Author
Ms Miaoyan Wan
Organisation/Institution
Sichuan Dingchi Law Firm
Country
CHINA
Panel
Legal Pluralism
Title
Transnational Enforcement of Sexual Harassment Tribunal Decisions: Comparative Perspectives from China and Malaysia
Abstract
This study analyzes the legal and institutional challenges in enforcing foreign sexual harassment tribunal decisions between China and Malaysia, focusing on the 2024–2025 TAGS v. Xiao Lin award and its divergent treatment by Chinese courts. Malaysia’s Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 (Act 840) established TAGS as a quasi-judicial body whose awards have the force of court orders under sections 19–23. This paper compares that framework with China’s developing doctrine of presumed reciprocity and the Supreme People’s Court’s efforts to expand Belt-and-Road judicial cooperation. The research identifies how procedural and policy mechanisms may enable partial recognition of TAGS awards in China despite the absence of a bilateral treaty. It argues that Asia is moving toward a hybrid regional model that balances sovereign autonomy with substantive justice for gender-based harms. The analysis fits the ASLI 2026 theme Empowering Asia’s Rise: Legal Knowledge for Sustainability, Justice and Regional Integration, contributing to comparative insights on transnational enforcement and judicial cooperation.
Biography
Xuejiao Li & Miaoyan Wan are legal practitioners and socio-legal researchers based in Chengdu, China, combining practical expertise in transnational dispute resolution with academic inquiry into gender, law, and comparative judicial systems. Li is a registered lawyer and behavioural science consultant at Sichuan Dingchi Law Firm and EQL Consulting. Her professional background spans family and sexual-violence cases, forensic psychology, and cross-jurisdictional enforcement of judgments. She holds master’s-level qualifications in social work and legal studies and is currently pursuing research bridging feminist legal philosophy, coercive-control theory, and procedural justice in Asia. Wan is a senior associate at Sichuan Dingchi Law Firm with over ten years of litigation and arbitration experience in commercial and family-law matters. Her current research focuses on the Belt-and-Road judicial cooperation framework, recognition of foreign tribunal decisions, and the protection of women’s rights in civil proceedings. Together they lead a practice-based research group examining how cultural, linguistic, and institutional factors shape the enforcement of sexual-harassment tribunal awards across legal systems. Their collaborative work integrates doctrinal analysis with field practice, aiming to strengthen the intersection between feminist jurisprudence and comparative procedural law in the Asia-Pacific context.
