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A premiere law university in China, China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) has passed through a 60-year glorious course of development. In this unusual period of 60 years, the CUPL has always shared weal and woe with the motherland – the People’s Republic of China, and has actively contributed to promoting both development of the rule of law and development of the cause of higher education in China, writing historic chapters of great stories of pioneering and endeavor full of gloriousness and dreams. Over the past 60 years, the CUPL has constantly carried forward the spirit of its educational mottos of “Promotion of Virtue, Elucidation of Law, Thorough Study of Reasons, and Dedication to Public Interests”, and has constantly adhered to its educational ideology of “Basing the CUPL on Academics, Building Up Capacity of the CUPL With Talents, Vigorously Promoting Development of CUPL With Characteristics, and Operating the CUPL by Law”, educating and developing human resources for the nation to the tune of more than 200,000 excellent professionals of various types, leading changes and innovations of jurisprudential theories and legal thoughts in China, participating in almost all legislative activities in the People’s Republic of China, turning itself into a major window for foreign academic exchanges in the fields of jurisprudence, etc, and actively contributing to sound development of the rule of law, political progress, economic development, cultural prosperity and social harmony in China. Over the past six decades, the CUPL has achieved eyecatching successes on the course of building itself into an open, international, multidisciplinary and innovative worldfamous powerful university of law, emerging as a premiere higher educational institution of law in China, and also a major basis for implementation of the general principle of governing China by law.
I. Historical missions and course of development of the CUPL
Even since the date of its founding, the CUPL has been entrusted with the historical mission of promoting development of the rule of law and prosperity of legal education in the People’s Republic of China. Over the past 60 years, the CUPL, in accordance with the requirement of the State, has actively made explorations in finding a path of building itself into a powerful university of law with connotative development, characteristic development, open development, international development and harmonious development, with the target of turning itself into “a national-level legal educational center, jurisprudential research center, jurisprudential books, data and information center, political and legal cadres training center and legal popularization and education center”. Along with development of democracy and the rule of law in the People’s Republic of China, the CUPL has realized three great leaps forward in its history of development.
In 1952, in efforts to meet the requirement of initial establishment of a new legal system following the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Central Authorities decided to establish Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law on the basis of the merger of the 48-year-old Faculty of Law of Beijing (Peking) University and the disciplines of political science, sociology, etc of Qinghua (Tsinghua) University, Yanjing (Yenching) University and Fu Jen Catholic University. Then top Chinese leader Chairman Mao Zedong(1893-1976) personally write the name for Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law, and Premier Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) issued a warrant of appointment to appoint famous jurist, political scholar and social activist Qian Ruisheng(1900-1990) the first president of Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law. Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law, created as the times required, was intended to develop human resources of political and legal cadres, and improve the professional capacity of political and legal cadres. In those years, the institute succeeded in developing a great deal of outstanding human resources of political and legal cadres with relatively high theoretical learning and relatively strong capacity of practice, who turned out to be a leading force in development of the rule of law in the People’s Republic of China. As a result, Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law and the Central Political and Legal Cadres School (which was founded in 1951 and which merged into Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law later on) gained their reputation rapidly, and were honored as “cradles of political and legal cadres of the People’s Republic”. In this historical period of time, Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law, from the time of its creation to the ensuing years of rapid development, played a great role in consolidating the State power, judicial reforms and reservation of political and legal human resources in the People’s Republic of China, realizing the first great leap forward in its history of development.
In the chaotic period of the “Great Cultural Revolution”in China (1966-1976), Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law was virtually suspended from operation for six years. After China adopted the policy of reform and opening up in 1978, Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law got a new life. In efforts to restore and strengthen development of the socialist legal system and promote development of higher education in China, the State Council (Cabinet) decided to restore Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law in 1978. In 1983, under the loving care of then top Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997), Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law and the Central Political and Legal Cadres School merged to form the CUPL. Comrade Deng Xiaoping personally wrote the name for the CUPL. In 1985, the CUPL kicked off the project of constructing its new site in Changping District in the northwestern suburb of Beijing City. In 1997, the CUPL and the Central Political and Legal Administration Cadres Institute merged to operate legal education as a whole. In this period of time, the CUPL, under correct leadership by the Ministry of Justice and through painstaking efforts over the past more than 10 years, saw its disciplinary structure become increasingly rational, its teaching staff turn increasingly competent, the scope of its educational operation keep enlarging, and its educational operation keep improving. As a result, the CUPL started a process of transition from an institute with a single discipline of political science and law onto a multidisciplinary university, laying a solid foundation for its future development, and realizing the second great leap forward in the history of its development.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, along with vigorous implementation of the strategy of reinvigorating China through human resources development, and along with steady promotion of governance of China by law and the drive to build China into a country with socialist rule of law, the State has had further higher requirements for higher level human resources of political science and law, and greater demands for the development and supply of higher level human resources of political science and law. Consequently, the CUPL has been entrusted with greater missions of operating legal education, and has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities. In January 2000, the CUPL was put under the administration of the Ministry of Education, signifying incorporation of the CUPL into the mainstream of development of higher education in China. In this period of time, a new generation of faculty and staff of the CUPL have carried forward the fine traditions of their predecessors, renewed their educational ideology, changed their mentality of education, further deepened educational and teaching reform and reform of the internal management system, exerted all efforts to make the CUPL prosperous, and worked hard through innovation in a pioneering spirit, realizing leap-forward development in all undertakings of the CUPL. It is in this period of time that the CUPL has ranked itself among the first group of Chinese universities granted the right to independently set disciplines of its undergraduate education leading to the bachelor’s degree, among the Chinese universities given priority in development under Project 211 of the State for promotion of higher education development, and also among the Chinese universities involved in the program for “Establishment of the Platform for Innovation of Advantageous Disciplines for Project 985”; that the CUPL won the bid to operate China-EU School of Law at the university; that the CUPL won approval by the State and the Ministry of Education of many programs for operating pilot projects of educational reform; that the CUPL has comprehensively planned, directed and led execution of the Program for Development of Outstanding Legal Human Resources under auspices of the Ministry of Education, etc. Presently, the CUPL is in a period of the most rapid and best development in history, in realizing the third great leap forward in the history of its development.
