Reform Commission Research Articles

Multiple Social Credit Systems in China

In 2014, the Chinese government proposed to build a social credit system (SCS) to better collect and evaluate citizens’ creditworthiness and grant rewards and punishments based on one’s social credit. Since then, various SCS pilots have been enacted. While current media and scholars often perceive SCS as a single and unified system, this paper argues that there are in fact multiple SCSs in China. I identify four main types of SCS and articulate the relationships among them. Each SCS has different assumptions, operationalizations, and implementations. China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, and the macroeconomic management agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, are the two most important actors in the design and implementation of the multiple SCSs. Yet their distinctive views about what “credit” is and what an SCS should be produced great tensions on the SCS landscape. I also historicize current SCSs and show that many elements and assumptions of SCSs can be traced back to a broader political history of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Finally, I propose an alternative theoretical framework to understand Chinese SCSs as a symbolic system with performative power that is more than a simple repressive and direct political project.

Research progress, problems and prospects of mine water treatment technology and resource utilization in China

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Energy Bureau jointly issued the ‘Plant Water Utilization Development Plan’ on January 29, 2013, which requires that China should gradually establish a more complete legal system, macro management and technical support system for mine water in 2015. But so far, due to the influence of geological conditions and other factors, the impurity composition and content of mine water is very different. Based on the comprehensive summary of the theory, method, application technology, practical engineering and processing technology of mine water disaster and its reutilization in China. This article systematically analyzed the latest research progress and achievements, which include basic theory, hydrogeology (supplement) exploration, advanced detection and monitoring as well as early warning. These can further promote application of current technology, develop new technology and methods, point out the challenges and the existing problems of the mine water field, the gaps with requirements of fast, intensive, and large-scale development of the coal industry in China. Finally, the development trends, future important scientific innovation and key technology were discussed. The prospects of the industry and technology were also forecast.

Establishment of Risk Prediction Model for Brain Metastasis with Breast Cancer by Using ctDNA Genetic Profile and Clinical Features from Real-World Data

Background: The survival status of patients with breast cancer with brain metastases (BCBM) is not optimistic, thus understanding of the patient clinical and genetic aberrations is critical for offering appropriate treatment regimens and forecasting the prognoses of the BCBM patients. Methods: The trial was designed as a real-world study. 146 BCBM patients were recruited and their clinical features were analyzed for evaluating overall survival (OS). For genetic testing, 30 BCBM and 165 non-BM BC patients from Hunan Cancer Hospital, and 86 BCBM and 1416 non-BM BC patients from Geneplus database received ctDNA testing was compared and analyzed. Results: For 146 BCBM patients, Ki67 >14% and >3 metastatic brain tumors were significant risk factors associated with poor overall survival (OS), while chemotherapy and brain radiotherapy were beneficial factors for better OS. Compared to non-BM metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients, BCBM patients had significantly more fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) genetic aberrations. The combination of FGFR, TP53 and FLT1 genetic aberrations plus immunohistochemisty (IHC) HER2-positive could effectively predict brain metastases (AUC=77.13%). FGFR aberration alone was not only a prediction factor (AUC=67.90%), but also a significant risk factor for poor PFS in MBC patients (Logrank p=0.029). Among FGFR family members, FGFR1 was the most frequent aberration and significantly higher in BMBC patients. When further evaluating the genetic response of anti-cancer treatment by ctDNA testing, the frequency of FGFR genetic aberrations could be suppressed by capecitabine-based treatment. Conclusion: A group of clinical and genetic events could forecast the occurrence of brain metastases in breast cancers, including FGFR, TP53 and FLT1 genetic aberrations, and IHC HER2-positive. Moreover, FGFR genetic aberration alone could predict poor prognosis. Funding Statement: Development and Reform Commission of Hunan Province (CN) Hunan Key Research Project No. 2018SK2124 (Recipient: Quchang Ouyang); Hunan Provincial Health and Sanitation Committee Project No. 2019070 (Recipient: Zhe-Yu Hu); Hunan Provincial Natural Science Youth Foundation Project No.20190988 (Recipient: Zhe-Yu Hu). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee at Hunan Cancer Hospital, the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine/Central South University.

