In this beautiful season and vitalized by warm summer sunshine and refreshing nature, we are celebrating the 69th anniversary of China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) amidst the gentle summer breeze of Haidian District and the tender green on Mount Jundu. Now, on behalf of CUPL, I extend my sincere greetings and best wishes to all faculty, staff and students here, and to our alumni at home and abroad, as well as my heartfelt thanks to our friends who have engaged themselves in supporting and facilitating the operation and development of the university.
Over the past 69 years, CUPL has pressed ahead with perseverance and has created a glorious history. Since its founding in 1952, CUPL has consistently upheld socialist philosophy, and has kept pace with national development and the trend of time. It is praised as vanguard of China’s legal education and legal talents cultivation, as well as the hub of legal research and innovation of legal theories. CUPL has contributed its wisdom and power to advancing law-based governance and to constructing a modern socialist country.
CUPL never ceases innovating its mode of talent training. The dual degree program launched by CUPL and Beijing Foreign Studies University forms a strong synergy. In addition, the “Bachelor Plus Master” degree option was piloted for selected disciplines and rules were set for selecting outstanding students to apply for a Ph.D. program after completing a bachelor's degree program. Achievements and advancements were also made in programs, courses and teaching materials. For instance, six programs were recently listed as national first-class undergraduate majors, and three courses were selected into the first batch of outstanding courses on ideological and political theories by the Ministry of Education. Among the course selected, the course on law at CUPL ranked first nationwide. In the first National Textbook Award, seven teaching materials developed by CUPL won the first prize in Beijing and are recommended to compete in the national final.
CUPL continues to develop its disciplines. Driven by its first-class discipline of law, other disciplines have been developing at a quick speed, thus forming a strong discipline cluster in the university. CUPL finishes its periodic review of the “Double First-Class initiative” and the fifth round of national discipline review with good results. The university successfully concluded its 13th “Five-Year Plan” and has set off with the 14th “Five-Year Plan” with a good start. In the 2020 soft science rankings of China universities, CUPL and its law disciple continue to rank the first among all political science and law universities and law programs.
Scientific researches flourish. Compared to last year, publications by CUPL staff on CSSCI-indexed journals increased significantly. In number of publications on the three top law journals in China and in CLSCI-index journals, as well as in research grants and funding, CUPL also leads its counterparts across the country.
Faculty and researchers gain new momentum. Achievements are made in reforming human resources by introducing the CUPL Action Plan of First-Class Staffing and by attracting new talents while nurturing incumbent faculty. Renowned professors like Liu Yanhong, Xiong Qiuhong, Yang Weidong, etc. have joined us. Jiao Hongchang and Xu Shihong are appointed as the Counsellor of the State Council and the staff member of the Central Institute of Culture and History respectively. Li Zheng is awarded “the 9th National Outstanding Young Jurist”. Li Jianwei and Huo Zhengxin win nominee awards for “the 9th National Outstanding Young Jurist”. Luo Xiang is awarded the title of CCTV’s “Legal Figure of Year 2020”.
International exchange and cooperation effectively expanded. CUPL has managed to overcome adverse effects of the global pandemic and its international cooperation platform has been constantly extended, and international education further optimized. CUPL has concluded the cooperation agreements with Doshisha University of Japan and so on, and has renewed the agreement of the China-EU School of Law (CESL). The first enrollment of the Sino-foreign cooperative program of dual master's degree in international law jointly launched by Washington University, St. Louis and CUPL was carried out. Besides, in terms of the number of students having state-sponsored internships in international organizations and institutions such as the United Nations, CUPL ranks the second in China.
Cooperation with relevant government agencies yields more fruits. The Ministry of Education and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality have decided to provide sponsors and funding for CUPL together, thus marking a new chapter for the university. The Legislative Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress has set up the only “contact point for legislation” in CUPL. The Supreme People's Procuratorate has cooperated with us to build the Research Base of Fundamental Procuratorial Theories. The National Medical Products Administration has cooperated with us to launch the Research Base of Pharmaceutical Administration Law. The General Administration of Sports of China has cooperated with us to build the Research Base of Chinese Sports Law. The Ministry of Justice, the Provincial Politics and Law Committee of Gansu, Higher People's Court of Fujian Province, and other government agencies also signed strategic cooperation agreements with us.
Capacity of social service of CUPL further strengthened. CUPL assisted Horqin Left Middle Banner, a county in inner Mongolia to rid poverty. The outcome of this targeted poverty alleviation project was rated the highest level. Besides, many faculty and students actively responded to COVID-19 protocols and policies, and volunteered for prevention and control campaigns. Our experts and scholars took initiatives in offering legal advice and suggestions for pandemic response. In addition, CUPL released publications, such as the Assessment Report of China's Law-based Government, providing inexhaustive boost for the advancement of law-based government and the judicial culture. CUPL also partnered with Xuexi.cn, People.cn, etc. to popularize the Civil Code for the public. These social services of CUPL have exerted wide social influences.
Strong and effective measures have been taken to ensure people's well-being. Schooling for children of our faculty and staffs has been improved via partnerships with Zhongguancun No. 4 Primary School and Beijing No.19 Middle School. Moreover, the university has managed to provide rental housing in the Haidian District for young faculty members. Besides, the newly-built Library and Teaching Complex Building at the Xueyuanlu campus passed acceptance review and has now been put into services. Construction of the Student Canteen at the Xueyuanlu campus and design of the Student apartment at the Changping campus has commenced.
On a voyage full of hope and ambition, we sing the song of triumph and joy. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. It is of historic significance as China embarks on a new journey towards building a modern socialist country in all-around ways. This year will also witness the launch of our 14th Five-Year Plan. Taking the 69th anniversary celebration as a chance, CUPL will continue to advance high-quality development, stay true to our missions, and strive for more achievements under the “Double First-tier Initiative”. CUPL aspires for more remarkable achievements to pay tribute to the centenary of the Party's founding and to celebrate its 70th anniversary next year.