II. Promotion of scientific development to higher levels, taking of firm steps in building the CUPL into a powerful university of law
In review of the construction and development of the CUPL over the past 60 years, it is perceivable that the CUPL has realized all-round development in the development of disciplines, education and development of human resources, scientific research, social service, international exchange, cultural inheritance, etc, and has taken firm steps on the course of building itself into a world-famous powerful university of law.
Firstly, the CUPL has kept its leading status in the quality of education and development of human resources:
Over the past 60 years, the CUPL has educated and developed human resources for the nation to the tune of more than 200,000 highly qualified and excellent professionals of various types, who played or have been playing important roles in judicial organs, prosecutorial organs, public security organs, organs of administration of justice, Communist Party or government organs, enterprises or public institutions at all levels. Besides, the CUPL has also educated and developed a large number of jurists with a leading status in various disciplines of jurisprudence.
So far, the CUPL has specifically set the target of educating and developing interdisciplinary, practical, innovative and international human resources that are of “a profound academic basis and a broad range of knowledge”, and that are “highly qualified and highly competent”, and has established a multi-platform selective educational mechanism for “interdisciplinary, multi-degree, inter-university and international” academic studies. In administering undergraduate education leading to the bachelor’s degree, the CUPL has successively operated six-year programs for the education and development of legal human resources in making experiments in reforming the model of legal human resources education and development, launched pilot projects of reform of the model of education and development of highlevel legal professionals, made explorations for operating experimental programs for education in mathematical economics and finance, etc; and has launched multiple reform of the system of academic courses of “quality engineering”, the system of general education, the system of exquisite courses, the system of practical teaching, the system of English language teaching, etc. In administering graduate education, the CUPL has launched a program of action for improving the quality of graduate education, has promoted in an in-depth way the implementation of programs of government scholarships for graduate studies abroad, and has started programs for financial assistance to activities of innovative practice by graduate students, making a great deal of achievements. Students of the CUPL have successively won awards at many national and international contests, showing outstanding performances. The CUPL has always ranked among the top-level universities in the same category in terms of the full employment rate among graduates. In 2011, the CUPL was rated by the Ministry of Education among the Top 50 Chinese universities in terms of the employment rate among graduates.
Secondly, the CUPL shows remarkable characteristics in the distribution of academic disciplines: Over the past 60 years, particularly since China adopted the policy of reform and opening up in 1978, the CUPL, in the capacity of a premiere university of legal education in China, has kept playing a pioneering role in operating legal education: The CUPL was among the first group of Chinese universities designated to operate doctoral programs in the disciplines of legal history, economic law, procedural law, comparative law, human rights law, and law and economics. The first group of Masters of Jurisprudence and the first group of Doctors of Jurisprudence educated in China were graduated by the CUPL. Besides, the first Chinese student earning a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence in a foreign country was also a graduate of the CUPL.
Over recent years, the CUPL has adhered to the concept of “guidance of academic leaders” and the notion of “development of large disciplines”, making remarkable achievements in the development of academic disciplines: Presently, the CUPL boasts 18 disciplines of undergraduate education leading to the bachelor’s degree, 68 points authorized to entitle graduate students with the master’s degree, 27 points authorized to grant the doctor’s degree, two centers for postdoctoral studies, and three major platforms for higher education leading to the MBA, MPA and JM academic degrees, including three first-class disciplines for programs with the authority to grant the doctor’s degree and 13 firstclass disciplines for programs with the authority to grant the master’s degree, with the discipline of jurisprudence belonging to a national-level first-class priority discipline. The CUPL has successively ranked among the Chinese universities given priority in development under Project 211 of the State for promotion of higher education development launched by the Ministry of Education, and also among the Chinese universities involved in the program for “Establishment of the Platform for Innovation of Advantageous Disciplines for Project 985”, launched by the Ministry of Education. The structure of disciplinary systems of the CUPL is of characteristics and obvious advantages: With prominence given to the advantaged status of the priority discipline of jurisprudence, the CUPL has formed systems of academic disciplines that are the most complete and the most elaborate in China, and has taken a lead in the operation of higher education in China. The CUPL actively promotes development of such emerging advantaged academic disciplines as political science and Marxist theories, and has formed multidisciplinary systems covering the seven major disciplinary categories of jurisprudence, economics, administration, philosophy, history, literature and pedagogy. The CUPL vigorously promotes intercrossing and integration between the academic discipline of jurisprudence and other academic disciplines. As a result, the operation of interdisciplinary specialties by the CUPL on the basis of integration between jurisprudence and commercial science, integration between jurisprudence and political science, and integration of jurisprudence with sociology, journalism and communication, foreign languages, literature, history, philosophy, etc has aroused widespread public attention. The CUPL has succeeded in establishing a relatively complete system of academic disciplines covering almost the entirety of humanities and social sciences.
