Tag: Chinese Law

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Peter Vesterbacka and Finnish scholars to discuss people management practices in China in Seminar at Aalto University School of Business

To mark the end of Nordic China Law Week 2018 (17 – 23 April), on Monday 23 April, Aalto University and the Finnish China Law Center will host a half-day seminar:

‘What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives’

China is already the second largest country in the world in terms of GDP and thus it is increasingly becoming common for Finnish firms to work in and with China. As China is culturally different from Finland, many Finnish people find it challenging to understand what management practices work best in China.

As China’s economy continues to grow and diversify, new opportunities and challenges are emerging. In addition, legal considerations – including a range of Chinese labor laws based on international standards – affect how businesses operating in China manage their workforce.

This seminar, held during the 40th anniversary of China’s ‘Reform and Opening Up’ reforms, brings together academics from management and legal backgrounds, as well as one of Finland’s leading entrepreneurs, to provide interdisciplinary insights and explore developments in contemporary people management practices in China.

This free, public event is targeted at managers, practitioners, scholars, and students.

Details and Registration

Date: Monday 23 April 2018

Time: 13:00 – 17:00 (including refreshments and networking event).

Location: Aalto University School of Business, Room C-350 (Jenni and Antti Wihuri Hall), Runeberginkatu 14-16, Helsinki.

The organizers kindly ask you to register by 19 April 2018 via this link:

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/87100/lomake.html

Program

13:00  Welcome to the Seminar: Professor Carl Fey, Aalto University School of Business

13:05  Fundamental Labour Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility in China: Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law, University of Helsinki

13:30  Changing HRM Practices in China: Implications for Practitioners and Researchers: Dr Wei Lu, Aalto University School of Business

13:55  The Relationship between Education, Business Culture and Employee Engagement in China: Peter Vesterbacka, Co-founder and BrandBreaker, Lightneer Inc

14:20  Tea/coffee break

14:35  What Types of Organizational Culture Work Best in China? Professor Carl F. Fey, Aalto University School of Business

15:00  Panel Discussion: The Future of People Management in China: Educational, Political, Economic and Legal Considerations

Professor Carl Fey, Aalto University School of Business (Moderator)
Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Finnish Center of Chinese Law / University of Helsinki
Peter Vesterbacka, Co-founder and BrandBreaker, Lightneer Inc
Dr Wei Lu, Aalto University School of Business

16:00  Refreshments and networking

17:00  End of event

Speaker Bios

Carl F. Fey is a Professor of International Business at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland and a Visiting Professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong. Fey’s research focuses on exploring what management practices are most effective in China and Russia. He is an experienced researcher (has published 60+ articles) and executive educator specialized in firm internationalization, organizational culture, knowledge transfer, mergers and acquisitions, innovation, networks, and what leadership styles and management practices work best in China and Russia. Fey is recipient of the 2013 Journal of International Business Studies Decade Award and Deputy Editor of Management and Organization Review. From 2011-2015 Fey was Dean of Nottingham University Business School China which he grew to have 2500 students and a faculty of 90 from 28 countries.  From 1997-2010, Fey helped the Stockholm School of Economics to develop a branch campus in Russia which became one of the two leading business schools for EMBAs/executive education in Russia. Fey has worked as a consultant or executive educator for many leading foreign and local firms in China and Russia.

Ulla Liukkunen is Professor of Labour Law and Private International Law at the University of Helsinki, Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture and a Member of the Board of the European China Law Studies Association. Professor Liukkunen has lead two Academy of Finland projects on labor law and China. Her recent publications include Rule of Law Development and Judicial Reform (edited with Li Lin and Xie Zengyi, Social Sciences Academic Press 2016), Employee Participation and Collective Bargaining in Europe and China (edited with Chen Su, Jürgen Basedow and Matteo Fornasier, Mohr Siebeck 2016) and China and ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (edited with Chen Yifeng, Kluwer International 2014). Professor Liukkunen’s current research focuses on employee participation and posted workers in Europe and China.

