A total of 711 Chinese legal professionals have participated in at least one of Temple’s innovative Rule of Law programs: the LL.M. program, a collaborative effort with Tsinghua University School of Law; non-degree educational programs for judges and prosecutors; annual scholarly roundtables for Chinese and American law professors; curriculum development for Chinese law schools; AIDS and public health law training and workshops; and law drafting and implementation projects for Chinese law makers.

About 80 percent of the participants in Temple’s Rule of Law programs and 63 percent of the students in the LL.M. program work in China’s public sector. In addition to judges and prosecutors, LL.M. students have included legislative drafters for the National People’s Congress and State Council, patent examiners for the State Intellectual Property Office, and legal officials at the China Securities Regulatory Commission and ministries of Commerce and Justice.

Temple aggressively recruits qualified minority students — particularly from China’s western regions — to participate in Rule of Law programs and carry out reforms in less-developed areas. To date, 38 ethnic minority students have graduated from or are currently studying in the LL.M. program; 14 of these students are in the public sector.

In a signing ceremony on Oct. 29 in Beijing, President Hart renewed a three-year agreement with the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs, China’s central government agency, responsible for academic exchange programs and other initiatives bringing foreign experts to China.

Photo by Ryan S. Brandenberg/Temple University On Oct. 28 in Beijing, more than 280 graduates attended Temple's first universitywide alumni reunion held in China.

“At Temple, we are proud of our special relationship with the people of China, and we are committed to the Rule of Law programs and our Chinese partners,” Hart said. “American and Chinese scholars and legal professionals have so much to learn from one another. I am delighted to celebrate our distinguished graduates and their teachers. Together, they have enriched both of our great nations.” China’s growth as a global economic and political power, highlighted in recent years by its entry into the World Trade Organization, its ever-increasing foreign investment and its selection as host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, has brought global attention to China’s developing legal system. Legal reform, from the creation of transparent laws to their consistent application in fair judicial and prosecutorial processes, has become a national priority.

All of Temple’s LL.M. courses in Beijing are taught in English, using texts and teaching methods that promote critical thinking. The program begins with intensive instruction in legal English, case-briefing and the American common law reasoning process. The curriculum includes core courses in constitutional law, torts, property and contracts, as well as elective courses in commercial law, intellectual property, professional responsibility, criminal law and criminal procedure. All courses are grounded in principles of due process, transparency and respect for human rights.

All LL.M. students spend a summer session at Temple’s Main Campus in Philadelphia, where they study trial advocacy and legal research and writing. Students use their newly learned presentation skills to conduct an American-style criminal mock trial during which they make opening and closing arguments to a judge and jury, examine and cross-examine witnesses and apply evidentiary rules.

During the summer, students hone their legal research skills using Internet sources to monitor global legal developments. At the end of the summer session, seven students are selected for an internship with the Philadelphia-based international law firm of Reed Smith. In 2007, one judge, two patent examiners, one law professor and three commercial lawyers served as summer associates. Their experience culminated in a mock trial in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

“Temple’s law programs are making great contributions to the development of the rule of law in China. The Chinese legal professionals who have participated in the programs have already put what they’ve learned about U.S. and international law and legal thinking to use as they work to reform China’s legal system,” said Associate Professor Mo Zhang, director of Temple Law’s graduate programs in China.

Temple’s Rule of Law programs have been supported by private and public donors, including the Starr Foundation, the Alcoa Foundation, the ExxonMobil Foundation, E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

President Hart also presided over Temple’s first universitywide alumni reunion in Beijing on Oct. 28, attended by 280 Temple graduates.

Success stories from Temple’s Rule of Law programs

Liu Bo, director of the administrative appeal division of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, graduated from Temple’s LL.M. program in 2005. She is now creating an administrative tribunal system within the State Council for private parties to directly challenge administrative regulations. Liu is using the U.S. model as an example for consideration. In addition to creating the administrative appeal mechanism, she will also sit as presiding judge.

Wei Xianfeng is a judge on the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangsu. He attended the 2007 Judicial Education Program and is currently a student in the LL.M. program. Wei reports that the program advanced his analytical abilities. “I really appreciate that [the Temple program taught us] … to get both sides’ opinions when talking about controversial issues, which helps us learn how to analyze cases,” Wei said. He is convinced that the examples of U.S. case law have helped him to take a broader and fairer view of the cases before him.

Feng Wensheng is the deputy director of the research and policy division of the Supreme People’s Court of Hebei Province. Feng graduated from Temple’s LL.M program in 2003 and is now responsible for drafting internal court procedures for all courts in the province, with an emphasis on judicial conduct. He says he continually focuses on matters regarding judicial neutrality and the role of the judge in seeking truth from the facts before making any legal determinations. Feng’s Temple experience also enabled him to publish Reasoning and Annotations (2005), in which he draws on principles of U.S. and international law to create a model for drafting Chinese judicial opinions.

Kalsang Tsering received Temple support for his English-language study and legal education, and graduated with the Class of 2006 from the LL.M. program in Philadelphia. He now teaches at the newly formed law department of Tibet University in Lhasa. Tsering says his Temple education allows him to educate Tibetan and other lawyers who will work in Tibet. He currently teaches contracts and international law, using the approaches of comparative law and critical reasoning to encourage students to understand and apply the law fairly and properly.