Thirdly, the CUPL has always maintained first-rate scientific research: The CUPL carries forward and innovates cultures of the rule of law, leads the change of jurisprudential theories and renewal of legal thoughts in China, and is an origin of innovation of jurisprudential theories and legal thoughts in China. Today, the CUPL boasts two priority bases for humanities and social sciences studies authorized by the Ministry of Education, one priority laboratory authorized by the Ministry of Education, one national human rights education and training base, one base for juvenile legal education authorized by the Ministry of Education, and one priority base for philosophy and social sciences studies authorized by Beijing City, which have made a series of landmark, innovative and practical scientific research achievements.
In the period of the 11th Five-Year Plan for Socioeconomic Development in China (2006-2010), the faculty of the CUPL undertook 337 vertical research projects and 612 horizontal research projects at the provincial or ministerial level, and published more than 5,700 dissertations, including 1,412 published through collection periodicals of the SCI, SSCI, CSSCI, etc. In the five-year period, a large number of excellent scientific research achievements made by the faculty of the CUPL won high commendation from academic circles or government departments, with 75 research achievements winning awards at the provincial or ministerial level or even higher. Besides, the number of nonpermanent scientific research institutions operated by the CUPL has kept growing rapidly, to the tune of 116 so far.
Fourthly, the CUPL boasts a generally powerful faculty: The faculty is the basis for the great cause of education. Only with the existence of a highly qualified faculty, will there be high-quality education. The CUPL always attaches great importance to the development of its faculty, and always views the faculty as the basis of the university. For many years, we have striven to seize all opportunities, create all conditions and launch all efforts to introduce talent from outside the university, develop talent within the university, and establish academic innovation teams. Meanwhile, we have actively implemented the national human resources education and development projects including the “Thousand Talent Plan” launched in 2008 to bring overseas talent to China to work for State enterprises and institutions, the “Yangtze River Scholars and Innovation Teams Development Plan”, the “Outstanding Young Talent Development Plan”, the “New Century Outstanding Human Resources Support Plan”, programs of the Ministry of Education for sending key young faculty members with higher educational institutions to conduct research or receive further education abroad, and projects of selecting through public appraisal national-level famous masters of education. Consequently, the CUPL has accumulated a large number of renowned masters in the academic circles, outstanding academic pacesetters, academic leaders and young faculty members as a powerful academic force, who form the powerful faculty of the CUPL with a complete system of echelons and with a rational structure.
Of the 812 permanent faculty members of the CUPL by the end of 2011, there had been five lifetime professors, two scholars under the “Yangtze River Scholars and Innovation Teams Development Plan”, two national-level outstanding teachers, one national-level famous master of education, 11 famous masters of education of Beijing City, seven who once earned the title of being among the “Top Ten Middle-Aged and Young Outstanding Jurists”, two winning prizes for young teachers granted by the Ministry of Education, three selected into the “New Century (Trans-Century) Hundred-ThousandTen Thousand Talent Development Project”, 26 selected into the “New Century Outstanding Human Resources Support Plan” of the Ministry of Education, one innovation team under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, and two nationallevel outstanding teaching teams, including 433 teachers of law, or over half of the permanent faculty of the CUPL. Therefore, the CUPL boasts a largest group of jurists for all universities in the world.
Fifthly, the CUPL generates extensive influence in social service provision and social contribution: The CUPL serves the nation and society with high-level education and development of human resources and achievement of academic successes, and leads the change of jurisprudential theories and renewal of legal thoughts in China. As a consultation and service center for legislation and decision making by the State, the CUPL has participated in almost all activities of legislation by the State since the its establishment. More than 20 professors with the CUPL worked as chiefs of the panel of legal experts or assumed other crucial posts in the process of making important national laws. Legal experts and scholars with the CUPL annually submit nearly 100 reports of investigation, research or consultation of various types to competent departments of the State. More than 30 teachers with the CUPL worked as chief lecturers at routine group studies in central theoretical groups organized by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC). Tens of teachers with the CUPL are regular guest experts at legal programs aired by China Central Television and other news media. The faculty members and students of the CUPL also plunge themselves into activities of legal knowledge popularization and legal aid, and do their bit in making contributions to building China into a country with the socialist rule of law.
And sixthly, the CUPL makes remarkable achievements in international cooperation and exchange: As a landmark window for foreign academic exchange in the field of jurisprudence on behalf of the State, the CUPL has for years actively advocated operation of higher education with a global vision and a worldly sight, vigorously implemented international development strategies, and managed to disseminate Chinese cultures to the rest of the world and conduct foreign academic communication and exchange.
