DOCSLIB.ORG

Corporate Law in the Shaghai's People's Court, 1992-2008: Judicial

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Corporate Law in the Shaghai's People's Court, 1992-2008: Judicial CORPORATE LAW IN THE SHANGHAI PEOPLE’S COURTS, 1992-2008: JUDICIAL AUTONOMY IN A CONTEMPORARY AUTHORITARIAN STATE ∗ NICHOLAS CALCINA HOWSON, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL In late 2005 China adopted a largely rewritten Company Law that radically increased the role of courts. This study, based on a review of more than 1000 Company Law-related disputes reported between 1992 and 2008 and extensive interactions with PRC officials and sitting judges, evaluates how the Shanghai People’s Court system has fared over 15 years in corporate law adjudication. Although the Shanghai People’s Courts show generally increasing technical competence and even intimations of political independence, their path toward institutional autonomy is inconsistent. Through 2006, the Shanghai Court system demonstrated significantly increased autonomy. After 2006 and enactment of the new Company Law, a new, if partial, limitation on institutional autonomy seems to be at work, as the Shanghai People’s Courts refused to accept or adjudicate claims explicitly permitted in the revised 2006 statute but not yet elaborated in Supreme People’s Court Regulation. This reaction is perverse, as the same Courts had liberally adjudicated the same claims before 2006 without any statutory or Supreme People’s Court Regulatory authorization. That strange dynamic illustrates the bureaucratic embedding of the People’s Courts in China’s modified authoritarian system and how such entrenchment can divert or constrain the progressive autonomy won by the same Courts in the formal legal system. The conclusions have positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, there is significant momentum toward ever-increasing competence and autonomy of the People’s Courts in Shanghai, at least for the application of corporate and commercial law. On the negative side, a familiar paradox may be at work: with formal substantive law and institutional “modernization” promised and even partially delivered alongside equally apparent failures in ∗ The author would like to thank the following colleagues and friends for their help in researching and assembling this article: Professor and East China University of Politics and Law (“ECUPL”) Vice President Gu Gongyun, and Professors Li Xiuqing, Luo Peixin, Shi Tiantao, Tang Xin, Yang Zhongxiao, Wang Baoshu, Wu Hong, and Zhu Ciyun, and research assistant (and Luo Peixin student) Zhao Chenchen; and the following institutions for their support: the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies, both in Ann Arbor, Michigan; the East China University of Politics and Law, Shanghai, PRC; and Tsinghua University School of Law, Beijing, PRC; and various justices, judges, officials and personnel at the Supreme People’s Court of the PRC in Beijing and the Shanghai Higher People’s Court system, including the Judges from the Shanghai Higher People’s Court No. 2 Civil Division and District Courts—notably the Chief Judge of the Shanghai Higher People’s Court No. 2 Civil Division Ms. Yu Qiuwei and the President of the Changning District People’s Court Mr. Zou Bihua—attending an open meeting on Company Law implementation in the Shanghai People’s Courts held on December 5, 2008 at ECUPL chaired by Vice President and Professor Gu Gongyun and Professors Yang Zhongxiao and Wu Hong. A special thanks to my colleague and friend Professor Li Xiuqing for all of her help in arranging for a fruitful sabbatical on the premises of ECUPL during the autumn of 2008. In addition, the author wishes to thank the following for their very helpful review of and comments on working drafts of this article: Laura Beny; Donald C. Clarke; Jerome A. Cohen; Mary Gallagher; Tom Ginsburg; Don Herzog; Vic Khanna; Benjamin J. Liebman; Kyle Logue; Liu Sida; Curtis Milhaupt; Carl Minzner; Randall Peerenboom; Adam Pritchard; William Simon; Rachel Stern; Tang Xin; Frank Upham; Tim Webster; Mark West; and Madeline Zelin; and the participants in the “China Judicial Developments” Conference at the Columbia Law School on Feb. 20, 2009; the China Law Center Workshop at the Yale Law School on Mar. 3, 2009; and the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies Noon Lecture Series on Mar. 10, 2009. A Case Reports Appendix and Table of Selected Cases appear at the end of the article. All translations of Chinese language materials into the English language are by the author. (303) 304 EAST ASIA LAW REVIEW [VOL. 5: 303 the exercise of judicial autonomy, the result may be to de-legitimize the very institutions offered by the state and ruling Party as twin pillars of “modern” governance and “rule of law.” I. INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................304 II. THE 2006 COMPANY LAW – A NEW JUSTICIABILITY ............................................316 III. AUTONOMY DEMONSTRATED....................................................................................327 A. Adjudication in the Absence of Statutory or (Supreme People’s Court) Regulatory Authorization; Caveat Autonomy ...................................................................................329 B. The People’s Courts Act in “Equity” or in a Common Law Fashion ............................349 C. The De Facto Partnership Problem and Autonomous Application of Substantive Law 356 D. Protecting Firm Autonomy and Private Ordering .........................................................365 E. Exercise of Judicial Power .............................................................................................372 IV. AUTONOMY CONSTRAINTS .........................................................................................374 