Professor Zang joined the faculty full-time in 2006, after serving as a visiting professor in 2005-06. His academic interests include international trade law, and comparative study of Chinese law, with a focus on the role of law and state in response to social crises in the social transformation in China. He holds an S.J.D. and LL.M. from Harvard Law School, in addition to his LL.M. from Renmin University (Beijing) and LL.B. from Beijing College of Economics. His doctoral dissertation, One-way Transparency: The Establishment of the Rule-based International Trade Order and the Predicament of Its Jurisprudence, was awarded the 2004 Yong K. Kim '95 prize. He was a research fellow at the East Asia Legal Studies at Harvard Law School during the 2004-05 academic year.
Dongsheng Zang
- Associate Professor of Law
Contact
Phone: (206) 543-0830
Email: zangd@u.washington.edu

Education
LL.M. 1996, S.J.D. 2004, Harvard University LL.M. 1994, Renmin University (Beijing) LL.B. 1991, Beijing College of Economics
Areas of Expertise
Asian Law — International Business and Trade Law — Legal Philosophy and Theory
Selected Publications
- Dongsheng Zang, Who Owns Data? Constitutional Division in Cyberspace, 32 Transn’l L. & Contemp. Prob. 111-167 (2023).
- Dongsheng Zang, Telegraph, Telephone and the Internet: The Making of the Symbiotic Model of Surveillance States, 40 Ariz. J. Int’l & Comp. L. 1-57 (2023).
- Dongsheng Zang, Revolt Against the U.S. Hegemony: Judicial Divergence in Cyberspace, 39 Wis. Int'l L. J. 1-70 (2022).
- Dongsheng Zang, Race and Representation: The Legislative Council in Hong Kong During the Reign of Queen Victoria, 30 Wash. Int'l L. J. 283-322 (2021).
- Dongsheng Zang, China’s “Attitude” Toward Human Rights: Reading Hungdah Chiu in the Era of the Iraq War, 27 Md. J. Int’l L. 263-303 (2012).
See the full list under the Publications tab below.
Peer Reviewed Journals & Law Reviews
- Dongsheng Zang, Who Owns Data? Constitutional Division in Cyberspace, 32 Transn’l L. & Contemp. Prob. 111-167 (2023).
- Dongsheng Zang, Telegraph, Telephone and the Internet: The Making of the Symbiotic Model of Surveillance States, 40 Ariz. J. Int’l & Comp. L. 1-57 (2023).
- Dongsheng Zang, Data Self-determination and Constitutionalism in East Asia (Misako Oda trans.), 55 Ritsumeikan J. Int'l Rel. & Area Studies 73 (Oct. 2022),
- Dongsheng Zang, Self-Control of Personal Data and the Constitution in East Asia, 77 Cross-Strait Law Review 50-56 (Sept. 2022). Original Chinese.
- Dongsheng Zang, Revolt Against the U.S. Hegemony: Judicial Divergence in Cyberspace, 39 Wis. Int'l L. J. 1-70 (2022).
- Dongsheng Zang, Race and Representation: The Legislative Council in Hong Kong During the Reign of Queen Victoria, 30 Wash. Int'l L. J. 283-322 (2021).
- Don S. Zang, The West in the East: Max Weber’s Nightmare in “Post-Modern” China, 14 Max Weber Stud. 33-53 (2014).
- Dongsheng Zang, China’s “Attitude” Toward Human Rights: Reading Hungdah Chiu in the Era of the Iraq War, 27 Md. J. Int’l L. 263-303 (2012).
- Dongsheng Zang, Rise of Political Populism and the Trouble with the Legal Profession in China, Harv. China Rev., Jan. 2010, at 79-99.
- Dongsheng Zang, From Environment to Energy: China's Reconceptualization of Climate Change, 27 Wis. Int'l L. J. 543-74 (2009).
- Dongsheng Zang, Green from Above: Climate Change, New Developmental Strategy, and Regulatory Choice in China, 45 Tex. Int’l L.J. 201-32 (2009).
- Dongsheng Zang, Divided by Common Language: “Capture” Theories in GATT/WTO and the Communicative Impasse, 32 Hastings Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 423-76 (2009).
- Dongsheng Zang, Textualism in GATT/WTO Jurisprudence: Lessons for the Constitutionalization Rhetoric, 33 Syracuse J. Int'l L. & Com. 393-444 (2006).
- Dongsheng Zang, Complying with the WTO Rules: China's New Antidumping Regulations and Its Implications, 3 Harv. China Rev. 51-55 (2002).
Book Chapters
- Donsheng Zang, Civil Procedure and Anti-Modern Myths in the "Harmonious Society": China and Pre-War Japan Compared, in Legal Innovations in Asia: Judicial Lawmaking and the Influence of Comparative Law 146-63 (John O. Haley & Toshiko Takenaka eds., Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014).
