travis Hodgkins and Christopher Pitts. I like this blog a lot because of its excellent content. The writers are not from Asia but they write about legal issues related to Asian business with such clarity that I sometimes get amazed at their skill. I sent some questions for interview to Christopher Cassidy and he sent me the reply. Here is the interview:
SouthAsiaBiz: Please tell about your blog and its members a bit for the readers?
Christopher Cassidy: AsiaBizLaw is, we hope, unique in the blogosphere. We take a holistic approach to the issues shaping business and law across Asia. Like SouthAsiaBiz, we try to relate the implications of politics and economics to our audience, looking deeper into the issues glossed over by mainstream media sources.
We started AsiaBizLaw as our door to meet people interested and involved in Asian business and law. Our readers have lived up to the challenge, viewing the blog and getting in touch from almost every continent.
AsiaBizLaw is maintained by a handful of students at Hastings College of the Law of the University of California. All of us are approaching our second year of a 3-year legal degree. We are passionate about the issues, and have enjoyed the opportunity to share our research and ruminations.
SouthAsiaBiz: Why did you get interested about Asian business and laws related to Asian business?
Christopher Cassidy: In this increasingly globalized and competitive world, there is no excuse for limiting your realm of knowledge to the country named on your passport. Professionals in the 21st century will be required to understand the forces behind international business, especially in Asia, in order to be a valuable resource to their clients and colleagues. While the future is truly unpredictable, it's a safe bet that a uni-polar world will be replaced by a multi-polar one, both economically and politically within a generation.
SouthAsiaBiz: In your blog, you cover both India and China. How do you see these two countries in terms of economic development and law related matters?
Christopher Cassidy: Generally, India and China are poised to redefine the global economy, forcing more developed countries to adapt. Each country still has a very long way to go before most of their people have the quality of life similar to that in more developed countries. But the amazing progress made over the past 30 years suggests that it may not be terribly long before India and China are the envy of citizens around the world. Additionally, the fact that these neighboring giants are forced to compete with each other should only hasten their development.
Legally, the 2 countries are relatively dissimilar. India's common law inherited from English and Hindu traditions is established and rooted in a long history. (Note that common law systems generally rely on case law for definitions of legal norms.) On the other hand, China's law was effectively generated from scratch, starting in 1979. China mirrored their legal system off of the continental legal system, (wherein laws are codified by legislators, instead of created via judicial interpretations.) Here too, awe-inspiring progress has been made. Development continues today, remedying the inadequacies bound to exist in such a quickly produced body of law.
SouthAsiaBiz: This summer, you are visiting East Asia. What are going to do during this visit?
Travis Hodgkins, Jason Lohr, and I all arrived in Beijing last weekend. We are studying Chinese law at China University of Political Science and Law, while working on our Mandarin. Afterwards, each of us will be interning with a Chinese law firm in Beijing.
My wife Mary Lord joins me in July, when we head to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Thailand. We look forward to learning more about the people, history, and culture of these beautiful places. Mary and I seriously considered visiting south Asia, but wanted to save that trip for when we could give the region the time it deserves.
SouthAsiaBiz: What is your future plan about your blog?
Christopher Cassidy: We look forward to finding time in Asia this summer to continue our reporting on news vital to attorneys and professionals in Asian business. Having been online for only 4 months, each writer is demonstrating their interests and role in contributing to the body of knowledge.
Upcoming posts will cover intellectual property protection in India, the (desperately needed) greening of Beijing, and clarifying the fallout from Thailand's annulled elections, amongst other developments of import. We are also on the verge of updating our recomended reading section, and are considering getting our own IP address.
SouthAsiaBiz: Recently, we have seen media reports about Pan Asian bond market and Asian Common Currency (ACU). As a student of law, do you see any legal problem among Asian countries about implementing them? If there is any legal problem how the countries should overcome them?
Christopher Cassidy: Legal obstacles only exist where there are political obstacles. This especially true of the pootential development of a Pan-Asian bond market and ACU. In Europe, nationalism was overcome in the interest of rational currency policy. Unfortunately, Asia faces challenges that the EU did not.
The social upheaval being caused by the unprecedented economic growth in Asia will likely tie the hands of Asian governments, especially China. Since governments have historically tended to fan the flames of nationalism when challenged by social unrest, the prospect of Asian countries following in the footsteps of the EU is nil for the near future. (Recall it was nationalism that kept the English pound, and other ancient European currencies in circulation.) Down the road, it's anyone's guess, but there have already been promising developments.
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