HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan's recent op-ed in The Huffington Post concerning the National Mortgage Settlement, the $25 billion agreement that the nation's five largest mortgage servicers entered into last February with the federal government and 49 state Attorneys General to save families from unnecessary foreclosure, obscures the...

Taxes are a tricky business in any country, let alone China. Tax codes are usually overly complicated and let's face it, if you are making money, you can afford to hire accountants who think "creatively." American country singer Willie Nelson owed close to $32 million dollars in back...

Maureen Dowd's op-ed in Sunday's New York Times -- Blowin' in the Idiot Wind -- lambasts singer-songwriter/protest-singer/civil-rights-activist/voice-of-a-generation/whatever-he-is-to-you Bob Dylan for his recent concert in Beijing, China. For Dowd, Dylan's acceptance of the Chinese government's approval of his set list is anathema to everything he represents. Dropping his famous...

The Chinese government has tried to break Tang Jitian's spirit. Failing, it now seeks to break his body. Tang, a Chinese human rights lawyer, was forcibly abducted from his home on Wednesday, February 16 by the Beijing police. Five days later, in contravention of Chinese law, Tang's whereabouts...

China no longer needs to worry about the U.S. as a serious green-technology competitor because the U.S. just left the race. After a year-long impasse, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed on July 22, 2010 that the Democrats would not be able to secure enough votes to pass...

In just over two years since her debut of "The Fame," Lady Gaga has come to dominate the airwaves, profoundly impacting pop culture throughout the world. With her sold-out concerts in New York City this week, China Law & Policy asks the question that everyone wants to know...

The long, publicly drawn-out saga of Google in China continues. And at this juncture, one wonders why. On Monday, Google's Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond, posted a blog entry to share with the world Google's new troubles in China. Drummond announced that in order to acquiesce to Chinese...

In 1966, because of the fear of foreign influence in U.S. elections, Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Eventually incorporated in the 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act, the law prohibits foreign governments, foreign political parties, foreign corporations and individuals with foreign citizenship from contributing, donating or spending funds, either...

Beijing, China - The U.S. press has not been kind to President Barack Obama and his recent visit to China. Claiming that the U.S.' tone has become conciliatory toward China, that the trip "yielded precious little" and even oddly comparing the Obama administration's behavior on the visit...

Beijing, China - With scripted questions from the audience and a speech lacking particulars, President Barack Obama's Shanghai town hall on Monday likely looked like a flop to the American audience. At the very least, it was a far cry from the free-wheeling town halls during Obama's primaries and general...

Beijing, China - A certain excitement has lighted the streets of Beijing in anticipation of President Barack Obama's maiden visit here this week. Not only has the capital experienced two days of clear blue skies, a rarity in a city that is usually encased in a yellow, gritty smog during...

You would never expect a group of professional attorneys to hold a serious meeting in a McDonald's, but for Chinese public interest lawyers, it is one of the few remaining safe places to meet. With constant surveillance and random harassment by Chinese police, a public place like McDonald's decreases the...

President Obama will visit China, his first trip to the country, from November 15 through the 18. Although his visit is less than two weeks away, the question remains - what will be on the agenda for his three days in China. While the White House has yet to release...

Akmal Shaikh's story is not unique. Everyday criminal justice systems across the world deal with the mentally ill, often in disastrous ways and with dire consequences; the United States alone has executed over 100 mentally ill people since it reinstated the death penalty in 1977. But what makes Mr....

China remained noticeably mum on Friday as other member nations of the U.N. Security Council stood before the world and accused Iran of developing a secret nuclear enrichment site.

Flanked by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the U.K. and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, President Obama promised to take...

Health care will not be the only divisive issue on the Senate's calendar when it returns to Congress on September 8. This past June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (the "Climate Change Bill"). Far-reaching in its impact on the U.S....

Just before dawn on July 29, 2009, the Beijing police apprehended leading Chinese public interest lawyer, Xu Zhiyong, allegedly to question him about possible tax evasion. He has not been heard from since. In an increasingly conservative political environment in China, Mr. Xu's detention is far from an anomaly. Many...