On the morning of July 4th, the opening ceremony for the 2019 International Law Talents Summer Camp took place at the China-EU School of Law at the China University of Political Science and Law. After an intense and orderly reporting process, a total of 97 ‘campers’ participated in this year’s summer camp. Professors Liu Fei, the Chinese Co-Dean of CESL, Monty Silley, the European Executive Co-Dean, Zheng Yongliu, the faculty representative, and other staff from the Law School attended the opening ceremony. The ceremony was hosted by members of CESL’s previous year’s double masters intake.
First, the European Executive Co-Dean, Monty Silley, delivered an inspiring speech. He started by welcoming the campers and introduced the unique organizational structure of the CESL – uniting 16 of the best universities and educational institutions from China and Europe. Every year, professors from around Europe fly to Beijing to teach students and students travel from China to study in Europe. He mentioned that the current good relations and deep friendship between China and Europe in the fields of economy, trade, law and so on, determine the strong cooperation between China and Europe at the Law School. At CESL, students can gain a deep understanding of Chinese, European and international law, as well as the social and cultural differences and similarities between the East and West. He encouraged everyone to cherish this opportunity. In the next three days, everyone at CESL will be very willing to meet, engage, and answer all the camper’s questions.
Next, Professor Zheng Yongliu represented the teaching faculty. He started with his own humorous and relaxed style. He first compared the two concepts of theory and law, and skilfully used both ‘Murphy's Law’ and the ‘Eighth Law’ as examples. He said that the China-EU School of Law offers two degrees in three years. The high requirements for English, the special characteristics of the lectures given by the "Flying Faculty" from European countries, and the unique views on European elective courses and employment choices, were especially interesting aspects that made everyone smile. Then, Professor Zheng mentioned his own methodology of law, and used the vivid example of training for the badminton team to tell everyone how training of the method is necessary. This is the key to knowledge training. He said that the law represents certainty, and life is full of uncertainty.
After that, there were two representatives from the campers themselves.
Jia Wei from Tianjin University said that under the trend of economic globalization, the training model of the China-EU School of Law is very compatible with his personal ideals. Therefore, she chose the major of international law and hopes to grow a his talent for both Chinese and international law. She thanked the colleagues from the CESL for their open answers and wished that all the camp participants can achieve their dreams.
Zhang Chen, from the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, recalled her more than three years of colourful university time. Her undergraduate studies laid the foundation of law, which led to a strong interest in criminal law, and she chose that to be her major. She also shared the story of her association with China and Europe, where a French university participated in her college entrance examination. She applied for the China-EU International Legal Talent Summer Camp, not only because of the great name recognition of the China University of Political Science and Law, but also because of the great attraction of CESL itself, the high demand for English proficiency in China and Europe, the international academic resources, etc. Finally, she expects everyone to think about what's going on and get something done.
In closing remarks, Liu Fei, Chinese Co-Dean of CESL, again extended a warm welcome and congratulations to the students who attended the summer camp. He talked about the interaction of the Chinese and Europeans when they would return to the School, and how the learning at CESL could be applied directly to their work because of the Chinese and Western learning content. He introduced in detail the three-year double master's training model. In fact, no year is easy, as there are excellent professors and high requirements from the students. Finally, Dean Liu Fei quoted General Secretary Xi Jinping when he visited and made an important speech at the China University of Political Science and Law, saying that young people need to study, learn both German and French, and be good at grasping the development direction of history and times. If you want to engage in foreign-related legal affairs, they must take a long-term view and make themselves a scarce talent that the country needs.
The CESL family welcomes all and wishes the campers a smooth entry into China-EU learning, overcoming any difficulties along the way. More importantly, no matter which university the students attend in the future, Prof. Liu hopes all campers have the concept of Chinese-European legal learning and can incorporate foreign-related legal knowledge for the society.
After the opening ceremony, all the campers took a group photo. At this point, the 2019 "International Legal Talent Summer Camp" of the China-EU School of Law officially kicked off, and we hope that the campers will be able to spend a beautiful and meaningful three days here!
Original Chinese Text: Qin Mengyuan (CESL double master student)