So far, the CUPL has successively established relations of cooperation with 157 well-known universities and institutions in 39 countries and regions around the world. Each year, the CUPL sends nearly 1,000 faculty members and students to conduct study or academic exchange activities abroad through many programs of cooperation or exchange. The operation of the China-EU School of Law is the largest project of cooperation in the field of legal education between the Chinese government and the European Union (EU), and also the sole high-level international legal education cooperation project in China. Over recent years, the CUPL has successively become a signatory university to the“Project of Government Scholarships for Graduate Studies Abroad for High-Level Universities Established by the State and a partner university to the Erasmus Mundus ECW Lot 14 project, has been qualified to admit international students under the Chinese Government Scholarship Programs for foreign students pursuing academic studies in China, has joined such international cooperation projects as the EurasiaPacific University Alliance, and will join the grand alliance of world Confucius Institutes, in obvious promotion of the extent of internationalization of the CUPL.
III. Meticulous planning, highlighting characteristics, drawing new blueprints, content development, improvement of quality and writing new chapters of successfulness on a continued basis
According to its general development strategy, the CUPL will strive to build itself into an open, international, multidisciplinary and innovative world-famous powerful university of law. Therefore, the CUPL has worked out a“three-step” development strategy. So far, the university has smoothly completed the first step, and is taking the second step in a leap forward style. The 7th congress of Communist Party representatives and the outline of the program for the development of undertakings in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015) of the CUPL have both drawn up grand blueprints for future development of the CUPL. The CUPL will implement the Outline of the Program for Medium- and LongTerm National Educational Reform and Development (2010-2020) and the major planning adopted at the working meeting of the Ministry of Education on full-scale improvement of the quality of higher education, and will adhere to the policies of deepening reform of both structures and mechanisms, exerting all efforts to launch innovation in coordination, developing long-term strategic advantages for building the CUPL into a powerful university of law, and ushering in a new situation of the endeavor to build the CUPL into a powerful university of law, with scientific development as a theme, with full-scale improvement of the quality of education at the core, and with acceleration of a shift of the mode of content development as a leading line.
The CUPL will strive to improve the quality of education on a full scale, within the framework of content development: The quality of education will be the lifeline of any university, and the level of education operated by a university will fundamentally lie in the quality of its education and development of human resources. Therefore, the CUPL will take promotion of comprehensive development of man and adaptation to social needs as a fundamental criterion for measuring the level of its human resources education and development; will adhere to taking the path of content development with improvement of quality at the core; will adhere to taking promotion of healthy growth of students as the start point and basis for all work of the CUPL: will implement the requirement for human resources education and development with close integration between study of cultural knowledge and cultivation of ideological mentality, between innovative thinking and social practice and between comprehensive development and individual development; will strive to enhance the sense of responsibility of students to serve the country and serve the people, their innovative spirit of courageous exploration and their practical capacity of adeptness in solving problems; and will dedicate itself to the education and development of human resources for national governance and administration, for government for the people, and for academics and education, with particular priority given to the education and development of prominent interdisciplinary, practical, innovative and international human resources of political science and law and also outstanding innovative human resources with the spirit of the CUPL’s educational mottos of “Promotion of Virtue, Elucidation of Law, Thorough Study of Reasons, and Dedication to Public Interests”. Besides, the CUPL will make overall planning for all aspects of its work including the development of disciplines, education, teaching, scientific research, social service and faculty development, and will promote full-scale improvement of the quality and proficiency of its education, with full-scale improvement of the quality of human resources education and development at the core.
The CUPL will give full play to its functions as a university, within the framework of scientific development: Our mission is to build the CUPL into a major base of China for the education and development of highly qualified human resources, high-level scientific research, high-quality social service and high-dimensional cultural inheritance and innovation. Therefore, while efforts are made to improve the quality of human resources education and development, full play must be given to the roles of the CUPL in scientific research, social service and cultural inheritance and innovation. In the aspect of scientific research, the CUPL will further adapt itself to major needs of social development; aim at the forefront of the international development; launch strategic and forward-looking research and research for public interests; support high-quality higher education with high-level scientific research; and present more fine works and great accomplishments. In the aspect of social service, the CUPL will step up application of its achievements in scientific research; actively organize and establish strategic alliances between industry, academia and the research community; aim at major theoretical and practical issues in socioeconomic development; strengthen all-round exchange and cooperation with relevant departments, local governments, industrial associations, leading enterprises and various other types of social bodies; and practically give play to its functions of highlevel consultancy and research. And in the aspect of cultural inheritance and innovation, the CUPL will further inherit and carry forward the fine traditional cultures of the Chinese nation. In particular, it will assume the great mission of carrying forward cultures of the socialist rule of law in China, promote international exchange and cooperation, and serve as an emissary for exchange in law and the relevant academic and cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world, in order to commonly contribute to the development and progress of the whole mankind.
The CUPL will improve and highlight its advantages in operating higher education, within the framework of vigorously promoting its development with unique characteristics: The CUPL will strive to build itself into a multidisciplinary university with legal education as a characteristic and advantage, and will serve as an architect, leader and operator of development of legal education. In striving to strengthen characteristics of its operation of higher education, efforts must be made to grasp the core processes in which characteristics of operation of education will form and develop, vigorously maintain existing characteristics, actively develop new characteristics, and establish a system of ideas, system of regimes, structures, mechanisms and system of competency assessment for promoting the operation of education with characteristics. In doing so, the CUPL will carry forward the spirit of “daring first”, seize all opportunities, and strive to become a core campus for the education and development of prominent legal human resources, a model campus for the establishment of university education systems and a pioneering campus for the coordination of innovative planning. While maintaining and carrying forward its advantaged status in jurisprudence, the CUPL will exert great efforts to foster and develop cross-disciplinary branches of learning and emerging disciplines, and greatly promote integration of jurisprudence with political science, philosophy, economics, administration, sociology, journalism and communication, literature and other academic disciplines, in order to form a multidisciplinary structure of education with integrated diversity, with pluralistic development in integration, and with balanced and coordinated development of all disciplines.