A. Application of the Law to Support Public Policy in Contravention of Law ...................374 B. “Conservative” Adjudication .........................................................................................377 i. Limitation on Equity Court-like Decision Making ....................................................381 ii. Enabling to Mandatory ..............................................................................................382 iii. Strict Formalism or Non-application .........................................................................383 iv. Avoiding Application of Fiduciary Duties Doctrine .................................................392 C. Absence of Public Company Cases ................................................................................400 i. People’s Court Refusals – Voluntary and Instructed .................................................401 ii. Availability and Understanding of Substitute Enforcement ......................................407 iii. Negative Implications of the Public Companies’ Refusal .........................................409 V. CONCLUSIONS.................................................................................................................413 I. INTRODUCTION Political-legal reform in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC” or “China”) has lagged far behind the pace of economic system change and growth. Corporate law theorists hold that in transitional jurisdictions where the judiciary is politically weak or subject to oppressive influence, lacking in autonomy, or simply without technical competence, then company law and corporate governance must be largely “self-enforcing.”2 By “self-enforcing,” theorists mean a corporate law design characterized by voting rules and transactional rights granted to firm investor-principals, and reliance on procedural protections, clear prohibitions and bright-line 2 Bernard Black & Reinier Kraakman, A Self-Enforcing Model of Corporate Law, 109 HARV. L. REV. 1911, 1914 (1996) (stating “company law that depends on fast and reliable judicial decisions is simply out of the question”). 2010] CORPORATE LAW IN THE SHANGHAI PEOPLE’S COURTS 305 rules—all meant to operate ex ante as substitutes for less precise judicial standards applied ex post. China’s first post-1949 company law of 19943 was a textbook example of such a regime.4 Given the constraints acting on the PRC People’s Courts embedded in an authoritarian political system, and the burdens on China’s overworked public companies regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”), the 1994 statute’s self-enforcing design and negligible allowance for judicial involvement were appropriate. In late 2005, the national legislature of the PRC passed a wholesale reworking of the 1994 Company Law, effective as of January 1, 2006.5 In a head-spinning departure from the self-enforcing model of corporate law, the Company Law was suddenly filled with broad invitations for sophisticated judicial involvement. Although there had been undeniable improvements in the quality of the PRC People’s Courts up to 2005, few would have judged such progress a match for the significantly increased demands placed on the judiciary. With the 2006 change in mind, I analyze corporate law adjudication in Shanghai between 1992 and 2008, focusing on People’s Court practice after adoption of the new Company Law. My purpose is to better understand the demonstrated technical competence, institutional autonomy and political independence of one major People’s Court system in the PRC. In particular, I examine how Chinese law and judicial institutions work for Chinese domestic stakeholders and enterprises, and thus not foreign investors, foreign-invested enterprises, or foreign participants in the global capital markets purchasing stock in PRC issuers—where 3 Adopted at
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Chinese Civil War (1927–37 and 1946–49)
    13 CIVIL WAR CASE STUDY 2: THE CHINESE CIVIL WAR (1927–37 AND 1946–49) As you read this chapter you need to focus on the following essay questions: • Analyze the causes of the Chinese Civil War. • To what extent was the communist victory in China due to the use of guerrilla warfare? • In what ways was the Chinese Civil War a revolutionary war? For the first half of the 20th century, China faced political chaos. Following a revolution in 1911, which overthrew the Manchu dynasty, the new Republic failed to take hold and China continued to be exploited by foreign powers, lacking any strong central government. The Chinese Civil War was an attempt by two ideologically opposed forces – the nationalists and the communists – to see who would ultimately be able to restore order and regain central control over China. The struggle between these two forces, which officially started in 1927, was interrupted by the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, but started again in 1946 once the war with Japan was over. The results of this war were to have a major effect not just on China itself, but also on the international stage. Mao Zedong, the communist Timeline of events – 1911–27 victor of the Chinese Civil War. 1911 Double Tenth Revolution and establishment of the Chinese Republic 1912 Dr Sun Yixian becomes Provisional President of the Republic. Guomindang (GMD) formed and wins majority in parliament. Sun resigns and Yuan Shikai declared provisional president 1915 Japan’s Twenty-One Demands. Yuan attempts to become Emperor 1916 Yuan dies/warlord era begins 1917 Sun attempts to set up republic in Guangzhou.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion in China BKGA 85 Religion Inchina and Bernhard Scheid Edited by Max Deeg Major Concepts and Minority Positions MAX DEEG, BERNHARD SCHEID (EDS.)
