Hua Ling Fu and Richard Cullen received their doctorates in law at York, but found their common interests on the other side of the world.

    Fu (DJur, '93), from the People's Republic of China (PRC), completed his doctorate at Osgoode Hall Law School because, he says, the School "has a good reputation. I didn't bother applying anywhere else." After graduation, Fu took an assistant professorship in the Faculty of Law at the City University of Hong Kong to further his PRC law studies and to move closer to home. He is described by a leading British sinologist as one of the leading, new-generation, PRC legal experts in the world.

    Australian Richard Cullen (DJur, '86) studied comparative public law at York with professor Peter Hogg. After graduating, he returned home to teach at Melbourne's Monash University, before moving to Hong Kong in 1991. Cullen moved to Deakin University in Australia in early 1997, but will return to the City University of Hong Kong as a visiting fellow in early 1998.

    The two met in Hong Kong and discovered their common interests. Over the last two years they have secured two major research grants. One is to study China's massive fiscal reforms of 1994; the other is a major project on regulation of expression in China. It resulted in the first book on media law in China -- Media Law in the PRC.

    Their book examines regulation of the print and electronic media in China, and covers sedition, subversion, state secrets, national security, defamation, obscene and indecent materials, advertising and copyright. The book is directed towards improving the understanding of PRC law, particularly outside China.

    "China currently is undergoing an explosion of law-making at the same time
as its economy expands at a rate predicted to make it the world's most powerful economy within two decades," Cullen says.

    On their partnership, Fu says, "I think we both enjoy the challenge and excitement of being in Hong Kong during this transitional period. The future has some uncertainties, but also much promise."