The Unruly New Territories

At the end of the nineteenth century a slice of imperial China was abruptly incorporated into the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. It became known as the New Territories. The people of this remote and traditional corner of the Ching empire were not consulted about the annexation, initially resisted and long resented it. To placate them, the incoming authorities promised that little would alter and that their customs would be respected. The promise would not be fully kept but it became the source of the preservation of Chinese customary law in respect of rural land and the justification for privileges afforded to indigenous inhabitants. Their tenacious assertion of those rights and aversion to authority is detectible throughout the twentieth century and into the era of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; it permeates almost every aspect of policy and law relating to rural land. The Unruly New Territories is an account of the annexed area and of its special place in Hong Kong history and law. It recounts the customs and privileges, how they preserved a China that was elsewhere disappearing and how they gave—and, despite enormous changes, continue to give—leverage to indigenous representatives in dealings with government as well as handsome profits to rural landowners. ‘This fascinating and impressive book is a must-read for all who want to know more about the New Territories. Malcolm Merry traces, with his usual clarity and insight, its unique land history that blends, not always harmoniously, Chinese custom with the advance of common law and this area’s dramatic development.’ —Sarah Nield, University of Southampton ‘The Unruly New Territories covers various aspects of land law and custom in the New Territories and the history of this region in a thoughtful and provocative combined thesis. A must-read for anyone studying the laws and customs affecting land in rural Hong Kong and interested in the history of the New Territories.’ —Steven Gallagher, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Alastair Bonnett explores extraordinary, off-grid, offbeat places including micro-nations, moving villages, secret cities, and no man's lands. Consider Sealand, an abandoned gun platform off the English coast that a British citizen claimed as his own sovereign nation, issuing passports and making his wife a princess. Or Baarle, a patchwork city of Dutch and Flemish enclaves where crossing the street can involve traversing national borders. Or Sandy Island, which appeared on maps well into 2012 despite the fact it never existed.

The questions that inspired this study are central to contemporary research within environmental anthropology, political ecology, and environmental history: How does the introduction of a modern, capitalist, resource regime affect the livelihood of indigenous peoples? Can sustainable resource management be achieved in a situation of radical commodification> of land and other aspects of nature? Focusing on conflicts relating to forest management, mining, and land rights, the author offers an insightful account of present-day challenges for indigenous people to accommodate aspirations for ethnic sovereignty and development.

2017 INSPY Award winner, general fiction category Before Christ called her daughter . . . Before she stole healing by touching the hem of his garment . . . Elianna is a young girl crushed by guilt. After her only brother is killed while in her care, Elianna tries to earn forgiveness by working for her father’s textile trade and caring for her family. When another tragedy places Elianna in sole charge of the business, her talent for design brings enormous success, but never the absolution she longs for. As her world unravels, she breaks off her betrothal to the only man she will ever love. Then illness strikes, isolating Elianna from everyone, stripping everything she has left. No physician can cure her. No end is in sight. Until she hears whispers of a man whose mere touch can heal. After so many years of suffering and disappointment, is it possible that one man could redeem the wounds of body . . . and soul?

Some 1900 entries arranged in subject categories, beginning with nine chapters relating to the foundations of christological studies. The remaining forty-one chapters are divided into three sections dealing with specific topics: the titles given to Christ, the treatment of Christ by New Testament writers, and primary christological themes. Indices: authors-editors-compilers; titles; subjects. A collection of 11 short stories about Indiana by new Indiana writers, selected to illustrate the continuing construction of the heartland's fictional landscape, begun by an earlier generation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

One child in five in America is the child of immigrants, and their numbers increase each year. Based on an extraordinary interdisciplinary study that followed 400 newly arrived children from the Caribbean, China, Central America, and Mexico for five years, this book provides a compelling account of the lives, dreams, academic journeys, and frustrations of these youngest immigrants.

This is the first uncensored, unauthorized biography of a filmmaker who is to his era what Charlie Chaplin & Buster Keaton were to theirs - & the first biography to investigate all the sensitive subjects both personal & professional that Woody does not talk about.

'This is a provocative re-examination of our legal history appearing at a time when Australians are reconsidering both their past and their future.' - The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG, President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal The imperial view of Australian law was that it was a weak derivative of English law. In An Unruly Child, Bruce Kercher rewrites history. He reveals that since 1788 there has been a contest between the received legal wisdom of Mother England and her sometimes unruly offspring. The resulting law often suited local interests, but was not always more just. Kercher also shows that law has played a major role in Australian social history. From the convict settlements and the Eureka stockade in the early years to the Harvester Judgement, the White Australia Policy and most recently the Mabo case, central themes of Australian history have been framed by the legal system. An Unruly Child is a groundbreaking work which will influence our understanding of Australia's history and its legal system.