Becoming activist: the mediation of consumers in Animals Australia’s Make it Possible campaign

In 2008, the Australian Law Reform Commission journal, Reform, called out animal welfare as Australia’s ‘next great social justice movement’ in 2018; however, public mobilisation around animal welfare is still a contested issue in Australia. The question stands as to how to mobilise everyday mainstream consumers into supporting animal activism given that animal activism is presented in the public sphere as dampening the economic livelihood of Australia, with some animal activism described as ‘akin to terrorism’. The questions, then, are as follows: how to mobilise everyday mainstream consumers into supporting animal activist ideals? How to frame and communicate animal activist ideals so that they can come to inform and change the behaviour and self-understandings of mainstream consumers? This article is an investigation into the possible production and mobilisation of animal activists from mainstream consumers through the work of one digital campaign, Make it Possible. Delivered by the peak Australian animal advocacy organisation, Animals Australia, and explicitly targeting the lived experiences and conditions of animals in factory farming, Make it Possible reached nearly 12 million viewers across Australia and has directly impacted on the reported behaviour and self-understandings of over 291,000 Australians to date, as well as impacting policy decisions made by government and industry. More specifically, our interest is to engage a new materialist lens to draw out how this campaign operates to transform consumers into veg*ns (vegans/vegetarians), activists and ethical consumers who materially commit to and live revised beliefs regarding human–animal relations.

How does the implementation of the Policy of Electricity Substitution influence green economic growth in China?

To promote the level of electrification, reduce environmental pollution, and achieve the goal of clean energy usage and green economic growth in China, the National Development and Reform Commission and other eight departments jointly issued and implemented the Policy of Electricity Substitution in 2016. Electricity substitution aims to replace traditional fossil fuels such as coal and fuel oil with clean electric energy in different fields, e.g., industry, transportation, and construction, and deal with the pollutants at power generation. However, we still need to find out the exact impact of the Policy of Electricity Substitution on energy saving and emission reduction. In this paper, we estimate the economically feasible increment of electricity demand according to different classifications in electricity substitution technology. Furthermore, based on the Input-Output model, we discuss the relative influence of the Policy of lectricity Substitution. The main conclusions are: First, the Policy of Electricity Substitution alone is not adequate to reduce the dependence on fossil energy and environmental pollution under China's current power generation structure, we should also increase the use of renewable energy. Second, the power sector plays a leading role in stimulating economic output, and the increasing electricity consumption due to the Policy of Electricity Substitution can boost the green development of China's economy.

Divorce Reform in Canada: New Perspectives; An Analytical Review of Bill C-10 (Canada), 1984

Bill C-10 (Canada), 1984 is entitled An Act to Amend the Divorce Act (R.S.C., 1970, c. 10). In reality, however, the fundamental character of some of the changes proposed therein constitutes a major reform of substantive divorce law and provides a limited foundation for radical changes in the adversarial legal process. The concept of “no-fault” divorce that was proposed by the Law Reform Commission of Canada in its Working Papers and Report on Family Law constitutes the basis of Bill C-10 with regard to the freedom to divorce and the judicial determination of the right to and quantum of spousal maintenance. But Bill C-10 provides little by way of a framework for the implementation of the Law Commission's recommendations for new processes that would ameliorate the injurious effects of the adversarial legal process. For example, the use of mediation as an alternative to the litigation of disputed issues is endorsed in clauses 5 and 16 of Bill C-10, but these clauses, and particularly clause 5, are badly drafted and are unlikely to foster mediated settlements where either lawyer representing the parties is intent on a battle in open court. Bill C-10 introduces much-needed policy objectives to assist the courts in determining whether spousal maintenance should be ordered on the dissolution of the marriage. Here again, however, the drafting is less precise than might be considered appropriate. The “best interests of the child” is declared to be the paramount criterion in applications for the maintenance, custody, care and upbringing of children, but no specific guidelines are provided with respect to the factors that might be relevant to a determination of a child's best interests. Joint custody orders and third party orders are expressly permitted, but not expressly encouraged, by clause 10 of Bill C-10. The jurisdictional requirements of section 5 (1) of the Divorce Act, R.S.C. 1970, c. D-8 have been simplified by clause 3 of Bill C-10, which retains only the one year ordinary residence requirement. Corresponding adjustments have been made to section 6 of the Divorce Act, which governs the recognition of foreign divorce decrees. Bill C-10 (Canada), 1984 thus constitutes a blending of the old and new. Whether this blend produces vintage wine or vinegar is a matter of opinion.