The CUPL will strive to build itself into an innovative university, within the framework of coordinated innovation: To build the CUPL into an innovative university is a target of operation of education by the CUPL. It means that the CUPL will, with reform and innovation as motive forces, keep strengthening its innovation capacity, strive to educate and develop outstanding innovative human resources, innovate theoretical knowledge, innovate social service, and promote cultural inheritance and innovation. The CUPL will take an active part in implementation of the Program for Promoting Innovation Capacity of Higher Education, and greatly promote in-depth cooperation between the CUPL and other higher educational institutions, scientific research institutions, governments, enterprises, etc both in China and abroad in multiple fields, with promotion of the capacity of trinity innovation of human resources, disciplines and scientific research at the core. It will make explorations to develop new models of multiform coordinated innovation, give play to its roles as think tanks and brain trusts of law and other disciplines, actively promote knowledge innovation and regional innovation, strive to promote its overall academic research capacity and international influence, and play major roles in the development of innovation systems in China. It will also, in accordance with promotion of coordinated innovation, actively step up education and teaching reforms, strengthen the development of its faculty, innovate models of human resources education and development, and promote its scientific research to higher levels, in order to make a series of major landmark achievements, develop a series of outstanding innovative human resources, and build itself into a modern innovative university on a full scale.
The salutary influence of education operated by the CUPL over the past six decades has witnessed the course of the most arduous endeavor to great success by the CUPL in an entire cycle of 60 years. Tied to the rule of law for six decades so far, the CUPL is an embodiment of the quiet contribution by the entire faculty and staff of the university over an entire cycle of 60 years. At a new start point in history, the CUPL will further implement the Scientific Outlook on Development, continue emancipating the mind, stick to reform and innovation, improve the quality of its education, keep advancing toward the target of building itself into an open, international, multidisciplinary and innovative worldfamous powerful university of law, write new chapters of successfulness on a continued basis, assume the sacred mission of imparting knowledge and educating people, assume the glorious mission of promoting the governance of China by law, and actively contribute to realizing the great cause of building China with the rule of law and rejuvenating the Chinese nation.
I. Historical missions and course of development of the CUPL
Even since the date of its founding, the CUPL has been entrusted with the historical mission of promoting development of the rule of law and prosperity of legal education in the People’s Republic of China. Over the past 60 years, the CUPL, in accordance with the requirement of the State, has actively made explorations in finding a path of building itself into a powerful university of law with connotative development, characteristic development, open development, international development and harmonious development, with the target of turning itself into “a national-level legal educational center, jurisprudential research center, jurisprudential books, data and information center, political and legal cadres training center and legal popularization and education center”. Along with development of democracy and the rule of law in the People’s Republic of China, the CUPL has realized three great leaps forward in its history of development.
In 1952, in efforts to meet the requirement of initial establishment of a new legal system following the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Central Authorities decided to establish Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law on the basis of the merger of the 48-year-old Faculty of Law of Beijing (Peking) University and the disciplines of political science, sociology, etc of Qinghua (Tsinghua) University, Yanjing (Yenching) University and Fu Jen Catholic University. Then top Chinese leader Chairman Mao Zedong(1893-1976) personally write the name for Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law, and Premier Zhou Enlai (1898-1976) issued a warrant of appointment to appoint famous jurist, political scholar and social activist Qian Ruisheng(1900-1990) the first president of Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law. Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law, created as the times required, was intended to develop human resources of political and legal cadres, and improve the professional capacity of political and legal cadres. In those years, the institute succeeded in developing a great deal of outstanding human resources of political and legal cadres with relatively high theoretical learning and relatively strong capacity of practice, who turned out to be a leading force in development of the rule of law in the People’s Republic of China. As a result, Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law and the Central Political and Legal Cadres School (which was founded in 1951 and which merged into Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law later on) gained their reputation rapidly, and were honored as “cradles of political and legal cadres of the People’s Republic”. In this historical period of time, Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law, from the time of its creation to the ensuing years of rapid development, played a great role in consolidating the State power, judicial reforms and reservation of political and legal human resources in the People’s Republic of China, realizing the first great leap forward in its history of development.