    Religions of foreign origin have shaped Chinese cultural history much stronger than generally assumed and continue to have impact on Chinese society in varying regional degrees. The essays collected in the present volume put a special emphasis on these “foreign” and less familiar aspects of Chinese religion. Apart from an introductory article on Daoism (the BKGA 85 BKGA Religion in China proto­typical autochthonous religion of China), the volume reflects China’s encounter with religions of the so-called Western Regions, starting from the adoption of Indian Buddhism to early settlements of religious minorities from the Near East (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) and the early modern debates between Confucians and Christian missionaries. Contemporary Major Concepts and religious minorities, their specific social problems, and their regional diversities are discussed in the cases of Abrahamitic traditions in China. The volume therefore contributes to our understanding of most recent and Minority Positions potentially violent religio-political phenomena such as, for instance, Islamist movements in the People’s Republic of China. Religion in China Religion ∙ Max DEEG is Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Cardiff. His research interests include in particular Buddhist narratives and their roles for the construction of identity in premodern Buddhist communities. Bernhard SCHEID is a senior research fellow at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on the history of Japanese religions and the interaction of Buddhism with local religions, in particular with Japanese Shintō. Max Deeg, Bernhard Scheid (eds.) Deeg, Max Bernhard ISBN 978-3-7001-7759-3 Edited by Max Deeg and Bernhard Scheid Printed and bound in the EU SBph 862 MAX DEEG, BERNHARD SCHEID (EDS.) RELIGION IN CHINA: MAJOR CONCEPTS AND MINORITY POSITIONS ÖSTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN PHILOSOPHISCH-HISTORISCHE KLASSE SITZUNGSBERICHTE, 862.
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional-Executive Commission on China Annual
    CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2007 ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION OCTOBER 10, 2007 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.cecc.gov VerDate 11-MAY-2000 01:22 Oct 11, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6011 Sfmt 5011 38026.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 2007 ANNUAL REPORT VerDate 11-MAY-2000 01:22 Oct 11, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6019 Sfmt 6019 38026.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ANNUAL REPORT 2007 ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION OCTOBER 10, 2007 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.cecc.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 38–026 PDF WASHINGTON : 2007 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 01:22 Oct 11, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 38026.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 01:22 Oct 11, 2007 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 38026.TXT CHINA1 PsN: CHINA1 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS House Senate SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan, Chairman BYRON DORGAN, North Dakota, Co-Chairman MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio MAX BAUCUS, Montana TOM UDALL, New Mexico CARL LEVIN, Michigan MICHAEL M. HONDA, California DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California TIM WALZ, Minnesota SHERROD BROWN, Ohio CHRISTOPHER H.
    [Show full text]
  • Report on Shanghai Water Projects
    Consulate General of Switzerland in Shanghai Commercial Section ISSUE NO.4 July 2003 Report on Shanghai Water Projects ‘A glass of water with half a glass of dirt’ was the vivid picture of the quality of drinking water in Shanghai some 25 years ago. People could still clearly remember the strange taste of the water at that time. Half a century’s industrialisation not only led to Shanghai’s fast development, but also to serious environmental problems. As the Chinese saying goes, a city with a river running through it is a city full of life. But this cannot be applied to Shanghai. Having two heavily polluted rivers running across the city, the Huangpu River and the Suzhou Creek, Shanghai has to deal with two problematic water currants. Back to even five years ago, walking along the famous Bund area was not a pleasant experience because of the bad smell emanating from the Huangpu River. For people living close to the Suzhou Creek, the situation was even worse. People had to keep windows closed day and night to avoid the foul smell from the water in the neighbourhood. Instead of being green and clear, the Creek was black and opaque, full of sewage. The drinking water for urban residents is seriously polluted as it comes mainly from outlying sections of these two rivers － the upper stretch of the Huangpu River near the Songpu Bridge in Minhang District, and the river mouth where the Yangtze River merges with the East China Sea. Faced with the threat of worsening water pollution, and demands of meeting international environmental standards, the Shanghai government decided to adopt measures for improving the environmental situation in the city.