First Instance Administrative Ruling in Jiang Aiming v. Zhejiang Province Development and Reform Commission and Zhejiang Province People’s Government on Administrative Reconsideration

First Instance Administrative Ruling in Jiang Aiming v. Zhejiang Province Development and Reform Commission and Zhejiang Province People’s Government on Administrative Reconsideration

(Invited) 100MW-class vanadium flow battery projects in different applications in China

Vanadium flow battery (hereafter referred as VFB) is one of the most suitable energy storage systems (hereafter referred as ESS) for grid-connected renewable power. And the inherent capitalization potential will improve its commercialization further in the coming future as well. However, comparing to other popular energy storage technology, VRB technology is still lack of experience on large-scale application in different situation. As the Guideline to Promote Energy Storage System Technology and Industrial Development (the Guideline) issued by five ministries of China (Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Energy Administration) in October 2017 mentioned clearly one of the key commercialized technology should be 100MW VRB-ESS power station, there is several important large-scale flow battery projects promoted in China in 2018, such as 100MW/500MWh peak plant in Hubei, 200MW / 800MWh renewables integration in Liaoning, 200MW / 1,000MWh offshore wind integration in Jiangsu and renewable power integration in Qinghai. Some of the confirmed projects is listed in the following figure. Figure 1. China’s vanadium flow battery energy storage projects development plan Several provinces in south coastal area of China, such as Jiangsu, ESS is for peak shifting and arbitrage application as the urgent need of flexible/ Independent peak plants to support the summit power demand in summer. The 100MW/500MWh peak plant in Hubei is mostly to support power requirement of industrial parks. While Qinghai province is the most active place for renewable energy developing and requires large-scale ESS to support grid connection. VRB Energy has got involved closely in most of these projects, and looking forward to share experience and future prospects accordingly. VRB Energy Operations (Beijing) Co. Ltd., used to known as Pu Neng, the supplier of the 2MW/8MWh VRB-ESS State Grid demonstration site in Zhangbei, Zhangjiakou, China, and 3MW/12MWh VRB-ESS in Zaoyang, Hubei, China. The 3MW/12MWh VRB-ESS in Zaoyang has commissioned in Oct 2018, and provided a technical foundation for the coming 100MW/500MWh project in Hubei. VRB Energy has followed up the 200MW / 1,000MWh offshore wind integration in Jiangsu and wind integration projects in Qinghai closely. Some of the projects are most likely to start construction in 2019. Additionally, National Development and Reform Commission, state grid, and National Energy Committee issued the ESS price policy to support the ESS development in China. The policy includes increase the power price gap between peak time and off peak time, tax refund, and reward to the ESS project which can provide the good service to state grid, etc. With economic support and practical large-scale projects, the Chinese power market is expected to form a completed market mechanism in the near future.

Crystallization, Unification, or Differentiation? The Japanese Civil Code (Law of Obligations) Reform Commission and Basic Reform Policy

About one hundred ten years after enactment of the Japanese Civil Code, the debate over the reform of contract law has heated up. On November 2009, based on the consultation of the Minister of Justice, the Working Group on the Civil Code (Law of Obligations) was established. One distinctive feature of this reform process is that the academic contribution became a driving force. Shortly before the consultation, several reform proposals were propounded by different research groups. Notably, the Japanese Civil Code (Law of Obligations) Reform Commission proclaimed a sweeping and ambitious reform proposal: the Basic Reform Policy (Draft Proposals). However, not every lawyer felt the necessity of a comprehensive reform, and some bitterly criticized the reform movement. The fierce debate among academics and practitioners brings to light key characteristics of the Japanese Civil Code, several current streams of the Japanese legal scholarship, and the relationship between academe and practice in Japan. Focusing on the Basic Reform Policy (Draft Proposals), this article seeks to describe both legal scholarship advancing Civil Code reform and criticism of reform from practitioners.

