The College of Comparative Law held its Graduation of 2024 in the Auditorium on Haidian Campus on the afternoon of 17 June, 2024.
All the college leaders, the faculty in Beijing, some of the class 2020-2022 graduates, alumni representative, the whole of the class 2024 graduates and some of their parents and friends came together to witness this important moment. The ceremony was moderated by the Associate Dean Prof. Xie Libin.
In his opening remarks, Xie first extended warm congratulations to the graduates who successfully completed their studies, and extended his sincere thanks to the teachers and parents who have worked hard to nurture the students. He reviewed the process of how the students hone their character and sharpen their wisdom in the College, adhering to the rule of law vision and following the concept of ‘Truth Comes from Comparison’. He encouraged the graduates to continue their efforts on the new journey and set sail for a broader world. Finally, Xie Libin announced the formal commencement of the graduation ceremony. The ceremony began with the singing of the national anthem.
Prof. Zhang Tong, on behalf of all supervisors, sent her message to the graduates. She said that the rapid development of today's society has brought many challenges, especially the anxiety of the Internet age and the challenges of the age of artificial intelligence. She encouraged the students to have a firm heart, a clear development goal and implementation and to be brave to practice and own their the fate. Zhang put forward three expectations to the students, including to have a national spirit and pay attention to the fate of the country, to follow the university motto and practice the professional ethics of as a law people and to pursue goodness and beauty in life. She hoped that the students can stick to their dreams, be brave to pursuit, step forward to a better future.
Afterwards, representatives of the graduates presented flowers to the faculty to express their gratitude for the teachers’ careful training.
After that, the class of 2024 valedictorian Wang Zhenyu, a student from the College’s Internationalised Legal Talents Experimental Class Programme, presented his speech. He first thanked the college leaders, teachers and family and friends for their support and encouragement. He reviewed his studies at the College, highlighted the advantages of multilingualism and the valuable experience of comparative studies of Chinese and foreign jurisprudence, and quoted Prof. Jiang Ping's maxim that “Truth Comes from Comparison”. Wang particularly mentioned the motto of the university, Houde, Mingfa, Gewu, Zhigong (literally keeping integrity, mastering the law, looking for truth and serving the public), which is the guide to study and life of the university, but also the future based on the society, to contribute to the society's code of conduct. He called on the students to shoulder the responsibility and mission to promote the progress of society and the rule of law.
Mou Fei, as a representative of the alumni, a 2009 graduate of the Gino-German Law Institute and a senior partner of Beijing Haotian Law Firm, reviewed her graduation experience from many years ago. She emphasised the importance of faith and persistence in the face of the economic crisis and employment challenges. She shared her valuable experience of studying in difficult situations and encouraged graduates to maintain their ability to ask questions and find answers. Quoting Voltaire, Einstein and Yang Zhenning, Mou stressed the importance of being good at asking questions. She also recommended that law people remain curious and problem-solving and use new technologies, such as artificial intelligence legal assistants, to improve their work efficiency. She stressed that they should keep a good heart from the perspective of human nature to understand and look at the problem, focusing on the human emotions, motivation and background behind the cases. Mou hoped that the graduates, no matter what their future career would be, could become warm, empathetic and compassionate law people.
Next, Associate Dean Prof. Liu Chengwei read out the Decision on Recognising the Outstanding Graduates and Chair of the College Council Wang Fang awarded the certificates.
Finally, Dean Prof. Xie Zhiyong delivered a speech. He extended his congratulations and best wishes to the graduates. He said that the graduates would face a new journey full of opportunities and challenges. He called on all of them to face up to the uncertainties of the future. Xie stressed that as the Chinese-style modernisation of the rule of law is the current theme of the times, graduates should get involved into this process and link their individual destinies to the cause of national modernisation. He pointed out that modernisation is not only a process of civilisation transformation, but also a state of continuous progress. According to him, the modernisation of the rule of law requires the law people to deeply understand the concept of governance and pay attention to the implementation and effect of the law. He encouraged the graduates to maintain a sense of responsibility and integrity in the legal profession, as well as to have a broad vision and to explore the opportunities presented by digital civilisation. He reminded graduates that Chinese-style modernization of the rule of law should be rooted in China's reality, solve China's problems and learn from other civilisations around the world. Finally, he encouraged them to be confident in their future careers, telling the story of Chinese-style modernisation of the rule of law and contributing to the country and society.
The ceremony came to a successful conclusion with a group photo.
