Personal Statement

Applied Program: Economic Law

It was totally unexpected that a traffic accident that occurred to me changed the entire course of my life. In an early summer morning in 1994, I, then busily involved in preparing for high school entrance examination, was knocked down from behind by a taxi on my way to school. I was seriously injured and instantly lost consciousness. The following year saw me receiving medical treatment and during this seemingly interminable period of therapy I not only had to endure the tremendous physical agonies and the miseries¹ of suspending my normal education but also had to experience, as victim of the accident, the difficulties and helplessness of instituting legal procedures against the accident-causing taxi-driver. The imperfections of China’s legal system made the claims difficult to materialize. Ultimately I should be grateful to the lawyer who represented me in the case. It was he who, with his professional expertise², protected my legitimate³ rights. This experience exposed me to the usefulness of law, which in turn ignited my serious interest in the mysterious yet sacred law.

Seeking to ride the tide of the times in an era of reforms and opening-up, I chose International Economic Law as my major. Growing up in ShenZhen, China’s first special economic zone, I witnessed how this former fishing village became an international metropolis⁴ in China with the most vibrant⁵ economy and modern atmosphere. I grew to be particularly interested in all the laws related to economy. Therefore, when I entered college, without any hesitation⁶ I chose to specialize in International Economic Law. Out of my interest in and love for economic law, I devoted⁷ myself to the reading of many erudite legal works which helped me establish a solid theoretical foundation. On the other hand, all the courses in my specialty⁸ exposed me to a wide variety of in-depth knowledge. Law of Corporation, International Investment Law, International Trade Law and WTO Law are some of the courses that fascinated me most. My studies of those laws allowed me to appreciate the comprehensive and well-developed legal systems in the United States and in other advanced western countries. By comparison, China’s legal system, especially in the economic field, appears to be woefully underdeveloped. This comparative gap has all the more aroused a sense of urgency on my part to seek academic excellence⁹ so that when the day comes for me to make my own contributions I might be better equipped to offer my knowledge and talents. In the course of the four-year undergraduate studies, I have stayed among the top 5% students in my class of 68 undergraduates and my overall GPA and my specialty-related GPA have reached 3.4 and 3.6 respectively. My numerous scholarships and honors also attested¹⁰ to my excellence and academic achievements.

But the real benefit I have achieved in the university is not awards and honors, but a much-broadened vision. I am clearly aware that, as a student of law, it is imperative¹¹ for me to be closely connected to the world of reality, as law is a discipline that requires practical application and we are bound to become the shapers of future society. Guided by this understanding, I took every chance to go beyond my textbooks and wet my feet in several extracurricular activities. I have always served as one of the ministers of the University’s Students Union and this position has trained me to work with greater determination, greater enthusiasm and more methodically. As I myself have undergone special experiences of helplessness and personal difficulties, I actively¹² participated in the activities of Mutual¹³ Welfare Association and Tutor Group. My hope is that by those activities I may benefit the society of which I am a part, and show concern for the weak and the needy¹⁴. In addition, my participation¹⁵ in the speech contests organized by College Debating Team significantly improved my oral expressiveness¹⁶ and instant logical reasoning ability. I know that I will benefit from those experiences for a long time to come.

My professional strengths, however, go way beyond my excellent academic records. Every summer vacation became the best opportunity for me to undertake internships to improve myself. I was lucky to have come under the guidance of three important “mentors”, three lawyers who specialized¹⁸ in criminal lawsuits¹⁹, civil lawsuits and real estates lawsuits. Every internship¹⁷ proved very rewarding and fruitful.

The more I practiced, the more I felt that the tremendous gap between the American laws and the Chinese laws is impossible to be abridged²⁰ within a short time. China’s political and social system is very different from Western countries. China, as a new WTO member, has just started changing from planned economy to market economy. Naturally, it is unrealistic for western countries to require Chinese government to abide²¹ by strictly²² western regulations represented by market economy. Thus for China, to construct a legal framework in strict accordance with WTO regulations has become the most urgent problem. The precondition for meeting this challenge is to redefine the government-market relationship so as to allow Chinese companies to withstand the tests of international economy in the absence of traditional governmental protection and to expand themselves by taking advantage of the huge international market. China’s Economic Law, which fulfills²³ part of Constitutional functions, will make a unique contribution if it can redefine the relationship. It will create the flowering of economic legislation. For China’s legal system to conform to international practices, China also has a lot to do in the field of protecting the intellectual property rights. Moreover, China’s accession into the WTO means that China will face more international trade disputes. China is rather backward in the legislation concerning the dispute-solving mechanism²⁴, a fact which has resulted in the unfair treatment against Chinese companies by Western countries in the name of “anti-dumping”. This situation calls for the emergence²⁵ of a number of legal professionals who have a profound knowledge both of English language, international economic law, the actual conditions in China, the mode of operation of international laws and legal systems.

Under such circumstances, in order for China to adapt its legal system and some of its social practices to the conventions of the international community, it is imperative that we learn from and borrow from the legal system and legal ideology²⁶ of the United States, the country with the best developed legal system, as well as other developed western countries. Therefore, I am eager to undertake a degree program of Doctor in Jurisprudence in a prestigious²⁷ American law school and I see good career opportunities in China with such a quality education. Although it is no easy job for a girl like me to leave my home to pursue the rather challenging JD program, I have full confidence to overcome all sorts of difficulties. I had already learned to be independent and self-reliant as a little girl because both my father and my mother left for Hong Kong when I was very young, leaving me on the mainland. As a teenager, I had to take care of myself, doing all the house work besides keeping up with my studies. I used to cry a lot but soon I drew inspirations from the example of Mrs. Thatcher²⁸, the former British prime minister. In this way, I have developed a strong self-motivation in whatever I do and the determination to do it well. I believe that those important personal qualities will contribute to my making major achievements in my future career.

The faculty²⁹ of the Law School of your prestigious university ranks as top 15th among all the American laws schools and ranks top 5th in the field of intellectual property. The curriculum offered by your law school is diversified³⁰ and rationally organized. Law of Corporation and Law of Intellectual Property fall within the range of my interest, for the current research in China lags far behind the advanced international level. In addition, I very much appreciate the opportunities of practice that are offered in the form of externships and internships by your school. Those fascinating features have made me all the more determined³¹ to seek a quality education at your school because I believe that in such an advantageous³² academic environment, based on my industry and talents, I am bound to make some important achievements in my prospective³³ degree program. I can also envision a successful career in China after completing my degree program. My area of interest will be foreign trade law and international economic law. By providing professional legal consultations³⁴ to Chinese businesses and studying specifically Chinese legal issues in international business, I will be able to apply the knowledge that I acquire from the United States to the practical problems in China.

The foregoing statement represents the pursuit of a young Chinese woman who is ready to sacrifice her comfortable yet mediocre³⁵ life in her native country in favor of challenges and the attainment³⁶ of new objectives. For that, I would appreciate if you could consider my application favorably.