Administrative Reforms in India

Unlike other developing countries, India abandoned the concept of catching-up development, and all its administrative reforms supported the ideology of Indian identity by introducing the most promising scientific achievements in the field of public administration. We identify three stages of administrative reforming in India: 1) the stage of formation of the national public administration; 2) the stage of the state interventional development of the public administration; 3) the stage of liberalization and informatization of the public administration. Since India had received independence, the new state used of the achievements of the colonial civil service and maintained institutions guaranteeing the unity of the state. The Indian government has succeeded in establishing a "living democracy" as the inherent part of Indian culture which supports the traditions of pluralism and is based on the application of rule by consensus and accommodation. Established in 1966, the First Administrative Reforms Commission ensured the leading role of the state in economic development. It improved the organizational foundations of public administration, including the mechanisms of socio-economic planning. The Commission’s reports prepared the base for constitutional recognition of India as a socialist republic. The most important instrument of the Union public administration was the licensing system, which extended to all spheres of economic activity and spawned the creation of numerous inspections with broad jurisdictional powers. The economic crisis and the inability of the Union to solve the social problems by interventionist methods — these were the reasons of the liberal reforms of the 1990s — 2000s. The rejection of the license system, the transition to the methods of soft administrative and legal regulation, the empowerment of decentralized bodies have changed the main areas of activity of the Indian public administration. The National Institute for Transforming India has provided the solutions to the problems in 80 areas of the country’s socio-economic development, acting through the mediation of all stakeholders — central, state and local government officials, public organizations and citizens. Liberal reforms are also aimed at democratizing governance and forming a citizen-oriented administration. They are focused on the implementation of innovative e-technologies in business and public administration.

The efficiency of carbon trading market in China: evidence from variance ratio tests.

On December 19, 2017, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced the official launch of the much-anticipated national emissions trading system (ETS), which is a critical period for the transition from the eight carbon emission trading pilot projects to the national market at this stage. Comprehensively evaluating the efficiency of China's eight carbon trading pilots is vital for strengthening the construction of its national ETS. This paper investigates the weak-form efficiency of eight carbon trading markets in China. We use a series of variance ratio tests to identify the efficiency from the market set up to the May 4, 2018, of all markets. The results indicate that the majority of the carbon trading markets are inefficient and only Beijing, Hubei, and Fujian markets are efficient. The China's carbon trading market is gradually maturing and implemented. In addition, we analyze the factors have impact on the market efficiency. It shows that the liquidity, volume, allocation allowance, and transparency in information are significant factors; meanwhile, the regional policy and cross cooperation also are important factors. Finally, this paper puts forward several policy recommendations on how to strengthen the effectiveness of China carbon trading markets based on the empirical results.

Sentencing Reform in Canada: Recent Developments

Changes to the sentencing process in Canada are finally imminent. A number of reports in recent years have called for reforms in the area of sentencing and parole. In 1987, the Canadian Sentencing Commission released its final report Sentencing Reform: A Canadian Approach. This was followed in 1988 by the report of the Daubney Committee following its investigation into sentencing and parole. In addition to these proposals, the now-defunct Law Reform Commission of Canada, the Department of Justice and the Ministry of the Solicitor General all published reports containing reform proposals. In this article, the authors review recent events in the area of sentencing since the publication of the report of the Canadian Sentencing Commission. After a brief introduction, four principal policy issues are examined: (i) statutory statements of sentencing purpose; (ii) sentencing guidelines; (iii) the future of release on parole; (iv) the creation of a permanent sentencing commission for Canada. For each issue, the article critically examines the position taken by major players in the area of criminal law reform. The article concludes with a brief examination of Bill C-90, which recently received first reading, and which will be the object of further parliamentary scrutiny in the fall of 1992. In a subsequent article, the authors offer their own proposals to reform the sentencing of offenders in Canada.

