Based in the Faculty of Law of the University of Eastern Finland, a member institution of the Finnish China Law Center, Professor Hakalehto gave a presentation titled ‘From Social Problem to Rights Holders: Development of Children’s Rights in legislation and in legal research in Finland’.
According to Professor Hakalehto, the conference proved an excellent opportunity to discuss in-depth a range of issues of critical, and growing, importance to both China and the Nordic countries.
‘China is grappling with many of the same challenges as Finland the Nordic countries, including how to fully respect the rights and interests of children’, Professor Hakalehto says. ‘The chance to meet and share knowledge with Chinese colleagues working on these issues proved beneficial to both sides, and provided an enlightening comparative framework through which to develop the law and policies of our respective countries’.
This year’s conference was a part of the Finland 100 festivities and was organized by the Finnish member universities of the Nordic Centre Fudan University.
Fudan University, a key partner in China of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture.
International and comparative child protection research is in great demand in China, as the country continues to develop its child welfare policies and child protection practices.
The Center’s main goal is to promote interdisciplinary research and education in the fields of child welfare and child protection, says Associate Professor Suvianna Hakalehto.
A child law and education law scholar, Professor Hakalehto is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Center and one of her forthcoming projects with the Center concerns the position of migrant children in China.
‘Contemporary Chinese welfare ideology and policies aim at negotiating and merging the traditional family concept and beliefs expressing a hundred years’ development and the modern civilization of late’, Professor Hakalehto says.
‘In research concerning the rights of children, and the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is important to pay attention to cultural aspects’.
‘For me, learning about the Chinese legal system and the country’s child protection paradigm has been personally enriching and professionally rewarding’, says Professor Hakalehto. ‘I hope to contribute to the Chinese discussion about the legal position of children’.
During her visit in October 2017 to the Center, Professor Hakalehto met Professor Lu Zhian, a Professor of Law at the Fudan University School of Law.
One of China’s leading scholars in the field, Professor Zhian invited Professor Hakalehto to Fudan University in 2018 to lecture on human rights in the school environment.
(Left to right) Professor Juha Hämäläinen, Professor Suvianna Hakalehto and Professor Lu Zhian
‘This is a great opportunity, and I look forward to another exciting visit to China and to learning more about the Chinese legal system and Chinese cultural generally’, Professor Hakalehto says.
Logo of the Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights, University of Helsinki
Finnish China Law Center member institution, the University of Helsinki, will hold a day-long conference ‘The Legacy of Liu Xiaobo’ on 12 January 2018.
The life and choices of Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and recently deceased, stand as an example of political and ethical activism in a world yearning for such examples.
This event evokes Liu Xiaobo’s experience, investigates its legacy and reflects on broader themes of China’s constitutional, rights, ethics and international relations thinking and practice.
9:30 – 10:10 Key note speech:Jean-Philippe Béja (Centre national de la recherche scientifique & Centre de recherches internationales): “Liu Xiaobo’s Legacy: Life in Truth, the Magic Weapon Against Post-Totalitarian Lie”
10:10 – 10:30 Hermann Aubié (Aston University): “Unlearning Enmity and Hatred: Listening to Liu Xiaobo’s Voice of Conscience by Revisiting his Struggle for Human Dignity and a Future Free China”
Coffee Break until 11
1. Rights, Constitutionalism, Democracy (Chair: Maria Varaki)
11:00 – 11:20 Fu Hualing (University of Hong Kong): “Public Interest Lawyering in China: Escalation and Backlash?”
11:20 – 11:40 Panu Minkkinen (University of Helsinki): “Why Are Human Rights Important (Even For A Crit)?”
11:40 – 12:00 Eva Pils (King’s College, London): “China’s Dual State And Its ‘Enemies’ Under Xi Jinping”
12:00 – 12:20 Michael W. Dowdle (National University of Singapore): “China and Dual Constitutionalism”
Discussion until 13
Lunch 13:00 – 14:30
2. Ethical Leadership and Chinese Ethics (Chair: Pamela Slotte)
14:30 – 14:50 Jan Klabbers (University of Helsinki): “On Ethical Leadership”
14:50 – 15:10 Justin Tiwald (San Francisco State University): “Character-centered Theories of Governance in Confucian Political Thought”
15:10 – 15:30 Ralph Weber (University of Basel): tbd
15:30 – 15:50 Guilherme Vasconcelos Vilaça (University of Helsinki): “Values and the Belt & Road Initiative”
Discussion until 16:30
Conference Dinner
Further information
Please contact Project Coordinator Hector Nystedt at hector.nystedt (at) helsinki.fi.
On 21 November 2017, the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture, with member institutions the University of Helsinki (Faculty of Law) and the Finnish Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, hosted a bilateral legal seminar with six senior judges from the Chinese province of Yunnan. Yunnan is situated in the south of China and has a population of roughly 50 million.
The theme for the seminar was ‘Juvenile Offenders in China and Finland’.
The Chinese delegation was headed by Mr. Li Xuesong, Vice President of the High People’s Court of Yunnan Province. Mr Lu Xiaokun, Chief Judge of the High People’s Court of Yunnan Province, was also a member of the delegation.