Mr Peter Vesterbacka is one of Finland’s leading entrepreneurs and business figures. In 2011, TIME magazine chose Vesterbacka as one of the world’s hundred most influential people. He is co-founder and BrandBreaker of educational mobile game company, Lightneer Inc. His many roles have included serving as the Chief Marketing Officer and ‘Mighty Eagle’ of Rovio Entertainment Oy, best known for the global ‘Angry Birds’ brand. Mr Vesterbacka is also the founder of Slush, an international non-profit initiative that organizes startup-related events in Helsinki and other countries, including China. Mr Vesterbacka has a strong interest in China and visits the country regularly. He is outspoken on the relationship between China’s education system, initiative and creativity. One of Mr Vesterbacka’s current ideas is to open a tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn, an area he sees as a ‘natural part of the Silk Road’.

 

Peter Vesterbacka, Co-founder and BrandBreaker, Lightneer Inc, will speak at Aalto University on Monday 23 April 2018. Pic credit: www.Lightneer.com

 

Dr Wei Lu is currently doing her post-doctoral research at the International Business Unit of Aalto University. Her recent research has focused on human resource management (HRM) practices in multinational corporations (MNCs) in China, for example, practice transfer, localization of HRM practices, organizational commitment and career mobility. She has also conducted research projects on strategies of internationalization of Finnish companies in China and Finnish-Chinese intercultural communication. Dr Lu has long standing experience in teaching at higher education institutions in China and Finland. She has lectured on e.g., China’s Economic Reform, Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment in China, China as a Business Environment, Business in East and Southeast Asia. In addition to research and teaching, Dr Lu actively provides training and consultation for Finnish companies on Doing Business in China and Business Culture in Asia.

Further Information

For inquiries about the event, kindly contact Dr Wei Lu at wei.lu@aalto.fi.

 

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Guest lecture: Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law: JIN Haijun, Renmin Law School: 18 April 2018

In connection with Nordic China Law Week 2018 (17 – 23 April), the Finnish China Law Center and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki are pleased to extend an invitation to a public lecture:

‘Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law’

The guest lecture will be given at 10:15 – 11:45 on Wednesday 18 April 2018 in the Meeting Room of the Faculty of Law (P545), 5th floor of the Porthania Building (Yliopistonkatu 3, Helsinki).

The event is being organized in collaboration with, and with the support of, the Confucius Institute at the University of Helsinki.

About Professor Jin

JIN Haijun is Professor of Law in the Law School of Renmin University. He joined as a member of faculty after receiving his doctorate in Renmin Law School in 2001. Prior to this, Professor Jin practiced law in a private law firm for two years after he obtained his LL.B degree from the Southwest University of Political Science and Law and passed the Chinese Bar Exam in 1993. He has two other LL.M degrees, from Renmin University and the University of Washington in Seattle.

Over the last decade, Professor Jin has studied and worked in a variety of foreign institutions, including as a visiting professor at the University of Frankfurt am Main and the University of Washington, and as a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and the Max-Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law in Munich.

Professor Jin’s research covers various aspects of intellectual property legal theory and practice, including broad issues such as IP as private rights and IP and social development, and specific issues such as copyright fair use, trademark consumer surveys and compulsory patent licenses.

Professor Jin, Remnin University Law School.

Further information

This event is free and open to the public. No prior registration is required.

Please direct questions about the event to the Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, Stuart Mooney, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

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Doctoral Researcher Yajie Zhao successfully defends thesis on Chinese Intellectual Property Law

On Friday 23 March 2018 Ms Yajie ZHAO, Doctoral Researcher in the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki, a member institution of the Finnish China Law Center, successfully defended her doctoral thesis China’s Intellectual Property System in the Process of Catch-up -with Patent in Focus.

Yajie Zhao (left) presenting her thesis on 23 March 2018 in the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki. Also pictured are Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law (middle) and Professor Li Mingde of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (right).

The opponent in Ms Zhao’s defence was Professor Li Mingde, a highly respected Chinese intellectual property law scholar based in Institute of Law and Intellectual Property Centre at the prestigious Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

During her presentation, Ms Zhao discussed the evolution of Chinese intellectual property (IP) mechanisms as China progressed on its national development and transition to becoming a ‘well-developed country’. Ms Zhao approached her subject from the perspective of (IP), with a special focus on the People’s Republic of China since 1949.