In the chaotic period of the “Great Cultural Revolution”in China (1966-1976), Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law was virtually suspended from operation for six years. After China adopted the policy of reform and opening up in 1978, Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law got a new life. In efforts to restore and strengthen development of the socialist legal system and promote development of higher education in China, the State Council (Cabinet) decided to restore Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law in 1978. In 1983, under the loving care of then top Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997), Beijing Institute of Political Science and Law and the Central Political and Legal Cadres School merged to form the CUPL. Comrade Deng Xiaoping personally wrote the name for the CUPL. In 1985, the CUPL kicked off the project of constructing its new site in Changping District in the northwestern suburb of Beijing City. In 1997, the CUPL and the Central Political and Legal Administration Cadres Institute merged to operate legal education as a whole. In this period of time, the CUPL, under correct leadership by the Ministry of Justice and through painstaking efforts over the past more than 10 years, saw its disciplinary structure become increasingly rational, its teaching staff turn increasingly competent, the scope of its educational operation keep enlarging, and its educational operation keep improving. As a result, the CUPL started a process of transition from an institute with a single discipline of political science and law onto a multidisciplinary university, laying a solid foundation for its future development, and realizing the second great leap forward in the history of its development.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, along with vigorous implementation of the strategy of reinvigorating China through human resources development, and along with steady promotion of governance of China by law and the drive to build China into a country with socialist rule of law, the State has had further higher requirements for higher level human resources of political science and law, and greater demands for the development and supply of higher level human resources of political science and law. Consequently, the CUPL has been entrusted with greater missions of operating legal education, and has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities. In January 2000, the CUPL was put under the administration of the Ministry of Education, signifying incorporation of the CUPL into the mainstream of development of higher education in China. In this period of time, a new generation of faculty and staff of the CUPL have carried forward the fine traditions of their predecessors, renewed their educational ideology, changed their mentality of education, further deepened educational and teaching reform and reform of the internal management system, exerted all efforts to make the CUPL prosperous, and worked hard through innovation in a pioneering spirit, realizing leap-forward development in all undertakings of the CUPL. It is in this period of time that the CUPL has ranked itself among the first group of Chinese universities granted the right to independently set disciplines of its undergraduate education leading to the bachelor’s degree, among the Chinese universities given priority in development under Project 211 of the State for promotion of higher education development, and also among the Chinese universities involved in the program for “Establishment of the Platform for Innovation of Advantageous Disciplines for Project 985”; that the CUPL won the bid to operate China-EU School of Law at the university; that the CUPL won approval by the State and the Ministry of Education of many programs for operating pilot projects of educational reform; that the CUPL has comprehensively planned, directed and led execution of the Program for Development of Outstanding Legal Human Resources under auspices of the Ministry of Education, etc. Presently, the CUPL is in a period of the most rapid and best development in history, in realizing the third great leap forward in the history of its development.
II. Promotion of scientific development to higher levels, taking of firm steps in building the CUPL into a powerful university of law
In review of the construction and development of the CUPL over the past 60 years, it is perceivable that the CUPL has realized all-round development in the development of disciplines, education and development of human resources, scientific research, social service, international exchange, cultural inheritance, etc, and has taken firm steps on the course of building itself into a world-famous powerful university of law.
Firstly, the CUPL has kept its leading status in the quality of education and development of human resources:
Over the past 60 years, the CUPL has educated and developed human resources for the nation to the tune of more than 200,000 highly qualified and excellent professionals of various types, who played or have been playing important roles in judicial organs, prosecutorial organs, public security organs, organs of administration of justice, Communist Party or government organs, enterprises or public institutions at all levels. Besides, the CUPL has also educated and developed a large number of jurists with a leading status in various disciplines of jurisprudence.
So far, the CUPL has specifically set the target of educating and developing interdisciplinary, practical, innovative and international human resources that are of “a profound academic basis and a broad range of knowledge”, and that are “highly qualified and highly competent”, and has established a multi-platform selective educational mechanism for “interdisciplinary, multi-degree, inter-university and international” academic studies. In administering undergraduate education leading to the bachelor’s degree, the CUPL has successively operated six-year programs for the education and development of legal human resources in making experiments in reforming the model of legal human resources education and development, launched pilot projects of reform of the model of education and development of highlevel legal professionals, made explorations for operating experimental programs for education in mathematical economics and finance, etc; and has launched multiple reform of the system of academic courses of “quality engineering”, the system of general education, the system of exquisite courses, the system of practical teaching, the system of English language teaching, etc. In administering graduate education, the CUPL has launched a program of action for improving the quality of graduate education, has promoted in an in-depth way the implementation of programs of government scholarships for graduate studies abroad, and has started programs for financial assistance to activities of innovative practice by graduate students, making a great deal of achievements. Students of the CUPL have successively won awards at many national and international contests, showing outstanding performances. The CUPL has always ranked among the top-level universities in the same category in terms of the full employment rate among graduates. In 2011, the CUPL was rated by the Ministry of Education among the Top 50 Chinese universities in terms of the employment rate among graduates.
Secondly, the CUPL shows remarkable characteristics in the distribution of academic disciplines: Over the past 60 years, particularly since China adopted the policy of reform and opening up in 1978, the CUPL, in the capacity of a premiere university of legal education in China, has kept playing a pioneering role in operating legal education: The CUPL was among the first group of Chinese universities designated to operate doctoral programs in the disciplines of legal history, economic law, procedural law, comparative law, human rights law, and law and economics. The first group of Masters of Jurisprudence and the first group of Doctors of Jurisprudence educated in China were graduated by the CUPL. Besides, the first Chinese student earning a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence in a foreign country was also a graduate of the CUPL.