Current Dilemma and Countermeasure of College-Enterprise Cooperation in Higher Vocational Education

Higher vocational education is an important part of China's education system. Higher vocational colleges are the carrier of Higher Vocational education and college-enterprise cooperation is an important way to improve the quality of higher vocational education and provides an important platform for the realization of the goal of training technical applied talents in Higher Vocational education. The depth and breadth of school-enterprise cooperation have an important impact on the effectiveness of Higher Vocational education. Therefore, educators should carefully analyze the current dilemma of college-enterprise cooperation, and put forward effective countermeasures to help improve the effectiveness of Higher Vocational education. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized in the report of the Nineteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China: "Perfecting the vocational education and training system, deepening the integration of industry and education, college-enterprise cooperation." In March 2018, the Ministry of Education, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and other six departments jointly issued the Promotion Measures of College-Enterprise Cooperation in Vocational Schools, which clearly pointed out: "The integration of industry and education, College-enterprise cooperation is the basic mode of Vocational education and the key to running vocational education well." It can be seen that the relevant departments of the state attach great importance to promoting the integration of industry and education and promoting college-enterprise cooperation, which provides policy and theoretical support for the extensive development of college-enterprise cooperation in Higher Vocational education.

Whose Constitution? Constitutional Self‐Determination and Generational Change

AbstractConstitutions enshrine the fundamental values of a people and they build a framework for a state’s public policy. With regard to generational change, their endurance gives rise to two interlinked concerns: the sovereignty concern and the forgone welfare concern. If constitutions are intergenerational contracts, how (in)flexible should they be? This article discusses perpetual constitutions, sunset constitutions, constitutional reform commissions, and constitutional conventions, both historically and analytically. It arrives at the conclusion that very rigid constitutions are incompatible with the principle of intergenerational justice. Recurring constitutional reform commissions at fixed intervals would give each generation of citizens a say without leaning too much on the side of flexibility.

How Will an Emissions Trading System Affect Household Income and Social Equity? A CGE-Based Case Study of China

Recently, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced the establishment of a nationwide carbon emissions trading system (ETS), which will be the largest ETS in the world. The national ETS directly encourages enterprises to make a low-carbon transition through market mechanisms. In addition, the ETS is a potential source of significant government revenue through the auction of emissions permits. The allocation of this revenue is an important consideration for the NDRC. Some ETS areas already have experience with revenue recycling. For example, the California government directly returns ETS revenue to residents through electricity bill credits, as well as dedicated some of the revenue to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). This study uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to explore the economic impact of directly returning the revenue from the ETS to residents in China. At the same time, taking into account the significant differences between different income groups in urban and rural areas in China, the research explores the difference between different distribution policies. The results show that the coal industry will suffer the greatest negative impact from the ETS. By 2050, the number of people employed in the coal industry will fall by 63.8% compared to 2012, and under the ETS scenario, coal employment will decrease by 75.3%. However, these employment effects can be mitigated by targeted transfers to the displaced coal workers using ETS revenue. At the national level, ETS policies have a positive effect on GDP due to the income effect of revenue recycling. From the perspective of household income, the ETS policies will have differing impacts on different income groups. In addition, different income distribution methods will also change the impact on the income of different groups. Among these revenue distribution options, the distribution by population be most conducive to the promotion of social equity.

Analysis of the Impact of China’s Emissions Trading Scheme on Reducing Carbon Emissions

By referring to the methods provided by Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) and National Development and Reform Committee(NDRC), we first calculate the carbon emissions and carbon intensity (measured by emissions per output) of 39 sectors in 24 provinces from 2005 to 2015. Then using the panel data calculated, we apply difference-in-difference (DID) two-way fixed effects models to evaluate the causal impact of China’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) on the reduction of carbon emissions. Empirical results indicate that ETS sectors significantly decreased their emissions relative to non-ETS sectors after the start of ETS, while no obvious impact on carbon intensity was identified after ETS started. The results suggest that there is still room for policy makers to improve the ETS design to achieve declines not only in carbon emissions but also in carbon intensity in national ETS.

Sectoral effects of a Green Tax Reform in Portugal

Economic downturn coupled with serious and persisting environmental problems require a new regulation system to tackle these problems. The Portuguese government created the Commission for the Green Tax Reform in 2014, following the guidelines of the European Union in the sense that fiscal policy should contribute to public budget consolidation and sustainable growth. The Commission was commissioned to propose a simplification of taxation in order to promote economic competitiveness, environmental sustainability and the efficient use of resources. The aim of this paper is to present the results from one of the teams that have contributed to the Commission for the Green Tax Reform. We have followed the European Commission guidelines in order to simulate a Green Tax Reform with a static general equilibrium model and aligned to the political context. We found that (i) it is possible to enjoy a positive double dividend, (ii) to achieve improvements in the energy-trade balance and energy independence and (iii) to reduce the energy intensity of the Portuguese economy.

