The Widening Gulf Across the Taiwan Strait: Law, Criminal Justice, and Human Rights

Maggie Lewis

The gulf between legal systems across the Taiwan Strait is far wider than a hundred miles. November 2017, the Taiwanese human-rights activist Lee Ming-che was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in China for subverting state power. In Taiwan, the case was criticized as a violation of free expression. Lee’s case has heightened already strained cross-strait relations. It has also laid bare the increasing divergence between China and Taiwan with respect to protecting human rights. In three decades, Taiwan has transformed from martial law to a democracy incorporating international human rights norms. China simultaneously has not only remained under strict one-party rule but also seen a shrinking space for civil society. This talk addressed what these trends mean for each side of the Strait as well as relations between Beijing and Taipei.

Margaret Lewis is a Professor of Law at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, USA. Her research focuses on China’s and Taiwan's legal systems, with an emphasis on criminal justice. Professor Lewis has been a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Public Intellectuals Program Fellow with the National Committee on United States - China Relations, and a Delegate to the U.S. - Japan Leadership Program. She is also a Non-Resident Affiliated Scholar of NYU School of Law’s U.S -Asia Law Institute. She is spending the 2017 - 18 academic year as a Fulbright Scholar at National Taiwan University