    [Show full text]
  • （2021-04-29）Summary of Quarterly Solvency Report (China Pacific Anxin Agricultural Insurance Company Limited)
    Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement. 中國太平洋保險（集團）股份有限公司 CHINA PACIFIC INSURANCE (GROUP) CO., LTD. (A joint stock company incorporated in the People’s Republic of China with limited liability) (Stock Code: 02601) Overseas Regulatory Announcement This overseas regulatory announcement is made pursuant to Rule 13.09 and Rule 13.10B of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Listing Rules”) and the Inside Information Provisions (as defined in the Listing Rules) under Part XIVA of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong). The announcement is attached hereof for information purpose only. By Order of the Board China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co., Ltd. KONG Qingwei Chairman Hong Kong, 29 April 2021 As at the date of this announcement, the Executive Directors of the Company are Mr. KONG Qingwei and Mr. FU Fan; the Non-executive Directors are Mr. HUANG Dinan, Mr. WANG Tayu, Mr. WU Junhao, Mr. CHEN Ran, Mr. ZHOU Donghui, Ms. LIANG Hong, Ms. LU Qiaoling and Mr. John Robert DACEY; and the Independent Non-executive Directors are Ms. LIU Xiaodan, Mr. CHEN Jizhong, Ms. LAM Tyng Yih, Elizabeth, Mr. WOO Ka Biu, Jackson and Mr. JIANG Xuping. Summary of Quarterly Solvency Report China Pacific Anxin Agricultural Insurance Company Limited 1st Quarter of 2021 Contents I.
    [Show full text]
  • ATTACHMENT 1 Barcode:3800584-02 C-570-107 INV - Investigation
    ATTACHMENT 1 Barcode:3800584-02 C-570-107 INV - Investigation - Chinese Producers of Wooden Cabinets and Vanities Company Name Company Information Company Name: A Shipping A Shipping Street Address: Room 1102, No. 288 Building No 4., Wuhua Road, Hongkou City: Shanghai Company Name: AA Cabinetry AA Cabinetry Street Address: Fanzhong Road Minzhong Town City: Zhongshan Company Name: Achiever Import and Export Co., Ltd. Street Address: No. 103 Taihe Road Gaoming Achiever Import And Export Co., City: Foshan Ltd. Country: PRC Phone: 0757-88828138 Company Name: Adornus Cabinetry Street Address: No.1 Man Xing Road Adornus Cabinetry City: Manshan Town, Lingang District Country: PRC Company Name: Aershin Cabinet Street Address: No.88 Xingyuan Avenue City: Rugao Aershin Cabinet Province/State: Jiangsu Country: PRC Phone: 13801858741 Website: http://www.aershin.com/i14470-m28456.htmIS Company Name: Air Sea Transport Street Address: 10F No. 71, Sung Chiang Road Air Sea Transport City: Taipei Country: Taiwan Company Name: All Ways Forwarding (PRe) Co., Ltd. Street Address: No. 268 South Zhongshan Rd. All Ways Forwarding (China) Co., City: Huangpu Ltd. Zip Code: 200010 Country: PRC Company Name: All Ways Logistics International (Asia Pacific) LLC. Street Address: Room 1106, No. 969 South, Zhongshan Road All Ways Logisitcs Asia City: Shanghai Country: PRC Company Name: Allan Street Address: No.188, Fengtai Road City: Hefei Allan Province/State: Anhui Zip Code: 23041 Country: PRC Company Name: Alliance Asia Co Lim Street Address: 2176 Rm100710 F Ho King Ctr No 2 6 Fa Yuen Street Alliance Asia Co Li City: Mongkok Country: PRC Company Name: ALMI Shipping and Logistics Street Address: Room 601 No.