Professor Li Mingde (left), Yajie Zhao (middle) and Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo (right).

Professor Li Mingde strongly recommended that Ms Zhao’s doctoral thesis be accepted. In his comments, he praised Ms Zhao’s thesis on its scope and originality. During a long discussion with Ms Zhao, Professor Li asked many probing questions not only about Ms Zhao’s thesis but more broadly about the current state of Chinese IP law, the challenges facing China’s IP system and the enforcement of IP rights, the roles of administrative and judicial IP right enforcement, and the prospects for its future development.

In her closing comments, Ms Zhao thanked those who have supported her during her thesis, including her thesis supervisor Professor Niklas Bruun (University of Helsinki / Hanken School of Economics).

Ms Zhao’s list of publications, lectures, other academic activities and full CV can be found on the website of University of Helsinki.

Professor Li Mingde (left), Yajie Zhao (middle) and Professor Niklas Bruun (right).

Thesis abstract

This thesis explores the evolution of Chinese IP mechanisms during national development and transition to becoming a well-developed country. This subject is studied from the perspective of intellectual property (IP), with a special focus on the People’s Republic of China since 1949.

Internationally, the Chinese State, as a late-developing country, has adopted various mechanisms to narrow its gap in income and in technological capability in relation to developed countries. Meanwhile, internally, China itself is going through a crucial stage of social transition, and switching its economic model from labour-intensive mode to high-tech and innovation-intensive mode. During China’s international ‘catch-up’ process, and its own social transition, the role of IP has constantly changed.

This research on China’s IP covers a period of the late Qing Dynasty until early June 2017, especially focusing on the period after 1949 and the modern Chinese IP system since its Reform and Opening-up Policy in 1979. The reviewed literature covers: (1) Chinese IP-related legislation and policies; (2) the domestic and international academic IP studies; (3) research reports from international organizations; (4) central reports from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, other reports and speeches from the central government with a historical period start from 1933; and (5) IP-related annual reports and statistics from the State Intellectual Property Office and the various levels of the people’s court.

This thesis combines the narrative approach of Chinese IP studies, law in context, and historical perspective, and specifically studies the question: ‘what is the IP system’s role in the catch-up process of China?’ The main research question is divided into sub questions: How does the development of the IP system and the national Science and Technology (S&T) integrate with each other (Chapter 2)? How is the IP system absorbed into Chinese society? The absorption of an IP system is explored via two aspects: one imperative aspect is the evolution of IP system from the perspective of enforcement (Chapter 3); and the other is how the IP system from the state level involved has impacted on the Chinese business players (Chapter 4). The manuscript concludes: Even though external pressures played an undeniable role during Chinese IP development, which can chase back to the 19th Century, China has been constantly advancing its IP system and its implementation mainly because of its internal and developmental needs since 1949 (Chapter 5).

The outcome of this thesis summarises the three decades of Chinese modern IP development and its enforcement in the following way: an advanced legislation system that goes along with the international standards, an enforcement system with Chinese characteristics, and an administrative system for registration and examination focusing mainly on the domestic industries yet taking international practices as reference. China’s adjustments of the IP policies are ultimately determined by the overall objectives for catching up and building an innovative country. China updates its IP system strictly in line with its level of national S&T development. Based on the internal and international conditions, it is a selected development model from China’s side to emphasize IP reform and modernization.

Cover of Doctoral Researcher Yajie Zhao’s published thesis.
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IPR University Center event: Recent Developments in Chinese IP Law

On 22 March 2018, the IPR University Center, a joint institute of six Finnish universities hosted by Finnish China Law Center member institution Hanken School of Economics, held a seminar on ‘Recent Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law’.

Professor Li Mingde, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Photo credit: http://www.iolaw.org.cn)

Professor Li, from the Intellectual Property Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), is a leading expert on IP law. In his presentation he discussed the latest developments in the reform of Chinese copyright law as well as recent developments in other fields of IP. The experience from the specialized IP Courts and the background of the recently established new IP Courts in Shenzhen and Xi’an was also addressed. Finally, Professor Li discussed the reform of the administration on IP-related issues, including the changes of the role of the Chinese SIPO.

