Seals and Chops - 11 January 2022

In 1215, King John applied the royal seal to the Magna Carta, indicating his assent to the terms therein.  We in the West think of a physical seal or signet ring largely as an historical practice, one long since replaced with a signature or modern cryptographic "signatures".  The idea of a physical Great Seal struck into a blob of hot wax that might represent us in a legal sense is a complete anachronism.  The seal was also somewhat of a security device in terms of protecting the contents of a letter.  Recent articles reinforce this.  Among them ,the New York Times was so struck by a recent discovery that they ran an article, saying:

To safeguard the most important royal correspondence against snoops and spies in the 16th century, writers employed a complicated means of security. They’d fold the letter, then cut a dangling strip, using that as an improvised thread to sew stitches that locked the letter and turned the flat writing paper into its own envelope. To get inside, a spy would have to snip the lock open, an act impossible to go undetected.

Catherine de’ Medici used the method in 1570 — a time she governed France while her ill son, King Charles IX, sat on its throne. Queen Elizabeth did so in 1573 as the sovereign ruler of England and Ireland. And Mary Queen of Scots used it in 1587 just hours before her long effort to unite Britain ended in her beheading.

The "dangling strip" was extended the identification stamp to seal a letter for security purposes.  Presumably the combined task of recreating the wax seal and the folding of the strip was beyond the ability of craftspeople to counterfeit. The idea of a seal is long gone in the West.  But it remains significant in some Asian cultures, especially in PRC-China.

As reported in The Register:

Crucially, Wu [the CEO of ARM-China] retains Arm China's company chop — an item akin to a company's official seal. Under Chinese law, possessing the chop gives Wu authority over the company regardless of its board's intentions. Transferring possession of a chop is not straightforward so even though he's not wanted by Arm, Wu remains in charge. Lawsuits battling over the future of the outfit are percolating through the courts.

Arm is not happy Wu remains in charge, and continues to engage with China's government to explore a resolution.

Ref. Arm says it has 'successful working relationship' with Chinese joint venture run by CEO who refuses to leave

In the West, if a CEO is deposed, their signature is no longer legally binding.  The signature of John Doe, CEO, is superseded by the signature of Jane Smith, CEO.  Done.  None of John's pens or pencils can validate a check or conclude a contract once Jane is declared CEO.  In contrast, Mr. Wu retains the chop of AMD-China and therefore remains in control.  Mr. Wu can conclude contracts, validate large payments through checks, and conclude other legal business.  The parent company of ARM can only look on.

About five years ago, I was in PRC-China and a colleague there had a chop carved for me.  I was thinking about posting an image of the stamp face here, but it occurred to me that would make forgery trivial.  I may not view the chop as a legal commitment, but others may.  So here is the chop with the associated ink pad.