Professor Tapio Lappi-Seppälä, Professor and Director of the Finnish Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, and Board Member of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture, speaking with Professor Kimmo Nuotio on ‘Juvenile Offenders in Finland: General Situation, Trial Proceedings, Rights Protection and Best Interests of the Child Principle’ on 21 November 2017 in the Law Faculty of the University of Helsinki.
During his presentation, Vice President Li underscored that the treatment of children and the centrality of the ‘best interests of the child’ principle are paramount. ‘Governments everywhere’, he said, ‘should take care of children and strive to create better conditions, including educational opportunities, to promote the healthy development of youth’. Vice President Li also emphasized that the treatment of juvenile offenders by the criminal justice system was an issue the Yunnan legal system takes very seriously. Yunnan province has advanced the protection of children in its criminal justice system in a number of ways. ‘For example’, Vice President Li said, ‘we are strengthening judicial institutions and training judges to better deal with juvenile justice issues…and constantly innovating to improve the treatment of children in the court system’.
Professors Nuotio and Lappi-Seppälä noted that while there were differences between the Chinese and Finnish approaches to juvenile offenders, the similarities in terms of underlying principles and many aspects of the treatment of juveniles in court were notable.
During his presentation, Lappi-Seppälä gave an overview of the ‘Nordic’ model of the treatment of juvenile offenders, noting that the state criminal justice system operates independently alongside municipal child protection services, with the primary emphasis in dealing with juvenile crime lying with child welfare and social services.
Professor Lappi-Seppälä noted that the criminal justice system and child welfare institutions operated under different principles. ‘Child welfare interventions are undertaken under the principle of the ‘best interests of the child’, Professor Lappi-Seppälä observed. ‘All such interventions are supportive and criminal acts have little or no formal role. In contrast, on the ‘criminal justice side’, specific penalties applicable to juveniles are restricted – but now expanding – and the general structure is as follows: diversion, fines, community alternatives, and the finally, custody’.
During their presentation, Professors Nuotio and Lappi-Seppälä shared a number of statistics about juvenile offenders in Finland. Of particular interest to the Chinese judges was the fact that at present, there are only five children aged 15-17 in custody in Finland, a figure so low that it also surprised those more familiar with Finland’s legal system.
Professor Ulla Liukkunen, speaking at the ‘Juvenile Delinquency in China and Finland’ seminar in the Law Faculty of the University of Helsinki on 21 November 2017.
The importance of the visit to Finland by senior judges should not be underestimated. The delegation visited Finland to learn from its experience because of Finland’s, and more generally the Nordic region’s, international reputation in reducing the total number and proportion of juvenile offenders, and to reducing to virtually zero the number of children in custody. As Professor Nuotio noted, the population of Yunnan province, at close to 50 million, was around double that of the all the Nordic countries together. Given the size of Yunnan province, even a small change in judicial practice, therefore, would affect the lives of a great many children.
Organizers and participants of the bilateral seminar on ‘Juvenile Delinquency in China and Finland’ (left to right): Stuart Mooney (Finnish China Law Center / University of Helsinki); Li Kunbin (High People’s Court of Yunnan); Lu Xiaokun (High People’s Court of Yunnan Province); Professor Tapio Lappi-Seppälä (Finnish Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy); Li Xuesong (High People’s Court of Yunnan Province); Professor Kimmo Nuotio (University of Helsinki); Yin Dekun (Pu’er Intermediate People’s Court); Yihong Zhang (University of Helsinki); Chen Chang (Yuxi Intermediate People’s Court); Zhu Chongfang (Chuxiong Intermediate People’s Court). Absent: Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture.
Following the seminar, the judges were given a tour of the China Center Collection, housed in the University of Helsinki’s main library, Kaisa-talo. Special thanks to librarians Leena Huovinen and Eeva Henriksson for giving the tour and for their efforts in supporting the growing collection of publications in the Collection on Chinese law and legal culture.
Mr. Li Xuesong, Vice President of the High People’s Court of Yunnan Province, with other members of the judicial delegation visiting Finland from China, touring the China Law Center collection in the University of Helsinki’s main library.
The theme of this year’s events was China-US Relations and Asian Security. The theme was timely given the concurrent visit of US President Donald Trump to Asia, which included a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The backdrop to the meeting of the two presidents, and to the theme of this year’s China Research Day and Asian Studies Days, is the relative stability of East Asia over the last few decades. Despite historical grievances that have affected intra-regional relations politically, economic inter-dependencies have made the region’s actors seek cooperation rather than conflict.
However, as was highlighted throughout the two-day event, recently there have been indications that the situation may be changing. China’s actions in the East and South China Seas have been regarded by some commentators as increasingly assertive. The Trump presidency has introduced a heightened level of tension in China–US relations. And the bold nuclear and missile tests by North Korea have heightened the risk of a military confrontation in the region.