Professor Li’s many publications include Governance of Intellectual Property Rights in China and Europe (Elgar 2016), which he edited with Professor Nari Lee (Hanken School of Economics) and Professor Niklas Bruun (Hanken School of Economics / University of Helsinki).

Professor Li was, with Professor Nari Lee and Professor Niklas Bruun, a leader of the research project Legal Transplant For Innovation and Creativity – A Sino-Finnish Comparative Study on the Governance of Intellectual Property Rights’ (TranSIP), a comparative law research project that undertook collaborative research in academic institutes in China and Finland. Details of this collaboration can be found in the Finnish China Law Center’s Report on its First Four Years.

During his trip to Finland, Professor Li also acted as the opponent in the presentation of a doctoral thesis by University of Helsinki Doctoral Candidate, ZHAO Yajie on Friday 23 March.

 

Logo of the IPR University Center (Picture credit: https://www.iprinfo.com/)
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Kone-Fudan Nordic Centre Scholarships

The Kone Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation with a mission to make the world a better place by advancing initiatives in research and the arts, offered two 4 to 6 month-long scholarships to conduct research in China. The cut-off to apply for those scholarship was 28 March 2018.

Office space for scholarship awardees will be provided by the Fudan Nordic Centre in Shanghai, a joint-venture between Fudan University and universities from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The Fudan Nordic Center holds the annual Sino-Finnish Days, which have contributed to the growing number of legal research and education activities between China and the Nordic countries.

The Finnish member universities of the Fudan Nordic Center are the University of Helsinki, the University of Eastern Finland, Hanken School of Economics, the University of Lapland, the University of Tampere and the University of Turku. All of these universities are also member institutions of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law.

The scholarship program is intended to support and expand China-related research conducted in the Finnish universities. The aim is to stimulate researchers to expand their research focus towards research connected with China and to facilitate longer research periods in China. When possible and relevant, doctoral candidates can attend teaching offered by the Fudan Nordic Centre.

Further information and application process

More information about the scholarships, including the full Call for Applications and instructions on how to apply, can be found on Asianet’s website.

 

Logo of the Nordic Center, Fudan University, China
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Finnish China Law Center Blog Ranked Number 3 on ‘Top 15 China Law Blogs and Websites To Follow’ Rankings List

The Finnish China Law Center’s blog has been ranked number 3 on the ‘Top 15 China Law Blogs and Websites To Follow’ compiled by online newsreader service Feedspot.com.

According to Feedspot.com, the ranking was based on the following criteria:

  • Google reputation and Google search ranking
  • Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
  • Quality and consistency of posts; and
  • Feedspot.com’s editorial team and expert review.

The ranking was released on 21 February 2018 and the rankings list will be updated weekly.

‘I’m pleased at the attention the Finnish China Law Center’s blog is attracting from the Nordic region, China and around the world’, says Stuart Mooney, who manages the blog and is the Coordinator of the China Law Center.

‘The blog is an important forum through which the Center communicates with its stakeholders about the China law-related education and research activities of the Center and its 10 member institutions.’

‘We also use the blog to highlight the important contribution of our international partners, including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Peking University, in promoting China law-related education and research in the Nordic region, as well as Nordic collaboration with Chinese scholars and institutions in the fields of comparative and international law’, Stuart says.

‘I’d encourage those interested in learning more about the Center to follow our blog closely, and to read the recently-published Report on the Finnish China Law Center’s First Four Years.’ 

The Finnish China Law Center is also active on Facebook and Twitter.

Questions about the Finnish China Law Center and its blog can be directed to Stuart.Mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

Certification provided by Feedspot.com, which compiled the ‘Best China Law Blog’ list and ranked the China Law Center’s blog No. 3.

 

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Helsinki Conference on the Chinese Model of Governance

The Confucius Center at the University of Helsinki, one of the 10 member institutions of the Finnish China Law Center, organized the Helsinki Conference on the Chinese Model of Governance on 20 March 2018 at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Scholars revisited 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 discussed, from a variety of perspectives including critical empirical case studies, the various manifestations of the Chinese model of governance, ranging from local governance, local election, civil society to economic policies.

