On February 28th, the Pacific Century Institute awarded Professor Jerome Cohen the 2013 PCI Building Bridges Award, established to honor people who have enhanced relations between Americans and Asians and who exemplify PCI’s commitment to building bridges to a better future. Former awardees include Kathleen Stephens, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea 2008-2011; Harold Brown, US Secretary of Defense 1977-1981; Maestro Lorin Maazel of the New York Philharmonic; and Christopher Hill, US Assistant Secretary of State 2005-2009.

On March 1, Taiwan concluded a United Nations-type review of its implementation of the two principal human rights treaties, namely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). A group of international experts, who were invited to Taiwan to conduct the review in their individual capacity, issued their “Concluding Observations and Recommendations,” identifying a slew of issues concerning whether Taiwan’s government has met the requirements of the two major treaties. This on-site review was the first time that the government of Taiwan invited independent international experts to systematically evaluate its human rights records in accordance with the two Covenants.

On February 6, The New School played host to Chinese human rights activist and exiled lawyer, Chen Guangcheng, for a University in Exile event titled, “Chen Guangcheng on the Future of the Rule of Law and Human Rights in China.” Chen was joined by Chinese legal experts Jerome Cohen, professor of law at NYU School of Law and co-director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute, and Ira Belkin, executive director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute and Chen’s translator for the evening.

On Monday, January 14, Jerome A. Cohen, professor of law at NYU since 1990 and co-director of the U.S.- Asia Law Institute, gave the keynote address at an international symposium in honor of Jon Van Dyke at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii. Professor Cohen discusses the cases of Bo Xilai and Chen Guangcheng, reflects on the current state of China’s legal system, and evaluates China’s progress in developing rule of law.