Model Design of "Point-Line-Face-Body-Net" Curriculum System for Application Technology

With the official release of the Ministry of Education, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance in October 2015 on guiding the transformation of some local undergraduate colleges into applied applications, the future application of technical undergraduate colleges will account for the total number of undergraduate universities nationwide. More than 50% of the work is suitable for the construction of professional curriculum system in applied undergraduate colleges. The traditional curriculum architecture is constructed according to the disciplinary system. It focuses on the classification, induction and storage of knowledge, and is more suitable for the cultivation of research-based talents with thick foundation. For the cultivation of applied talents, a curriculum system based on knowledge application is needed. Combining the experience of many years of applied curriculum reform, the author first proposed the "point-line-face-body-network" curriculum system model, and proposed the "four-step method" of curriculum design according to Professor Jiang Dayuan's "systematization of work process". It provides a certain reference for universities that are undergoing transformational development and curriculum reform.

Upregulation of SLAMF3 on Human T cells Is Induced by Palmitic Acid Through the STAT5-PI3K/Akt Pathway and Features the Chronic Inflammatory Profiles of Type 2 Diabetes

Background: Metabolic stress-induced low-grade chronic inflammation plays an important role in the development of insulin-resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Emerging evidence highlights the importance of directly elucidating T cell activation under the obesity-induced metabolic stress condition and the underline mechanisms, which remain elusive. Methods: T cells from T2D patients and health controls were analyzed for activation and cytokine production by flow cytometry. The effect of palmitic acid on T cells was assessed by in vitro assays. RNA sequencing and inhibitor blocking assays were used to determine the signaling pathways involved in palmitic acid-induced SLAMF3 upregulation on T cells. Findings: We found a significant upregulation of SLAMF3, a molecule regulates immune function through homophilic interactions, on T cells from T2D patients compared to those of healthy controls. Importantly, SLAMF3 upregulation was associated with an increased ability to produce proinflammatory cytokines including IFN-γ and IL-17. Additionally, SLAMF3high T cells were significantly more sensitive than SLAMF3low T cells to TCR stimulation with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies. Palmitic acid was found to cause significant upregulation of SLAMF3 on primary human T cells as well as Jurkat cells. Further mechanistic studies showed that inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling, or its upstream mediator STAT5 can prevent palmitic acid-induced SLAMF3 upregulation on T cells. Interpretation: These results indicate that SLAMF3 upregulation is associated with T cell activation and cytokine production in T2D patients, and suggest that elevated saturated fatty acids in T2D patients may induce SLAMF3 upregulation on T cells via activation of the STAT5-PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Funding Statement: This work was supported by grants from the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA16030303), Chinese MOST (2015CB964400 and 2017YFA0104402), NSFC (81570145, 81870091, 91642208, 91742107, and 81501279), Plan B for Bethune Project of Jilin University (2015210), an innovation capability project of Jilin Province Development and Reform Commission (2017C019), an open topic of Jilin Province Science and Technology Agency (20170623092TC-01 & 20180623083TC-01). Declaration of Interests: The author(s) declare no competing financial interests. Ethics Approval Statement: Protocols involved in the use of human samples were approved by the Institutional Review Board, and all of the experiments were performed in accordance with the protocols.

Strategic Public Shaming: Evidence from Chinese Antitrust Investigations

AbstractThis article examines strategic public shaming, a novel form of regulatory tactics employed by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) during its enforcement of the Anti-Monopoly Law. Based on analysis of media coverage and interview findings, the study finds that the way that the NDRC disclosed its investigation is highly strategic depending on the firm's co-operative attitude towards the investigation. Event studies further show that the NDRC's proactive disclosure resulted in significantly negative abnormal returns of the stock prices of the firm subject to the disclosure. For instance, Biostime, an infant-formula manufacturer investigated in 2013, experienced −22 per cent cumulative abnormal return in a three-day event window, resulting in a loss of market capitalization that is 27 times the antitrust fine that it ultimately received. The NDRC's strategic public shaming might therefore result in severe market sanctions that deter firms from defying the agency.