Opening Remarks were given by Professor Julie Yu-Wen Chen of the University of Helsinki. Keynote speakers at the conference were Oscar Almén, Uppsala University, Sweden, and Zhongyuan Wang from Fudan University, China.

Constantin Holzer of University College Cork spoke on ‘The Principal-Agent Dichotomy of Public Goods Provision in China and The Role of Entrepreneurship’ and Natalie Ruvimbo Hodzi (University of Helsinki) discussed Zimbabwean elite opinions of China’s model of governance. Other presentations and remarks were given by Adam Knight (Oxford University), Riccardo Berti and Mariagrazia Semprebon (lawyers from Italy) and Coleman Mahler (UC Berkeley).

Questions and media inquiries

Questions about the conference can be directed to the Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Helsinki, Professor Julie Chen, at julie.chen (at) helsinki.fi.

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Chinese New Year Message from the Finnish China Law Center

The Finnish China Law Center, composed of 10 member institutions and based in the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, would like to convey its sincerest wishes for the Chinese New Year to its friends and partners in China, the Nordic countries, and around the world.

The Center looks forward to another year of promoting research and education in the Nordic region on Chinese law and legal culture, comparative legal research involving China, and China’s engagement with international law and global institutions.

‘At the start of the Year of the Dog’, says Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Center, ‘the Finnish China Law Center would like to reiterate how much we value our friendships and partnerships in China and internationally’.

‘We will continue to widen and deepen our international relationships in the upcoming year, during which we have planned an exciting array of events and activities on Chinese law and legal culture in Finland and China’.

祝你新年快乐!

Questions about the activities of the Center, including the upcoming China Law Research Workshop to be held on 19 April 2018, can be directed to the Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

 

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European Law Students’ Association Members Visit Finnish China Law Center and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

On 1 February 2018, the Finnish China Law Center, based in the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, welcomed a group of students from the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) who visited the Center to learn about Chinese legal education and research.

ELSA is an international, independent, non-political and non-profit organisation run by and for students and recent graduates interested in achieving academic and personal excellence in addition to their legal or law-related studies at university.

The visit by ELSA was hosted by Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki.

Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, speaking during the ELSA visit

Dean Letto-Vanamo is a legal historian and comparative lawyer specialized in European legal history, history of European integration, Nordic legal culture(s) and transnational law, with a strong interest in Chinese law and Chinese legal culture.

During her opening speech at the event, Dean Letto-Vanamo delineated the history of comparative law and Chinese legal education and scholarship in Finland, and underscored the increasing importance of understanding Nordic law not just in its European context, but from the global perspective, including in comparison with Chinese law.

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, also of the University of Helsinki, was another speaker at the event. Professor Liukkunen is Director of the Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture and has been recently elected as a Member of the Board of Directors of the European China Law Studies Association (欧洲中国法研究协会).

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, sharing her experiences as a China law researcher with visiting ELSA students

Professor Liukkunen spoke about the Finnish China Law Center’s role in facilitating and promoting China law and comparative law research, and about the increasing Nordic-wide approach to Chinese legal education and research. During her presentation, Professor Liukkunen also drew upon her research in Chinese law and comparative law involving China, and highlighted the importance of taking local conditions and culture into consideration when conducting comparative research with Chinese law.

The main speech during the ELSA visit was given by Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr Yihong Zhang.

Dr Yihong Zhang giving the main presentation during the ELSA student visit 

Dr Zhang, who lectures at the University of Helsinki and is responsible for its popular annual summer school program in Chinese law, drew upon her academic and professional experience in China when discussing the Chinese legal system in a comparative context, including its foundations, sources of law, the way law is applied and enforced, and current legal ‘hot topics’ in China.

A short discussion followed Dr Zhang’s presentation, during which time students asked questions about China’s criminal justice system and the rule of law in China.

The Center strongly encourages students – and anyone else – interested in Chinese law and legal culture to follow its blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Questions about Chinese law can be directed to the Coordinator of the Center, Stuart Mooney, at stuart.mooney (@) helsinki.fi.

Dean Letto-Vanamo’s book on different legal cultures and systems around the world, co-authored with Professor Ditlev Tamm of the University of Copenhagen, is being translated into English. 