    [Show full text]
  • World Bank Document
    RP707 Puxi Section Project of Southern Transportation Trunk V3 Perfecting Project of Bailonggang Area, Shanghai ——Funded by World Bank Public Disclosure Authorized Southern Transportation Trunk Perfecting Project for Sewage Treatment in Bailonggang Area, Shanghai Puxi Section Project Resettlement Action Plan Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Shanghai Urban Drainage Corporation August2008 Public Disclosure Authorized 1 Endorsement Letter for the Resettlement Plan Shanghai Municipal Government has applied for a loan from WB to finance Shanghai Southern Transportation Trunk Perfecting Project for Sewage Treatment Bailonggang Area. Therefore, the Project must be implemented in compliance with ADB safeguard requirements. This Resettlement Plan is prepared in accordance with the laws of the PRC, Shanghai Municipality, as well as WB’s Policy on Involuntary Resettlement and it constitutes the basis for land acquisition, house demolition and resettlement of the project. Shanghai Municipal Government hereby confirms the content of this Resettlement Plan and will guarantee the land acquisition, compensation and relocation budget being provided according to the provisions of this Resettlement Plan. This Resettlement Plan is based on the feasibility study report and the initial surveys. If the final implemented components are different from the contents described in the feasibility study report and that will cause the substantial impact on the Resettlement Plan, this Resettlement Plan should be future modified and approved by WB before its implementation. Shanghai Municipal People’s Government __________ (Signature) _____________ (Date) 2 Preface I. The objective of Resettlement Action Plan 1 This Resettlement Action Plan is formulated on the basis of the laws, regulations and policies of the People’s Republic of China, and Local Government as well as the Guidelines of the World Bank (Operational Directive for Involuntary Resettlement OP 4.12).
    [Show full text]
  • The Current Status of Environmental Criteria for Hydropower Development in the Mekong Region a Literature Compilation
    The Current Status of Environmental Criteria for Hydropower Development in the Mekong Region A Literature Compilation by Peter King, Jeremy Bird, Lawrence Haas ` March 2007 Coordination and Editing: WWF/Marc Goichot WWF–Living Mekong Programme P.O. Box 7871. House. 39. Unit 05 Ban Saylom, Vientiane, Lao PDR Email: [email protected] Design and Layout: WWF/Noy Promsouvanh Cover photos: MRC/Jim Holmes, MRC/Garris on Photography, MRC/Virginia Adamson. Cover illustration: Phanavanh Anoulack The opinions and interpretations expressed within are those of authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Asian Development Bank, Mekong River Commission Secretariat and WWF. The Current Status of Environmental Criteria for Hydropower Development in the Mekong Region: A literature compilation Foreword Population growth, economic development, and associated increases in personal wealth are causing growth in electricity demand across the Greater Mekong region, if not uniformly within the different countries, still at an overall rapid rate for the region as a whole. Different sets of options are open to meet this demand – each with unique advantages and disadvantages - all of which become entangled in the complex play of diverging priorities supported by different interest groups. In the mean time, the recent recognition of the role of human activities on climate change is leading to rethinking of the entire energy sector. As a result, a complex paradigm lies in front of decision makers, touching on crucial issues such as global
    [Show full text]
  • “Little Tibet” with “Little Mecca”: Religion, Ethnicity and Social Change on the Sino-Tibetan Borderland (China)
    “LITTLE TIBET” WITH “LITTLE MECCA”: RELIGION, ETHNICITY AND SOCIAL CHANGE ON THE SINO-TIBETAN BORDERLAND (CHINA) A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Yinong Zhang August 2009 © 2009 Yinong Zhang “LITTLE TIBET” WITH “LITTLE MECCA”: RELIGION, ETHNICITY AND SOCIAL CHANGE ON THE SINO-TIBETAN BORDERLAND (CHINA) Yinong Zhang, Ph. D. Cornell University 2009 This dissertation examines the complexity of religious and ethnic diversity in the context of contemporary China. Based on my two years of ethnographic fieldwork in Taktsang Lhamo (Ch: Langmusi) of southern Gansu province, I investigate the ethnic and religious revival since the Chinese political relaxation in the 1980s in two local communities: one is the salient Tibetan Buddhist revival represented by the rebuilding of the local monastery, the revitalization of religious and folk ceremonies, and the rising attention from the tourists; the other is the almost invisible Islamic revival among the Chinese Muslims (Hui) who have inhabited in this Tibetan land for centuries. Distinctive when compared to their Tibetan counterpart, the most noticeable phenomenon in the local Hui revival is a revitalization of Hui entrepreneurship, which is represented by the dominant Hui restaurants, shops, hotels, and bus lines. As I show in my dissertation both the Tibetan monastic ceremonies and Hui entrepreneurship are the intrinsic part of local ethnoreligious revival. Moreover these seemingly unrelated phenomena are in fact closely related and reflect the modern Chinese nation-building as well as the influences from an increasingly globalized and government directed Chinese market.
