This new book in the Constitutionalism in Asia series considers the idea of origins, and of change and continuity in terms of 'constitution-making', which is an on-going process in the Northeast Asian states.

The book examines the drafting, nature, core values and roles of the first modern constitutions during the founding of the eight modern states/territories in Northeast Asia:

China (1949)
Taiwan (1947)
Hong Kong SAR (1997)
Macau (1993)
Japan (1889)
North Korea (1948 or 1972)
South Korea (1948)
Mongolia (1992)

The collection provides:
- an exploratory description of the process and substantive inputs in the making of the first constitutions of these nations;
- analysis of the internal and external (including intra-regional) forces surrounding the making of these constitutions; and
- theoretical construction of models to conceptualise the nature and role of the first constitutions (including constituent documents) in the founding of the modern nation-states and their subsequent impact on state-building in the region.

1. Constitutional Foundations in Northeast Asia: A Reflective Introduction
Kevin YL Tan

2. The 1954 Constitution of China: Empire State-Building
Humphrey Ko

3. The Birth of the Constitution of the Republic of China
Chien-Chih Lin

4. Sino-British Diplomacy in the Making of the Constitutional Order of Hong Kong: Historical Investigations into the Drafting of the Joint Declaration and Basic Law (1982–1990)
Albert HY Chen and Michael Ng

5. Macau's Constitutional Founding
Xiaobo Zhai

6. Constitutional Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Erik Mobrand

7. Thirty Years Old at Birth? The Constitutional Founding of the Republic of Korea
Chaihark Hahm

8. The Meiji Constitution and Japan's Emergence in the International Order, 1853–1905
Kentaro Matsubara

9. The Role and Importance of the First Constitution of Mongolia
Batbold Amarsanaa, Masaki Nakamura and Chandraabal Unurbayar