Over recent years, the CUPL has adhered to the concept of “guidance of academic leaders” and the notion of “development of large disciplines”, making remarkable achievements in the development of academic disciplines: Presently, the CUPL boasts 18 disciplines of undergraduate education leading to the bachelor’s degree, 68 points authorized to entitle graduate students with the master’s degree, 27 points authorized to grant the doctor’s degree, two centers for postdoctoral studies, and three major platforms for higher education leading to the MBA, MPA and JM academic degrees, including three first-class disciplines for programs with the authority to grant the doctor’s degree and 13 firstclass disciplines for programs with the authority to grant the master’s degree, with the discipline of jurisprudence belonging to a national-level first-class priority discipline. The CUPL has successively ranked among the Chinese universities given priority in development under Project 211 of the State for promotion of higher education development launched by the Ministry of Education, and also among the Chinese universities involved in the program for “Establishment of the Platform for Innovation of Advantageous Disciplines for Project 985”, launched by the Ministry of Education. The structure of disciplinary systems of the CUPL is of characteristics and obvious advantages: With prominence given to the advantaged status of the priority discipline of jurisprudence, the CUPL has formed systems of academic disciplines that are the most complete and the most elaborate in China, and has taken a lead in the operation of higher education in China. The CUPL actively promotes development of such emerging advantaged academic disciplines as political science and Marxist theories, and has formed multidisciplinary systems covering the seven major disciplinary categories of jurisprudence, economics, administration, philosophy, history, literature and pedagogy. The CUPL vigorously promotes intercrossing and integration between the academic discipline of jurisprudence and other academic disciplines. As a result, the operation of interdisciplinary specialties by the CUPL on the basis of integration between jurisprudence and commercial science, integration between jurisprudence and political science, and integration of jurisprudence with sociology, journalism and communication, foreign languages, literature, history, philosophy, etc has aroused widespread public attention. The CUPL has succeeded in establishing a relatively complete system of academic disciplines covering almost the entirety of humanities and social sciences.
Thirdly, the CUPL has always maintained first-rate scientific research: The CUPL carries forward and innovates cultures of the rule of law, leads the change of jurisprudential theories and renewal of legal thoughts in China, and is an origin of innovation of jurisprudential theories and legal thoughts in China. Today, the CUPL boasts two priority bases for humanities and social sciences studies authorized by the Ministry of Education, one priority laboratory authorized by the Ministry of Education, one national human rights education and training base, one base for juvenile legal education authorized by the Ministry of Education, and one priority base for philosophy and social sciences studies authorized by Beijing City, which have made a series of landmark, innovative and practical scientific research achievements.
In the period of the 11th Five-Year Plan for Socioeconomic Development in China (2006-2010), the faculty of the CUPL undertook 337 vertical research projects and 612 horizontal research projects at the provincial or ministerial level, and published more than 5,700 dissertations, including 1,412 published through collection periodicals of the SCI, SSCI, CSSCI, etc. In the five-year period, a large number of excellent scientific research achievements made by the faculty of the CUPL won high commendation from academic circles or government departments, with 75 research achievements winning awards at the provincial or ministerial level or even higher. Besides, the number of nonpermanent scientific research institutions operated by the CUPL has kept growing rapidly, to the tune of 116 so far.
Fourthly, the CUPL boasts a generally powerful faculty: The faculty is the basis for the great cause of education. Only with the existence of a highly qualified faculty, will there be high-quality education. The CUPL always attaches great importance to the development of its faculty, and always views the faculty as the basis of the university. For many years, we have striven to seize all opportunities, create all conditions and launch all efforts to introduce talent from outside the university, develop talent within the university, and establish academic innovation teams. Meanwhile, we have actively implemented the national human resources education and development projects including the “Thousand Talent Plan” launched in 2008 to bring overseas talent to China to work for State enterprises and institutions, the “Yangtze River Scholars and Innovation Teams Development Plan”, the “Outstanding Young Talent Development Plan”, the “New Century Outstanding Human Resources Support Plan”, programs of the Ministry of Education for sending key young faculty members with higher educational institutions to conduct research or receive further education abroad, and projects of selecting through public appraisal national-level famous masters of education. Consequently, the CUPL has accumulated a large number of renowned masters in the academic circles, outstanding academic pacesetters, academic leaders and young faculty members as a powerful academic force, who form the powerful faculty of the CUPL with a complete system of echelons and with a rational structure.
Of the 812 permanent faculty members of the CUPL by the end of 2011, there had been five lifetime professors, two scholars under the “Yangtze River Scholars and Innovation Teams Development Plan”, two national-level outstanding teachers, one national-level famous master of education, 11 famous masters of education of Beijing City, seven who once earned the title of being among the “Top Ten Middle-Aged and Young Outstanding Jurists”, two winning prizes for young teachers granted by the Ministry of Education, three selected into the “New Century (Trans-Century) Hundred-ThousandTen Thousand Talent Development Project”, 26 selected into the “New Century Outstanding Human Resources Support Plan” of the Ministry of Education, one innovation team under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, and two nationallevel outstanding teaching teams, including 433 teachers of law, or over half of the permanent faculty of the CUPL. Therefore, the CUPL boasts a largest group of jurists for all universities in the world.
