Volume 95

This paper delves into the relationship between China's tax system and the alleviation of income inequality. After achieving a moderately prosperous society, China confronts the issue of income inequality, with a Gini coefficient in 2022 higher than the international warning line. The tax system, especially personal income tax, aims to regulate income distribution, yet its current effectiveness is limited. China's tax system encompasses multiple tax categories like value - added tax, corporate income tax, and personal income tax. However, the heavy reliance on indirect taxes and loopholes in tax collection and management weaken its role in narrowing the income gap. Income inequality in China is prominent in urban - rural and industrial dimensions, with significant income disparities. The tax system exerts regulatory effects. Personal income tax, through progressive tax rates and deductions, eases income inequality. Property tax regulates wealth distribution by targeting real estate and inheritance, while consumption tax impacts different income groups' consumption through differentiated tax rates.

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Special and differential treatment (SDT) is of vital importance to developing countries. Through this mechanism, developing countries have gradually gained access to developed markets, enjoyed tariff reductions, and received technical assistance. This has promoted trade liberalization, facilitated their integration into the global trade system, and enhanced their capacity to participate in international affairs. However, the SDT system still has several shortcomings that need to be addressed through appropriate reforms and improvements.

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The article attempts to explore the background of the establishment of the dispute settlement body under the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement system, and analyze whether the existing legal interpretation power of the dispute settlement body is suspected of exceeding its authority through the legal interpretation disputes arising out of the DS379 case and the laws of relevant countries. Simultaneously, in analyzing the interpretations of the panel and the Appellate Body in the DS379 case report, possible solutions are proposed for the current legal interpretation issues of the dispute settlement body and the current status of the suspension of the Appellate Body. The Appellate Body has been shut down for several years until now, making it impossible to deal with the appeals and fulfil the mandate of the WTO in facilitating inter-member trade disputes. Trade turmoil now is darkening the world horizon, seeking new solutions within the structure of the past mechanisms is infinitely more possible than the restoration of the old ones. Through the analysis of the DS379 case, it is not only to explore whether the DSB is suspected of overstepping its authority, but also to seek how to leverage the advantages of the existing dispute resolution mechanism in the current context of global conflicts.

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In the digital age, the right to privacy faces more severe threats, which are reflected in the diversification of privacy infringement methods, the control of personal privacy by platforms and the associated risk of data breaches, and the increasing frequency of privacy violations. Currently, China has not established dedicated legislation for privacy protection; instead, there are scattered provisions in certain laws, administrative regulations, local regulations, and rules. The challenges in privacy protection are mainly reflected in the following aspects: incomplete legislation, difficulty in identifying privacy infringements, the exacerbation of privacy violations due to the imbalance of power between platforms and individuals, and insufficient legal remedies. In the digital age, privacy protection should be strengthened in three key areas: first, improving privacy protection legislation; second, establishing mandatory information disclosure obligations for businesses; and third, enhancing legal remedies for users.

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This paper explores the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in addressing transnational financial crimes and the challenges facing it. Because of the acceleration of globalisation, crimes like money laundering, tax evasion, corruption, and terrorist financing have become common tools for global criminals. Since the ICC primarily prosecutes war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, its current legal framework does not extend to financial crimes. By finding the ICC’s jurisdictional limitations and real-world case studies, this paper reveals how gaps in international law create openings for financial criminals to act with little fear of prosecution. To bridge these gaps, it proposes key reforms, including expanding the ICC’s jurisdiction, improving its technical and investigative capabilities, and stimulating stronger global cooperation. In the end, this paper points out that tackling financial crime worldwide requires a more adaptive and cooperative approach to ensure justice systems can keep pace with the ever-changing tactics of financial criminals.

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The choices made by upper-middle-class families regarding breastfeeding, hiring wet nurses, or using early forms of artificial feeding reflect a complex interplay of various factors. These include class identity, contemporary medical ideas, family roles, and social traditions. For example, in the 19th century, many people believed that breastfeeding was harmful to a mother’s health or that it was not the duty of upper-class women to feed their own children. Others viewed the hiring of a wet nurse as a sign of wealth and status. At the same time, doctors and medical literature began to highlight the risks associated with wet-nursing, such as poor hygiene, inadequate care, and the transmission of disease. This paper draws on family archives, private diaries, and 19th-century medical texts to examine these challenges in depth. It analyzes the social and cultural reasoning behind infant feeding practices and explores how these ideas evolved over time. Through a micro-historical perspective, this study reveals how the everyday lives of Hungary’s upper-middle-class families were influenced by broader processes of modernization, developments in medicine, and changing social values.

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