On July 10, 2015, the second Beijing Summer Program (BSP) of CUPL themed on “Law and Culture” was successfully completed. Nine students from Koç University in Turkey, the University of Exeter in the UK, Leiden University in the Netherlands and Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, as well as CUPL student volunteers spent three unforgettable weeks together in Beijing.
All courses of this BSP revolved around the said theme of “Law and Culture”, which included the following topics: the introduction of the judicial system of China, basics of the Constitution of China, basics of the commercial law of China, the labor law of China, the relationship between Chinese society and its laws, legal professional ethics, etc. Meanwhile, knowledge of the contemporary political system of China and of Chinese society and its economy were also incorporated into those lectures. In addition, a three-day linguistic boning up class had been arranged for the attendees who knew nothing about Chinese language before the program began. By personally practicing Tai Chi boxing and participating in Chinese Tea rituals, BSP trainees got a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.
In order to let BSP trainees have a glimpse of the daily operation of the Chinese judicial system, a local court visit was arranged for them. Meanwhile, for the purpose of demonstrating the wide range of great progress which has been achieved by the Chinese judicial system lately, the program host especially organized the trainees to visit the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims (CLAPV) of CUPL, which is the leading group among environmental protection NGOs in China. Those arrangements were warmly welcomed and received by the program attendees.
BSP trainees were also fond of other cultural experiencing activities sponsored by their host, including local community visits, dumpling-making training, and a culture-sharing party. They considered those field trips as the spotlight of the program.
While conducting the said local community visit, BSP students were very happy to meet with students from the Confucius Institutes of both Bangor University and the University of Bucharest. A group of foreign young adults spent a pleasant afternoon by mutually showcasing talents, and exchanging interesting ideas with about 50 members of the English Learning Association of Beijing Tuanjiehu community. It was worth mentioning that all the local participants were ordinary residents of Tuanjiehu Community whose average age was above 65. Besides their good spoken English, the residents also took the chance to draw paintings, to write calligraphy and to perform paper-cutting for their fascinated foreign guests, and gave some of those works to them as presents which was the high point of the gathering. Moved and excited by the cordial and friendly atmosphere, two Turkish girls performed their traditional dances and songs impromptu, winning waves of applauses from the audience. Mr. Farid, a student of Leiden University, said that, the hospitality and friendly manner demonstrated by his Chinese friends made him feel good and comfortable. Also to his great surprise, those Chinese uncles and aunts were still energetic and somehow managed to master a foreign tongue despite their great age, which was really amazing!
The culture-sharing party served as another spotlight of this BSP, which was attended by both trainees of the program and CUPL students. Foreign students took turns to share their country’s unique culture and customs, as well as their feelings of life and studies with other students at the meeting. At the same time, besides exchanging thoughts and ideas with their foreign counterparts, our students also demonstrated talents and skills with Chinese flavor at the venue. The whole activity was arranged with picture displays and a buffet, which occurred in a delightful and relaxed atmosphere.
In addition to the aforementioned systematic course learning, a wide array of colorful sightseeing trips were also included in the schedule of the BSP students. By participating in those tours, students were vividly and deeply impressed by the time-honored history of ancient Chinese civilization.
As one of the important components of CUPL international culture exchange scheme in the summer recess of 2015, the BSP is solely planned and organized by the CUPL Office of International Cooperation and Exchange. Its potential attendees are students in all our overseas partner universities. Our student volunteers of the program are selected either through personal applications or through recommendations filed by their schools. Up to now, the BSP has been successfully held twice, and the feedback of previous attendees have clearly indicated its ever-growing good reputation among the students both at home and abroad. In the future, the BSP host will adjust its timing by taking vacation arrangements of our overseas partners into consideration so to attract more and more of their students to participate in its upcoming sessions.
