rule of law is not market access

once upon a time there was the leader of a large american business association in beijing that was dedicated to expanding opportunities for and representing US corporate interests in china. in a cleverly opportunistic ploy timed to coincide with an impending visit by the US president, said leader wrote an op-ed piece in a major american newspaper using talk of the rule of law / legal developments in china in a thinly veiled effort to further to promote US corporate interests. his conflating of the rule of law and market access for / the economic interests of US corporates was infuriating to one humble human rights lawyer in beijing because it belittles and cheapens the concept of the rule of law and also the reasons that rule of law promotion is part of US foreign policy and should be something that the president raises on his trip. in a curious twist of fate, this lawyer was slated to give a lunch-time presentation at this large business association on the very day that she spent her morning commute fuming over this piece. happily ever after.

big surprise - the lawyer is me and the op-ed was by the president of amcham and it was published in the nytimes. ahem: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/opinion/11iht-edwatkins.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss (oh and i am speaking an at amcham event during lunch today. a program by the women's professional committee on 'women in legal affairs'. i am the public interest pony.)

what troubles me so much about this piece is that he twists around ideas about the rule of law to suit commercial purposes. the issue of chinese lawyers practicing at foreign firms is not a rule of law issue, but a market access issue. it is not something that is of concern to chinese lawyers (who can now receive comparable salaries and do comparable work at chinese firms) as it is to american law firms wanting to expand the scope of their practice in china. it also has nothing to do with the integrity of the chinese legal system. i acknowledge that there are significant economic rule of law issues to be addressed in china and that mr. watkins represents the business community. however, by focusing only on the commercial, he misrepresents the concept of the rule of law and the reasons why its promotion is a significant portion of US foreign policy. to ignore entirely the human rights and civil liberities issues that are central to rule of law work, while trying to stretch the concept to cover US corporate interests, is insulting. rule of law promotion can be an effective long-term antidote to poverty, conflict, endemic corruption, and disregard for human rights. these are all things that i believe amcham's members have an interest in, even if only because of the potential to improve their bottom line. perhaps i am too sensitive or too much of a rule of law purist, but i was offended by his article. would be curious to see what others think.

interestingly, i had dinner last night with two of china's leading environmentalist and a foundation person from HK who has been supporting work on water issues in china and is launching a new project aimed at investors. she was in town to participate in two programs on socially responsible investment and wanted to speak with us about supporting this new project. the goal (simply expressed) is to influence they way investors approach china and getting involved in companies or initatives that impact the water sector. we had a very interesting conversation. between that and reading the amcham op-ed this morning, i am struck anew at the need to get the business community onboard with a vision for a sustainable future. of course that will never happen until it becomes profitable. so, dear readers, how do we make that happen? and how do we make it happen before its too late? of course, there is growing momentum towards the development of 'green' industries and socially responsible investing. but that is still the fringe and a feel-good movement at the periphery, rather than the core, of commerce and investing. (i think partially because of the way flows of financial information are controlled.) if a sustainable approach could be mainstreamed, oh what a wonderful world.

and with that, i ought to go consider what i will say at this lunch event. i am still fighting off a lingering sickness (the second round of snow didn't help) and am realizing that i am ill much more here than i was before i moved to beijing. i am wondering if the pollution has an impact. it must. i will try not to snozzle too much while speaking.