While in Guilin, our Delegation was invited to be the guest participants at Guangxi Normal University College of Law’s “Forum on Legal System and Social Development.” Mr. Zhou, the President of the Law School led our delegation into the auditorium where we were given a warm ovation by over 300 students and professors in attendance. He stated that bringing American lawyers and judges to their school was important for the advancement of the rule of law in China. He emphasized that there are great differences between our legal systems and the training to become lawyers and judges. There are 400 schools of law, 600 colleges with legal majors, and degrees in law up to Ph.D. are offered. At Guangxi Normal, there are 800 undergraduate students majoring in the 4 year law program, and 160 students seeking advanced degrees. Unlike the US, one can choose to enter law school upon completing high school and passing the entrance examination. Mr. Zhou noted that China is passing laws every year as well as setting up the enforcement agencies necessary to build a culture of the rule of law in China.
Presentations were made by senior members of the ABF delegation, Jim Silkenat, Willis Whichard, and Steve Zack on the training of lawyers and law practice in the US. Afterward, there was a lively Q and A session from the chinese students. The most interesting question came from one of the chinese students who asked how the US can say it has a system based on the rule of law, when movies such as the Academy Award winning CRASH depict racial violence and lawlessness in the US city of Los Angeles. The delegation members who responded noted that the movie depicts some of the worst traits in American society today. The movie is about legal corruption and dishonesty in the police force against a complicated background of racial tensions in the US. That said, what is evident is that the movie offers the US society an opportunity to discuss its most troubling aspects of our legal system openly and work toward improvement. This is the mark of a legal system based on the rule of law.
Following the meeting, our Chinese national guides apologized profusely for the tough question, which most of us thought was a great question which gave us a chance to interact at a substantive level with the students. They pointed out that we should understand that Chinese people still have very limited chances to engage with westerners and that for these law students, their view of the American legal system has been limited to what they have read about it and watched on TV and seen in the movies. So the chance to engage in a professional exchange with US lawyers gave them the opportunity to ask questions that had been bothering them, but had previously had no chance to ask.
Questions about “No Child Left Behind” and the “Patriot Act” were also asked and answered. The chinese students wanted to understand our federalist system where the US government could set educational standards at a national level, while many people still believe in home rule at the state level. This tension between Beijing and the provinces also exists in China, it was noted. With regard to the Patriot Act, the delegation members who answered emphasized that the Act did not suspend the US constitution, and that individual cases arising under the Act would be litigated for years to come.
David Ravin, a US bankruptcy lawyer from our delegation, noted how fascinated he was by the chinese knowledge at a very detailed level of the US legal problems. It was mentioned many times that the Chinese are really building a system based on the rule of law since 1979 (after the Cultural Revolution). Again, there are slightly more than 100,000 lawyers in China, for 1.3 billion people. The US has 1.5 million lawyers for 300,000,000 people. The legal culture is ascending in China, not without its problems; but then again, as the Guangxi Normal law students pointed out to us, the US legal system has its problems as well.
All of us were thrilled with the opportunity to work together in the forum and hope to continue our exchanges in the months and years ahead.