- Dongsheng Zang, Poisoned Air: The Negotiating State and the Changing Climate in China, in Climate Change: A Reader 989-1007 (William H. Rodgers Jr., Michael Robinson-Dorn, Jennifer K. Barcelos & Anna T. Moritz eds., Carolina Academic Press 2011).
Book Reviews
- D.S. Zang, Book Review, Law & Politics Book Review (reviewing David M. Engel & Jaruwan S. Engel, Tort, Custom, and Karma: Globalization and Legal Consciousness in Thailand (2010)).
- Dongsheng Zang, Book Review, 21 J. Asian Bus., no. 3, 2005 at 92-93 (reviewing East Asia Integrates: A Trade Policy Agenda for Shared Growth (Kathie L. Krumm & Homi J. Kharas eds., 2004)).
- Speaker, "AI Tech Innovation and Legal Responses in East Asia", AI Tech Innovation and Legal Responses in East Asia, Shizuoka University (March 30, 2022)
- Panelist, "Executive Order on Immigration: Top Legal Issues for Washington Businesses", Washington State Bar Association, International Practice Section (April 19, 2017)
- Panelist, "Land Tenure, Water Rights & Climate Migration", Climate-Migration, Local Conditions and Law: Food Security, Land Tenure and Gender, University of Washington School of Law and Washington Journal of Environmental Law and Policy (February 7, 2014)
- Speaker, "Local Government's Liabilities in Responding to Climate Change", Adapting to Climate Change: Devising a Novel Legal Framework for Climate Migration, University of Wisconsin Law School, Global Legal Studies Center (November 10, 2012)
- Speaker, Legal Barriers for Green Cities: Lessons for China China-US Professional Workshop on Regional Sustainable Development, University of Washington College of Built Environments, Center for Asian Urbanism (October 10, 2012)
- Speaker, "China’s International Behavior: A Critique of Cultural Conception of Risk in International Politics", Clarke Program in East Asian Law and Culture: 2012 Colloquium Series, Cornell Law School (September 20, 2012)
- Moderator, "New Perspectives on IPR Teaching in China: Judicial Decisions", with Jane Winn, Workshop, Tsinghua University School of Law (April 9, 2012)
- "On April 8-9, Dongsheng Zang and Jane Winn co-chaired a workshop on “New Perspectives on IPR Teaching in China: Judicial Decisions” at Tsinghua University School of Law in Beijing.", (April 8, 2012)
- Speaker, "Using Cases to Teach Common Law", with Jane Winn, New Perspectives on IPR Teaching in China: Judicial Decisions, Tsinghua University School of Law (April 8, 2012)
- Speaker, "Globalizations, Crisis, and Legal Education", Global Legal Education Forum, Harvard Law School (March 24, 2012)
- Speaker, "Changes in China's Commercial Law and Implications on Doing Business in China", 2011 U.S.-China Legal Exchange, U.S. Department of Commerce, China Ministry of Commerce, and the Asia Society (October 17, 2011)
- Panelist, "China and the Public International Legal Order", China, Taiwan, and International Law: A Symposium in Honor of Professor Hungdah Chiu, University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law (October 6, 2011)
- Speaker, "Regulating China's Renewable Energy in the Context of Globalization", Tsinghua University, Center for Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law (September 20, 2011)
- "Trading Up: National Competition as a Climate Change Strategy", Forum on the U.S. - China Commercial Relationship, U.S. Department of Commerce; Georgetown University, Henry H. Jackson School of International Studies; Georgetown University School of Law; and the Jackson Foundation (December 2, 2010)
- "Ideological Commitments in the 2008 Land Tenure Debate in China", Workshop on Sending Rule of Law to the Countryside: Development Theories and Chinese Realities, University of Washington School of Law, Asian Law Center (May 6, 2010)
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China's boiling point? Protests spread over zero-covid policy (Prof. Zang featured)
Nov 28, 2022 | Source: France24
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China doubles down: Can Xi Jinping stick to zero-Covid policy? (Prof. Zang interviewed)
May 12, 2022 | Source: France 24
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What one American’s case says about the future of the courts in Hong Kong (Prof. Zang quoted)
Nov 14, 2021 | Source: Vox
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Experts Fear New Hong Kong Doxxing Law Will Punish Opposition (Prof. Dongsheng Zang quoted)
Nov 07, 2021 | Source: Voice of America
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China Sentences Canadian Citizen to 11 Years for Espionage in Case at Heart of Diplomatic Standoff (Prof. Zang quoted)
Aug 11, 2021 | Source: Wall Street Journal
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The ozone mystery got solved. Here’s what could happen next. (Prof. Zang quoted)
May 24, 2019 | Source: Grist