Organizers and speakers of China Research Day and Asian Studies Days 2017. From left to right: Silja Keva, Dr Sabine Burghart and Prof Outi Luova (University of Turku), Dr Jyrki Kallio (FIIA), Prof Li Mingjiang (Nanyang Technological University), Prof Ulla Liukkunen (China Law Center / University of Helsinki), Dr Elina Sinkkonen (FIIA), Prof Shi Yinhong (Renmin University of China), Stuart Mooney (China Law Center / University of Helsinki), Prof Lauri Paltemaa (University of Turku) and Matias Salo (FIIA). Absent: Prof Julie Yu-Wen Chen (Confucius Institute), Kukka-Maria Kovsky and Olli Hulkko (FIIA). Pic by Tapio Kovera (University of Helsinki).
During her welcoming words and introductionJulie Chen, Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Helsinki and Director the Confucius Institute of the University of Helsinki, provided the packed venue with an overview of the broader theoretical and political context in which security tensions in the Asia/Pacific region are being experienced.
Dr Sabine Burghart, newly arrived University Lecturer in the Center of East Asian Studies, University of Turku, commented on the North Korean aspect of US-China relations, andJyrki Kallio, Senior Research Fellow of the the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, shared his thoughts on China’s strategy in the South China Sea dispute.
The calibre of speakers, as well as the timeliness and importance of the main theme, meant that over 130 people participated in the events. Professor Shi was also interviewed by the Finnish television station MTV3.
As Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, said during her speech at the reception, the official City of Helsinki reception not only underscores the importance of bilateral legal education and research cooperation between Finland and China, but highlights the special, long-term relationship that exists between the capital cities of Helsinki and Beijing.
The organizers would also like to acknowledge the generous assistance provided by the Joel Toivola Foundation.
The annual China Research Day for 2017 will be held on Thursday 9 November from 13:30 – 15:30 at the University of Helsinki (Unioninkatu 35 (1st floor), Auditorium 116).
East Asia has for decades been a haven of stability. Despite the historical grievances affecting the intra-regional relations politically, the economic interdependencies have made the region’s actors seek cooperation over conflict. Recently, worries have emerged about the situation changing. China’s actions in the East and South China Seas can be regarded as more assertive than before, the presidency of Donald Trump has introduced a heightened level of tension in China–US relations, and the bold nuclear and missile tests by North Korea have actualized the risk of a military confrontation in the region in an unprecedented manner. The theme “China–US Relations and Asian Security” will be discussed by two prominent keynote speakers, highlighting the views from Asia and China in particular.
Registration process
The participants of the seminar are also invited to a reception hosted by the City of Helsinki (by pre-registration only, for a limited number of participants).
Those who would like to participate in the event are kindly asked to confirm their participation both to the seminar and the reception by Wednesday 1 Novemberby filling out this registration form:
When filling out the form, please indicate any dietary restrictions.
Program
13:00 Tea and coffee
13:30 Chair: Elina SINKKONEN, Senior Research Fellow, the Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Welcoming words and introduction to the theme: Julie CHEN, Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Helsinki
The United States and China Today: The Emerging Strategic Retrenchment in Dynamic Uncertainties: SHI Yinhong, Professor of International Relations, Renmin University of China
Comments: Jyrki KALLIO, Senior Research Fellow, the Finnish Institute of International Affairs
15:30 End of seminar
18:30–19:30 Reception hosted by the City of Helsinki, Old Court House, Aleksanterinkatu 20
Please note that the dress code for the reception is smart casual. Once your registration has been confirmed you will receive an invitation for the reception which you need to print out and present at the entrance.
Further information
Biographies of the speakers and further information about the event can be found here.
If you have any questions or for further information, please contact Kukka-Maria Kovsky via telephone at +358 9 432 7718 or via email at kukka-maria.kovsky (at) fiia.fi.
Organizing institutions
The China Research Day event is proudly organized by:
Logo of the University of Tampere. Credit: http://www2.uta.fi/en
The University of Tampere, a member institution of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture, has established a knowledge hub focusing on Chinese and Russian media: the Tampere Research Centre for Russian and Chinese Media (TaRC).
TaRC’s opening seminar will be held in the University of Tampere (Pinni B Building) on 2–3 November 2017.
Please register electronically through this link: https://elomake3.uta.fi/lomakkeet/1986
The event is free of charge.
About TaRC
TaRC draws on knowledge and experience from different professional fields and pursues a multidisciplinary approach in the areas of media and cultural studies. TaRC aims to:
• advance new areas of research;
• develop international projects;
• provide education in a multilingual environment;
• facilitate understanding and knowledge exchange between East and West.
Scholars are invited to revisit discussions of the Chinese model of governance and articulate the old and new features of Xi Jinping’s model of governance. Most current research on the China model debates whether there is such model, and the characteristics and essences of the model if it exists. This conference welcomes critical empirical case studies of various manifestations of the Chinese model of governance, ranging from local governance, local election, civil society to economic policies.
Submissions to present at the conference are requested by 1 November 2017.
Please the title of your proposed presentation, an abstract (150 words), brief biographical information and contact details to the Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Helsinki, Professor Julie Chen, at julie.chen (at) helsinki.fi.
University of Helsinki
Finnish China Law Center member institution, the 