    [Show full text]
  • INDIAN & WORLD GEOGRAPHY ASTRONOMY 1. What Is the Difference Between Asteroids and Comets?
    INDIAN & WORLD GEOGRAPHY ASTRONOMY 1. What is the difference between asteroids and comets? (2011) 1. Asteroids are small rocky planetoids, while comet are formed of frozen gases held together by rocky and metallic material. 2. Asteroids are found mostly between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, while comets are found mostly between Venus and Mercury. 3. Comets show a perceptible glowing tail, while asteroids do not. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 (b) 1 and 3 (c) 3 (d) 1,2 and 3 Ans: B The biggest difference between comets and asteroids is what they are made of. While asteroids consist of metals and rocky material, comets are made up of ice, dust, rocky materials and organic compounds. When comets get closer to the Sun, they lose material with each orbit because some of their ice melts and vaporizes. Asteroids typically remain solid, even when near the Sun. Right now, the majority of asteroids reside in the asteroid belt, a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter which may hold millions of space rocks of varying sizes. On the other hand, the majority of comets are in the farthest reaches of our Solar System: either 1. in the Kuiper Belt — a region just outside the orbit of the dwarf planet Pluto that may have millions of icy comets (as well as many icy dwarf planets like Pluto and Eris); or 2. the Oort Cloud, a region where trillions of comets may circle the Sun at huge distances of up to 20 trillion kilometers (13 trillion miles).
    [Show full text]
  • The Sound Imitation of Some National Instruments in Piano Music 7
    The sound imitation of some national instruments in piano music 7 The sound imitation of some national instruments in piano music La imitación sonora de algunos instrumentos nacionales en música de piano. aBSTRACT The article reveals the textural, timbre-dynamic, harmonic, performing and other musical means of imitating the sound of national instruments in piano music. Based on the analysis of literature and works by M. Mussorgsky, S. Rachmaninov, F. Liszt, Wang Jiangzhong, Zhu Wanhua, A. Rudenko, R. Kasimov and other composers, summarizing the performing and pedagogical experience of studying piano works shows the means of implementing various instruments to groups of idiophones, membranophones, chordophones and aerophones according to the instrumental classification of Hornbostel-Sachs. The article shows that onomatopoeia is based not only on the sound image of the primary source instrument, but also on recreating the playing techniques of playing it. At the same time, the traditions of academic art, the achievements of European pianism and the sound capabilities of the piano are actualized. Imitation of the sound of the bell, one of the idiophones, occupies an important place in foreign and domestic music. In the works of Russian composers, various types of Orthodox bells ring out, such as Blagovest, Perebor, Perezvon, and Trezvon. In the works of Chinese composers, the sounds of ancient bianzhong ceremonial bells are displayed. The imitation of a bell is based on the reproduction of its timbre-acoustic characteristics, rich in overtones of a booming sound, long and smoothly dying out, accompanied by other harmonies or figurations, pedalization of the piano. The imitation of string-stringed chordophones is notable for its expressiveness, melodic expressiveness, improvisation, and rich ornamentation.
    [Show full text]
  • The PLA General Staff Department Third Department Second Bureau: an Organizational Overview of Unit 61398|
    The PLA General Staff Department Third Department Second Bureau An Organizational Overview of Unit 61398 Mark A. Stokes July 27, 2015 |The PLA General Staff Department Third Department Second Bureau: An Organizational Overview of Unit 61398| About the Author MARK A. STOKES is the executive director of the Project 2049 Institute. A 20 year U.S. Air Force veteran, Mark has served in a variety of military and private sector positions. He began his career as a signals intelligence officer with assignments in the Philippines and West Berlin, Germany. After graduate school and Chinese language training, Mark was assigned as assistant air attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and subsequently as an operations planning officer on the Air Staff. Between 1997 and 2004, he served as team chief and senior country director for the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, and Mongolia in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. After retiring from military service in the rank of lieutenant colonel, he worked in the private sector on Taiwan. Mark joined Project 2049 in 2008. He holds a BA from Texas A&M University and graduate degrees in international relations and Asian studies from Boston University and the Naval Postgraduate School. He has working proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank Ken Allen, John Costello, The Leaker and friends, and others for insights, comments, and/or suggestions. All errors are the responsibility of the author alone. Cover image source: Wikimedia Commons About the Project 2049 Institute The Project 2049 Institute seeks to guide decision makers toward a more secure Asia by the century’s mid-point.
    [Show full text]