This is a book for an extraordinary time, about a pandemic for which there is no modern precedent. It is an edited collection of original essays on Asia's legal and policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, which, in a matter of months, swept
around the globe, infecting millions. It transformed daily life in almost every corner of the planet: lockdowns of cities and entire countries, physical distancing and quarantines, travel restrictions and border
controls, movement-tracking technology, mandatory closures of all but essential services, economic devastation and mass unemployment, and government assistance programs on record-breaking scales. Yet a pandemic on this scale, under contemporary conditions of globalization, has left governments and their advisors scrambling to improvise solutions, often themselves unprecedented in modern times, such as the initial lockdown of Wuhan.
This collection of essays analyzes law and policy responses across Asia, identifying cross-cutting themes and challenges. It taps the collective knowledge of an interdisciplinary team of sixty-one researchers both in the service of policy development, and with the goal of establishing a scholarly baseline for research after the storm has passed. The collection begins with an epidemiological overview and survey of the law and policy themes. The jurisdiction-specific case studies and cross-cutting thematic essays cover five topics: first wave containment measures; emergency powers; technology, science, and expertise; politics, religion, and governance; and economy, climate, and sustainability.
Chapter 20: Cambodia: Public Health, Economic, and Political Dimensions by Ratana Ly, Vandanet Hing, & Kimsan Soy is available for free.
Introduction and Background 1. A Short History and Thematic Overview Victor V. Ramraj & Matthew Little Part I: First Wave Containment Measures 2. China: Community Policing, High-tech Surveillance, and Authoritarian Durability Feng Xu & Qian Liu 3. Taiwan: Democracy, Technology and Civil Society Wen-Chen Chang & Chun-Yuan Lin 4. Vietnam: Marshalling State and Non-State Actors Cuong Nguyen & Thanh Phan 5. Spread of Information versus Spread of Virus: China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong Guoguang Wu 6. Borders and Entry Controls in Asia Jaclyn L. Neo & Darius Lee 7. Central Banks and their Limits in a Pandemic Christian Hofmann Part II: Emergency Powers 8. Governing through Contagion Lynette J. Chua & Jack Jin Gary Lee 9. Pandemics and Emergency Powers in Asia Victor V. Ramraj & Arun K. Thiruvengadam 10. Japan: Keeping the Death Toll to the Minimum Tomoya Ono & Shigenori Matsui 11. Thailand: Emergency Responses or More Social Turbulence? Rawin Leelapatana & Chompunoot Tangthavorn 12. India: Federalism, Majoritarian Nationalism, the Vulnerable and Marginalized Reeta Chowdhari Tremblay & Namitha George Part III: Technology, Science & Expertise 13. International Health Regulation and Compliance Susan Carolyn Breau & Preethi Lolaksha Nagaveni 14. Can Technology and Privacy Co-Exist in a Pandemic? Ze Shi Li, Visakha Phusamruat, Tony Clear, & Daniela Damian 15. Singapore: Technocracy and Transition Maartje De Visser & Paulin Straughan 16. South Korea: Democracy, Innovation, and Surveillance Sunghee Chung & Sujin Lee 17. Hong Kong: The Healthcare Professions and the Outbreak Calvin W.L. Ho & Daisy Cheung Part IV: Part IV: Politics, Religion & Governance 18. Religion amid the Pandemic: A Buddhist Case Study Benjamin Schonthal & Tilak Jayatilake 19. Bhutan: The Role of the Constitutional Monarch in a Public Health Crisis Sonam Tshering & Nima Dorji 20. Cambodia: Public Health, Economic, and Political Dimensions Ratana Ly, Vandanet Hing, & Kimsan Soy (this chapter is available for free at http://fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/academic/pdf/law/RamrajCOVID19AsiaCH20.pdf) 21. Indonesia's Response to the Pandemic: Too Little, Too Late? Nadirsyah Hosen and Nurussyariah Hammado 22. Malaysia: Improvised Pandemic Policies and Democratic Regression Azmil Tayeb & Por Heong Hong 23. Myanmar: Pandemic in a Time of Transition Kai Ostwald & Tun Myint 24. Sri Lanka: Pandemic-Catalysed Democratic Backsliding Bhavani Fonseka, Luwie Ganeshathasan, & Asanga Welikala Part V: Economy, Climate & Sustainability 25. Governments and Business Tan Cheng Han & Jiangyu Wang 26. Nationalism, Consolidation and Rationalization in the Aviation Industry Jae Woon Lee & Michelle Dy 27. Asian Trade and Supply Chain Linkages Philip Calvert & Dan Ciuriak 28. Mongolia: After Successful Containment, Challenges Remain Charles Krusekopf & Mendee Jargalsaikhan 29. Reset or Revert in the New Climate Normal Navraj Singh Ghaleigh & Louise Burrows 30. Southeast Asian Workers in a Just-in-Time Pandemic Helen Lansdowne & James Lawson
Victor V. Ramraj a Professor of Law and Chair in Asia-Pacific Legal Relations at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. Since 2017, he has been the Director of the of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives. Earlier in his career, he spent sixteen years at the National University of Singapore, and served as a co-director of the Centre for Transnational Legal Studies in London in 2010-2011. His research interests span comparative constitutional law, transnational regulation, emergency powers, and the state-company relationship. He has edited and co-edited several collections of essays and his research has been published in leading journals around the world.
