Week 2: Worker's Rights and Waterfront Views

This week, the firm was abuzz with activity as they prepared for International Children’s Day, a national holiday in China. Director Tong was slotted to speak alongside other prominent figures involved in children’s rights activism across the globe at a government hosted celebration. Unfortunately, the event was invite-only, and because of this, the interns were largely left to their own devices this week. However, this gave me the chance to focus more on my research regarding worker classification.

Because our supervisor, Yihan, is an influencer on Xiaohongshu (little red book), she is especially interested in how the U.S. classifies social media influencers as workers. I spent much of this week learning about Chinese social media platforms and found it surprising how similar they were to the U.S. in both format and content. Additionally, I learned from Yihan that like U.S. influencers, most of a Chinese influencer’s income also comes from a variety of sources such as sponsored videos and brand deals on multiple platforms. This convolutes the facts related to the control factor in traditional worker classification making it difficult for both gig workers and social media influencers to establish themselves as employees versus independent contractors. However, under California’s new ABC test, the control factor is given less emphasis, and workers are presumed to be employee’s placing the burden of proof on the hiring entities. Under this test, influencers, who value their creative independence, now have an avenue to employee classification.

This week’s research has deepened my understanding of the global intersection between labor law and digital economies. It also highlighted the potential for cross-border dialogue on worker classification reforms, particularly as social media and digital labor transcend national boundaries. I’m excited to explore this topic further and consider how emerging legal models might adapt to accommodate a rapidly evolving workforce.

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Unfortunately, Beijing is considered a landlocked city. However, a plethora of parks and historical sites offer waterfront views. Starting to get tired of the skyscrapers in my neighborhood, this week, I found myself gravitating toward those aquatic features.

I first took a trip to Beihai. Beihai is China’s largest and best-preserved imperial garden. First built during the Liao Dynasty, the park was reopened to the public in 1925. The White Dagoba, a symbol of Buddhism, overlooks the main lake. Standing over 120 feet high and built initially as a symbol of unification among various Chinese ethnic groups, I found the structure both imposing and reassuring.

On Sunday, I also braved the heat to visit Yuanmingyuan (“the garden of gardens”) or also known as the Old Summer Palace. The palace was used as the main residence during the Qing dynasty but was looted and destroyed by French and British troops during the Second Opium War. The most prominent structure are the ruined Western mansions. They were built at the direction of A Qing dynasty emperor due to his interest in architectural design, but today only remain as ruins.

Additionally, the vast palace grounds are littered with numerous ponds and bridges. Numerous boats drift along these waterways allowing tourists to quickly move between the different gardens and relief from the sun.

Another exhausting but fulfilling week. The sunburn was brutal, but the views were definitely worth it. As promised, here are some of my favorite photos from the week.