Chinese Law Prof Blog

Job Announcement: Program Officer for ABA China Program

I have received the following announcement:

The ABA's China Program is currently accepting applications for a Program Officer position in our Beijing office.  Please see the announcement below for further details, and feel free to forward to anyone who might be interested.

SEEKING APPLICANTS FOR PROGRAM OFFICER POSITION IN BEIJING OFFICE

The American Bar Association (ABA) seeks candidates for a Chinese legal PROGRAM OFFICER position in the Beijing program implementation office of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative.

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative is a public service project that provides technical assistance in support of legal reforms in over 40 countries around the world.   ABA's program office in Beijing, with support from Washington, D.C.-based staff, supports a variety of legal reform and legal training projects in mainland China, with a particular focus on issues of public interest law, criminal justice, and good governance.   

The new Program Officer, working under the supervision of ABA's China Director and Deputy Director, will be responsible for managing and implementing law-related cooperative training, symposium, research, and networking projects with Chinese institutions and organizations.  The position entails management of financial and administrative aspects of cooperative projects and subgrants; monitoring and reporting on project activities and project impact; conducting research, monitoring media reports and attending conferences and meetings to follow important legal developments related to current and potential future projects; developing new program initiatives; legal research and analysis related to project and office needs; and such other duties as may be assigned from time to time.  The work requires an ability to manage multiple projects at the same time; the project portfolio for this position is expected to include environmental law, criminal law, labor law and property law.   Travel within China is required as necessary for meetings and program activities.

Required Qualifications:

• Chinese law degree and foreign JD or other graduate law degree
• Fluent in both Mandarin and English
• Ability to maintain and develop relationships with high-level Chinese government officials, bar association leaders, local and international NGOs, and legal academics
• Excellent legal analytical and organizational skills
• Strong sense of responsibility and ability to work independently
• Ability to multi-task and to keep the Directors fully informed of program developments
• Commitment to public interest work

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous experience managing NGO projects or government exchange and cooperation projects

More information about the ABA Rule of Law Initiative China program is available at www.abarol.com.  Interested candidates should send a cover note in English explaining their interest and qualifications, along with a brief (1-2 page maximum) resume in English by email to Ms. Ding Xia at: abadingxia@yahoo.com.  Candidates will only be contacted if invited for an interview.

Latest issue of ABA's China Law Reporter

Here's the latest (March 2007) issue of the China Law Reporter, put out by the China Committee of the ABA's Section on International Law.

A license to sing?

It's being reported that the Ministry of Culture is going to promulgate rules requiring singers and other entertainers to have a license in order to practice their profession.

• Danwei report
• China Media Project report
• Beijing News (新京报) report

Apparently the idea is meeting with some well-deserved ridicule in China. Of course, this doesn't mean it won't happen.

So far, none of the commentary I've seen has focused on the connection with the Administrative Licensing Law. As I read it (quickly), licensing of singers (for example) is permitted, if at all, only under Para. 3 of Article 12, which allows licensing of services where it is a public service that involves a profession or trade directly relating to public interests and where it is necessary to ascertain the existence of a qualifications or qualities such as special reputation, special conditions, or special skills
(提供公众服务并且直接关系公共利益的职业、行业，需要确定具备特殊信誉、特殊条件或者特殊技能等资格、资质的事项). Of course, "necessary" can mean anything you want it to mean. Still, this seems a bit of a stretch.