17th ASLI Conference 2020 – 3 & 4 June 2020 Name of Author : Francis SL Wang (Convener) – Speaker 1 Designation / Academic Post : Part-Time Professor Institution / Organisation : International Association of Law Schools Panel Category : Legal Education Panel Title : Sense and Sensitivity II: Rational Legal Discourse on Sensitive, Challenging and Controversial Subjects – Conflicting Western and Asian Approaches in Defining the Meaning of the Rule of Law. Participation Type : Panel Submission – P1 This paper continues the initial work presented at the 2019 ASLI Annual Meeting – “Sense and Sensibility: Teaching Sensitive, Challenging and Controversial Subjects”. The collaborators shall continue the exploration of teaching and researching Sensitive, Challenging and Controversial (SCC) topics in the context of legal education and the rule of law. The paper will contrast Western and East Asian foundational philosophic assumptions in shaping legal thinking. Sensitive, Challenging and Controversial (SCC) test the boundaries of belief, cultural imperatives, and definitions of the rule of law. The authors will discuss the results of student surveys in a variety of jurisdictions to consider potentially different attitudes among law students in different cultures. The paper will juxtapose various cultural Asian perspectives and contrast them with the currently accepted neoliberal democratic Western perspective that any issue is subject to full, open and unfettered freedom of speech and debate. That position is bolstered by the assertion that it would lead to better governance outcomes. This view is that all topics are amenable to rational debate. With the rise of Asian nations in wealth and political influence, this model is being challenged by a more tightly controlled discourse which privileges stability and conformity. Divisive discussions may devolve into hardening positions, polarization and disruption of the public order. The contrast between these two differing perspectives encapsulates the varying basic societal values of governance and the creation of a better life for citizens. How SCC issues are engaged in diverse jurisdictions crystalizes the differences and provokes the study of how we teach rational legal discourse across jurisdictions while encompassing these distinct viewpoints. A method for discussing and resolving conflicting and controversial issues based upon an agreed set of principles and guidelines is essential to a common understanding of the rule of law. That common understanding is essential if we expect a belief in and an adherence to the outcomes of a legal process. As our students need to negotiate the global environment, it is essential that law teachers develop a greater common understanding of how we discuss and resolve conflicting and controversial issues across jurisdictions and cultures. Brief Biography of Author Born in Shanghai, Frank Wang earned his Juris Doctor from Cornell University Law School, and obtained his New York bar membership in 1973 and California bar membership in 1976. Before founding Wang & Wang with his father, Kenneth C. Wang, in 1987, Mr. Wang worked as an international finance lawyer at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy on Wall Street, and also at Morrison Foerster in San Francisco. He has attained the highest possible rating of "AV" from Martindale- Hubbell, the national directory of attorneys, indicating preeminent legal ability and the highest ethical standards. Francis SL Wang is one of the founding Governors and presently serves as the President and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Association of Law Schools. He is the Executive Director of The Wang Family Foundation. Professor Wang is the Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law at the Kenneth Wang School of Law, Soochow University, Suzhou, China. He serves as the Honorary Chair of the Board of Regents of Soochow University. He is a Visiting Professor of Law and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the University of Pacific – McGeorge School of Law. He is the co-founder and Senior Counsel of the War Crimes Studies Center at U.C. Berkeley, now part of the WSD Handa Center at Stanford University and the East-West Center in Hawaii. He is a member of the Scholastic Council and holds an Honorary Doctorate in Law from the Far Eastern Federal University of Russia. He is one of founders and a member of the Advisory Council to the Human Rights Resource Center, a university based research institute headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia with supporting centers at universities throughout the ASEAN countries, as well as a member on the Board of Advisors of the C.V. Starr East Asia Library at the University of California at Berkeley. He co-chairs the Chinese Jurisprudence Commission. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and an Honorary Bencher of the Honorable Society of King’s Inns. Name of Author : Eleanor Wong (Speaker 2) Designation / Academic Post : Full-Time Professor Institution / Organisation : National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law Brief Biography of Author A graduate of the National University of Singapore, Eleanor started her career with the Commercial Affairs Department, prosecuting complex commercial and securities frauds. She subsequently joined international law firms Coudert Brothers and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, building a practice in international financial transactions. She returned to NUS in 2002 to launch the Law Faculty’s Legal Skills Programme as its Director. She is also Coordinator of the Faculty’s International Moots Programme and currently serves as Vice Dean, Student Affairs. Eleanor has won several University teaching awards; she has been Associate Director of the Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning as well as a member of the Law Faculty’s Teaching Excellence Committee. She is considered a thought-leader in law school pedagogy and has conducted workshops and consultancies in this area for Law schools in the region, including Hong Kong University, Laos National University, National Chengchi University and Jigme Singye Wangchuk School of Law. Eleanor holds an LLM from New York University and also happens to be a published playwright and poet. Name of Author : Pareena Srivanit (Speaker 3) Designation / Academic Post : Full-Time Professor Institution / Organisation : Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Law Brief Biography of Author Assistant Professor Dr. Pareena Srivanit is the Dean of Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Law from 28 September 2017. She is the first female dean in the faculty's history. She received an LL.B. from Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Law where she graduated first in her class. She was awarded the Chulalongkorn University Scholarship to pursue her LL.M. degrees at University of Pennsylvania Law School and Harvard Law School. She received her SJD from University of Wisconsin Law School. Before starting her deanship, Dr. Pareena was Assistant to the President of Chulalongkorn University for nine years where she oversaw the legal, compliance, and procurement issues of the university. Name of Author : Bryan Horrigan (Speaker 4) Designation / Academic Post : Full-Time Professor Institution / Organisation : Monash University, Faculty of Law Brief Biography of Author Professor Bryan Horrigan became Dean of the Faculty of Law at Monash University in early January 2013. He was previously the Louis Waller Chair of Law and Associate Dean (Research) at Monash University's Faculty of Law in Melbourne, Australia. In that role, he established the Faculty's Commercial Law Group. Professor Horrigan has both academic expertise and professional experience in public and corporate law and governance from Australian, transnational, and cross-disciplinary perspectives. Formerly a long-standing law firm and governmental consultant, Bryan has advised commercial lawyers and their corporate and governmental clients on issues ranging from contractual good faith and unconscionable business conduct to corporate social responsibility and rights-based scrutiny of legislation. He has given invitational addresses at Oxford University, Harvard University, Stanford University, and the Wharton Business School. Bryan was previously appointed by the current Australian Government to an expert panel asked to investigate the regulation of unconscionable business conduct and problematic franchising behaviours. The Australian Government's acceptance of that expert panel's recommendations resulted in changes to major pieces of national economic regulation in the form of the Competition and Consumer Act, Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act, and Franchising Code of Conduct. Professor Horrigan completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Queensland and holds a doctorate in law from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He has held academic and research leadership positions previously at a number of Australian universities, including Director of the National Centre for Corporate Law and Policy Research, Deputy Director of the National Institute for Governance, and Foundation Co-Director of the Centre for Comparative Law, History, and Governance. His most recent book in the area of corporate responsibility and governance, Corporate Social Responsibility in the 21st Century: Debates, Models, and Practices Across Government, Law, and Business was published internationally by UK-based Edward Elgar Publishing in late 2010. The book was commenced during his time as a Visiting Scholar at the Wharton Business School and launched