University of Macau / Faculty of Law

Universiẗat, Diss.--Bochum, 2001.

published_or_final_version / Law / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Under every regime, marriage is one of the essential factors to affect the development of a country. Before the Tang Dynasty, the divorce system was already practiced in the Chinese society due to the long lasting ancient rites. In ancient China, ‘qichu’ and ‘yijue’ were the typical and traditional divorce ways, but not under the legal system. Under these systems, women got divorce with no consent always happened. The low status of women under the divorce system was obvious. In Tang Dynasty, the ancient feudal law with perfect contents was existed, which was ‘The Tang Law Dredges Opinion’. It innovated the marriage law in the Chinese history. Apart from the ‘qichu’ and ‘yijue’ divorce system, the ‘divorce with consent’ system is an important part of marriage law to show the status of women improved to some extent in Tang Dynasty. Under ‘divorce with consent’ system, women had the right to take the initiative to dissolve the marriage relationship. Based on the historical records and materials, such as ‘releasing wife book’, poems and epitaphs in Tang Dynasty, this paper would analysis the reality of practicing the ‘divorce with consent’ system and the influence of this system about the women’s status in Tang Dynasty. On the other hand, the reasons about the Tang emperors established this system also reflected the rise of women’s status in the certain extent, for instances, economic, political and cultural aspects. The paper contains two parts. The first part focuses on the practice about the traditional divorce systems before the Tang Dynasty. The historical course about the change of names on the divorce systems is briefly recorded. The practice about ‘qichu’, ‘yijue’ and ‘divorce with consent’ system are analyzed by the historical materials before Tang Dynasty in order to show the difference about the women’s status in the second part. The second part mainly focuses on analyzing ‘divorce with consent’ system in Tang Dynasty with the women’s relationship. The ‘releasing wife book’, poems and epitaphs is going to demonstrate the practice of the ‘divorce with consent’ system. This part would analyze the structure and content of the ‘releasing wife book’ in details. The words and procedures reflect the characteristics about women under the law of marriage. Besides, the Tang emperors set up the ‘divorce with consent’ system also had the consideration about their ruling. These specific concerns had close relationship with the legal marriage system. Therefore, women’s status must be affected by their ruling policy undoubtedly. / published_or_final_version / Chinese Historical Studies / Master / Master of Arts

In this study, the first clashes between Western explorers and the Far East, as well as relations between Britain and China from the eve of the First Opium War (FOW) to the establishment of the British diplomatic residence in Beijing under the treaty regime, have been discussed from a legal point of view. This thesis provides a look at the circumstances of Britain’s encounter with China, their defeat of China through two Opium Wars and their use of unequal treaties to put China into a position of disadvantage. A study of British archives demonstrates the complexity of, and nuance in international law between China and the West from the 1830s to 1860. British national archives allow investigation of the legal perspective on the issues around the opium trade and the way in which it led to the FOW. The archives also shed light on the Second Opium War (SOW) and on the Western acquisition of privileges through the unequal treaties signed at the end of both wars. In its relations with China, Britain left behind the rules and practices which they recognised as the contemporary law of nations and instead, whenever the British financial and economic interest was affected, resorted to force. This paper’s purpose is to show the limitation, according to Chinese Confucian thought, of the self-perception of the Western conception of law and the justice. In fact, this thesis will also show how some British legal advisors and politicians took the side of China and how they argued that Britain had violated the principles of international law. They recognised that China was a sovereign nation and that international law applied in its relations with Britain. Thus this study uncovers aspects of history of international law in the 19th century neglected because of the later prospering of racial theories.

published_or_final_version / Law / Master / Master of Laws

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

China now is one of the most attractive destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have become an increasingly important mode of FDI entry in China since its accession to the World Trade Organization. M&As in China are expected to play a vital role in the restructuring of its inefficient State-owned enterprises. This thesis characterizes and analyzes the evolving Chinese legal regime governing M&As in the context of the ongoing economic reform. In addition, it identifies the antitrust issues arising from foreign acquisitions of Chinese domestic enterprises, which can result in market dominance and restrictive practices in China. The thesis concludes that China's M&A regime can be improved and aligned more closely with international practices as its economy becomes further integrated into the world economy.

Thesis (M.A.)--McGill University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-105).