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Environmental Governance in China ‘Imbued with Local Experimentation and Variation’: Outi Luova, University of Turku

Given the decentralisation of decision-making powers in China, sub-municipal governments have become principal actors in policy implementation. University Lecturer and Docent Outi Luova, Director of the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies and Vice Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Turku, a member institution of the Finnish China Law Center, is investigating this phenomenon from the perspective of environmental law and policy.

Luova’s current research investigates how China’s environmental governance is imbued with local experiments and variation. She has found that enforcement of environmental regulations varies greatly.

‘There are striking differences in enforcement between the bureaucratic North and flexible South, and the wealthy East and less-developed West’, Luova says.

‘The recent re-centralization efforts and stricter environmental policy enforcement have not been effective in diminishing variation because of strong local interests and weak capacities in many cities’.

According to Luova, slack enforcement means that there can be large diversity in implementation even among sub-municipal units in a city.

‘It is therefore very important to pay attention to regional variation when dealing with China’.

‘Mega-city districts are nowadays powerful actors. With sub-municipal variation remaining unexplored, my recent research project has analysed the implementation of environmental policies and regulations in three urban districts in the city of Tianjin’, she says.

Outi Luova, Director of the Finnish University Network for Asian Studies and Vice Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Turku, guest lecturing in China in October 2017.

In conducting her in-country research, Luova has faced increasing challenges in obtaining official documents and arranging interviews with Chinese civil servants as a result of a ‘tightening political atmosphere’.

‘I have been able to conduct interviews only thanks to my simultaneous participation in official sister-city delegation visits to Tianjin’, Luova says.

‘During my visits to China, I arranged focus-group interviews at city and district level departments of education and environmental protection. I also had a possibility to visit several so called “green schools” in Tianjin and get acquainted with local environmental NGOs’.

In addition to urban governance in China, Luova’s teaching and research interests include regional cooperation in East Asia, domestic migration in China, management of international labour migration in China and East Asia, ethnic issues in China and more generally, regional features and differences in China.

Luova also guest lectures in China. During her most recent visit to China from September to October 2017, she taught at the University of Science and Technology of China and Zhejiang University on low-carbon urban governance.

Luova’s research on regional differences in the implementation and enforcement of environmental law and policy in China, ‘Environmental policies enter the educational sector: Different shades of green at district level’, will be published in Greening China’s Urban Governance: Tackling Environmental and Sustainability Challenges (Jørgen Delman, Ren Yuan, Outi Luova, Mattias Burell, Oscar Almén eds) by Springer in 2018. Other related publications are also in the pipeline.

Luova can be contacted via outluo (at) utu.fi.

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Multiple Visits to China Cap Year of Growing Bilateral Legal Research and Education Collaboration between the University of Helsinki and China

The end of 2017 saw a flurry of visits of scholars and staff to China from the University of Helsinki, one of the 10 member institutions of the Finnish China Law Center.

The visits capped off a year marked by ever-deepening cooperation between the University of Helsinki and Chinese scholars and institutions.

In October 2017, Rector of the University of Helsinki, Jukka Kola, led a large delegation of scholars and staff to China.

The purpose of the Rector’s visit was to underscore the significance the University of Helsinki attaches to its friends and partners in China.

During his visit, Rector Kola further developed the important relationship between the University of Helsinki and Peking University, a key partner institution in China of the Finnish China Law Center.

Rector Kola also spoke at an event organized by the Beijing Alumni Club hosted by Finland’s Ambassador to China, Jarno Syrjälä.

The event organizer and Head of the China Alumni Board – Chen Yifeng, Assistant Professor of Law at Peking University – is also Docent of the University of Helsinki and a legal scholar of international renown who played a central role in establishing, and growing, the Finnish China Law Center.

Rector of the University of Helsinki Jukka Kola speaking with Professor Chen Yifeng of Peking University at the China Alumni Club event held at the residence of the Finnish Ambassador to China on 14 October 2017 (Photo credit: Helsingin yliopiston alumniyhdistys)

More about Professor Chen’s engagement and research in the University of Helsinki and the Finnish China Law Center can be found in the recently published Report on the First Four Years of the Center.

