Rohan Price

Mainlanders as ‘Others’ in the Life and Law of Hong Kong

This article assesses the significance of the colonial period in the development of the Hong Kong Chinese identity and contends that the recent maternity ward cases before the courts involving Mainland women legally entrench Hong Kong identity with use of a “reasonable” discrimination concept which ignores the historical transience of Chinese peoples in Hong Kong and the proximity of the border. The central argument is that border closure in the early 1960s and British assimilation of extant refugee populations created the Hong Kong identity on a foundation of Mainlander “otherness” and these policies began the modern practice of legal discrimination against Mainland people. It also essays whether, in light of economic convergence of the Mainland and Hong Kong, the maternity ward controversies and the exceptional of position of Mainlanders under the Race Discrimination Ordinance will have lasting significance.

Occupational Exposure to Asbestos: Mortality and Liability Issues Arising in Hong Kong's Shipping Industry

This article evaluates a range of legal responses to issues of causation and compensation arising out of occupational malignant mesothelioma claims. A survey of the common law in the United Kingdom leads to an assessment of the law and policy settings which Hong Kong should adopt in relation to these issues. It is argued that Hong Kong is underprepared for the steep rise of asbestos-related litigation on the way to its shores and that the absence in Hong Kong of local common law on mesothelioma liability means that it will draw on English approaches which are, themselves, unsatisfactory and unsuitable to local conditions. In particular, is argued that (1) the high sympathy culture toward patients in Hong Kong’s healthcare system and (2) the high level of personal and corporate bankruptcy mean that stringent English compensation approaches to mesothelioma in cases of pre-cursor conditions and multiple employer apportionment of liability (respectively) are not a good fit for Hong Kong.

Moral Hazard, Insolvency and Employees as Creditors: What Governance Lessons Can Be Learned from the Hong Kong Model?

This article argues that each of the US, the UK and Australia could take inspiration from Hong Kongs Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund (POWIF) because it has the makings of a world-leading model for the protection of employee entitlements in circumstances of business failure. In particular, it is argued that although POWIF is open to fraud by unscrupulous employers it does not unduly increase moral hazard because its coverage provides only a modest safety net, it is funded by a mandatory private sector levy and it operates on a self-sustaining basis.

Confucianism, Labour Law and Employee Activism

This paper contends that reference to Confucian values is vital to understanding the current political and legal responses to the rise of Chinese labor activism.

How China’s Deskilled Factories Will Lead to a Low Carbon World: Who Wins, Who Loses?

This paper addresses the following matters: (1) how deskilled factory production came to China and why it will be relied on by the West to transition to a low carbon economy; (2) the equity concerns of solving global warming through reliance on Chinese-produced carbon-abating technology; (3) what other policy and political measures are being used by China to combat climate change; and (4) Given that much of the profit emerging from China is channelled into foreign pockets, a form of economic colonialism can be argued to exist under which China suffers a “double whammy”: it is liable for mitigating GHGs of foreign investors and consumers and its workers continue to struggle through life with demeaningly low pay.