Sanna Villikka, acting Head of Administration of the Faculty of Medicine, was also part of the Rector Kola’s delegation.

Ms Villikka visited China in her former capacity as Senior Advisor in Research Funding Services at the University of Helsinki’s City Centre Campus. The purpose of her trip was to develop staff exchange between the University of Helsinki and Peking University, to further enhance the University of Helsinki’s relationship with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and to emphasize the high esteem with which the University of Helsinki views its relationship with the Faculty of Law of Peking University.

Another important visit to China was by then Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Kimmo Nuotio.

Professor Kimmo Nuotio of the University of Helsinki speaking at the CASS Rule of Law Forum, Beijing, November 2017 (Photo credit: Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Professor Nuotio joined the Annual Meeting of the Silk Road Law Schools Alliance hosted by Wuhan University.

The Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki is one of the founding members of the Alliance, which is composed of leading law schools from China and abroad.

The Annual Meeting has become a platform for law schools to meet and discuss academic research, collaboration and legal education.

Doctoral Candidate Kangle Zhang, contact person of the Alliance from the University of Helsinki, also joined the meeting.

Professor Kimmo Nuotio and Doctoral Candidate Zhang Kangle of the University of Helsinki with representatives from other institutions involved in the Silk Road Law Schools Alliance, at the Alliance’s annual meeting in November 2017 (Photo credit: Wuhan University)

Professor Nuotio was invited to give public lectures at universities across the country, including Peking University, the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Wuhan University, Shandong University, and Wuhan University of Technology.

Professor Nuotio also gave a presentation at the Chinese Academy of Social Science’s annual international Rule of Law conference in Beijing.

Held on 17–18 November, the theme of the 2017 conference was ‘Modes of Rule of Law and Modernization of State Governance’.

Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Helsinki, Sakari Melander, was similarly invited to present at the CASS Rule of Law conference, which doctoral candidate Zhang Kangle also attended.

Professor Sakari Melander of the University of Helsinki speaking at the CASS Rule of Law Forum, Beijing, November 2017 (photo credit: Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences).

Professor Jukka Viljanen, of Finnish China Law Center member institution the University of Tampere, was also invited to give a presentation at the conference.

Yet another senior scholar from the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki to visit China in late 2017 was Senior Lecturer and Adjunct Professor Dr Jarna Petman, who lectured on human rights at Peking University in October 2017.

In addition to her many academic and professional responsibilities, including serving as a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists, Professor Petman also visits and lectures at the prestigious Peking University Law School on a regular basis.

These visits have been supported by CIMO’s funding for the collaboration between Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights and Peking University’s Institute of International Law.

Senior Lecturer (att. to the duties of Professor) of the University of Helsinki / University of Turku and Sanna Villikka (University of Helsinki) in Beijing, October 2017 (Photo credit: Sanna Villikka)

The CIMO project, the result of an application made by Kangle Zhang, was jointly managed by several staff of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki prior to its conclusion at the end of 2017.

During its two years of operation, the project facilitated a range of successful activities that deepened collaboration between the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki and Peking University Law School.

The end of 2017 also saw a flurry of visits from China to Finland.

These inbound visits included two delegations in November alone.

The first of these, a large delegation of judges from the Chinese province of Yunnan, resulted in a productive seminar on comparative juvenile justice in Finland and China.

The second visit, by the leadership of Beihang University Law School, lead to the signing of a new MOU on legal research and education cooperation.

This new relationship has already borne fruit, with the announcement by Beihang University Law School of the establishment of its Nordic Law Center, the first of its kind in China.

2018 is shaping up to be even busier for the University of Helsinki and the Finnish China Law Center.

In addition to guest lectures, visiting speakers and other smaller-scale activities, the Center is hosting or co-organizing a number of international events.

These include a China Law Workshop (Helsinki, April – tbc), the 9th Bilateral Comparative Law Seminar (Beijng, August – tbc) with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the 6th China-Europe Legal Forum with the China Law Society (Helsinki, November – tbc).

Follow the Finnish China Law Center on Twitter (@ChinaLawCenter) and Facebook (@ChinaLawCenter) to keep up-to-date with the latest news, events, publications and other activities of the Center and its member institutions.