Fifthly, the CUPL generates extensive influence in social service provision and social contribution: The CUPL serves the nation and society with high-level education and development of human resources and achievement of academic successes, and leads the change of jurisprudential theories and renewal of legal thoughts in China. As a consultation and service center for legislation and decision making by the State, the CUPL has participated in almost all activities of legislation by the State since the its establishment. More than 20 professors with the CUPL worked as chiefs of the panel of legal experts or assumed other crucial posts in the process of making important national laws. Legal experts and scholars with the CUPL annually submit nearly 100 reports of investigation, research or consultation of various types to competent departments of the State. More than 30 teachers with the CUPL worked as chief lecturers at routine group studies in central theoretical groups organized by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC). Tens of teachers with the CUPL are regular guest experts at legal programs aired by China Central Television and other news media. The faculty members and students of the CUPL also plunge themselves into activities of legal knowledge popularization and legal aid, and do their bit in making contributions to building China into a country with the socialist rule of law.
And sixthly, the CUPL makes remarkable achievements in international cooperation and exchange: As a landmark window for foreign academic exchange in the field of jurisprudence on behalf of the State, the CUPL has for years actively advocated operation of higher education with a global vision and a worldly sight, vigorously implemented international development strategies, and managed to disseminate Chinese cultures to the rest of the world and conduct foreign academic communication and exchange.
So far, the CUPL has successively established relations of cooperation with 157 well-known universities and institutions in 39 countries and regions around the world. Each year, the CUPL sends nearly 1,000 faculty members and students to conduct study or academic exchange activities abroad through many programs of cooperation or exchange. The operation of the China-EU School of Law is the largest project of cooperation in the field of legal education between the Chinese government and the European Union (EU), and also the sole high-level international legal education cooperation project in China. Over recent years, the CUPL has successively become a signatory university to the“Project of Government Scholarships for Graduate Studies Abroad for High-Level Universities Established by the State and a partner university to the Erasmus Mundus ECW Lot 14 project, has been qualified to admit international students under the Chinese Government Scholarship Programs for foreign students pursuing academic studies in China, has joined such international cooperation projects as the EurasiaPacific University Alliance, and will join the grand alliance of world Confucius Institutes, in obvious promotion of the extent of internationalization of the CUPL.
III. Meticulous planning, highlighting characteristics, drawing new blueprints, content development, improvement of quality and writing new chapters of successfulness on a continued basis
According to its general development strategy, the CUPL will strive to build itself into an open, international, multidisciplinary and innovative world-famous powerful university of law. Therefore, the CUPL has worked out a“three-step” development strategy. So far, the university has smoothly completed the first step, and is taking the second step in a leap forward style. The 7th congress of Communist Party representatives and the outline of the program for the development of undertakings in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015) of the CUPL have both drawn up grand blueprints for future development of the CUPL. The CUPL will implement the Outline of the Program for Medium- and LongTerm National Educational Reform and Development (2010-2020) and the major planning adopted at the working meeting of the Ministry of Education on full-scale improvement of the quality of higher education, and will adhere to the policies of deepening reform of both structures and mechanisms, exerting all efforts to launch innovation in coordination, developing long-term strategic advantages for building the CUPL into a powerful university of law, and ushering in a new situation of the endeavor to build the CUPL into a powerful university of law, with scientific development as a theme, with full-scale improvement of the quality of education at the core, and with acceleration of a shift of the mode of content development as a leading line.
The CUPL will strive to improve the quality of education on a full scale, within the framework of content development: The quality of education will be the lifeline of any university, and the level of education operated by a university will fundamentally lie in the quality of its education and development of human resources. Therefore, the CUPL will take promotion of comprehensive development of man and adaptation to social needs as a fundamental criterion for measuring the level of its human resources education and development; will adhere to taking the path of content development with improvement of quality at the core; will adhere to taking promotion of healthy growth of students as the start point and basis for all work of the CUPL: will implement the requirement for human resources education and development with close integration between study of cultural knowledge and cultivation of ideological mentality, between innovative thinking and social practice and between comprehensive development and individual development; will strive to enhance the sense of responsibility of students to serve the country and serve the people, their innovative spirit of courageous exploration and their practical capacity of adeptness in solving problems; and will dedicate itself to the education and development of human resources for national governance and administration, for government for the people, and for academics and education, with particular priority given to the education and development of prominent interdisciplinary, practical, innovative and international human resources of political science and law and also outstanding innovative human resources with the spirit of the CUPL’s educational mottos of “Promotion of Virtue, Elucidation of Law, Thorough Study of Reasons, and Dedication to Public Interests”. Besides, the CUPL will make overall planning for all aspects of its work including the development of disciplines, education, teaching, scientific research, social service and faculty development, and will promote full-scale improvement of the quality and proficiency of its education, with full-scale improvement of the quality of human resources education and development at the core.
The CUPL will give full play to its functions as a university, within the framework of scientific development: Our mission is to build the CUPL into a major base of China for the education and development of highly qualified human resources, high-level scientific research, high-quality social service and high-dimensional cultural inheritance and innovation. Therefore, while efforts are made to improve the quality of human resources education and development, full play must be given to the roles of the CUPL in scientific research, social service and cultural inheritance and innovation. In the aspect of scientific research, the CUPL will further adapt itself to major needs of social development; aim at the forefront of the international development; launch strategic and forward-looking research and research for public interests; support high-quality higher education with high-level scientific research; and present more fine works and great accomplishments. In the aspect of social service, the CUPL will step up application of its achievements in scientific research; actively organize and establish strategic alliances between industry, academia and the research community; aim at major theoretical and practical issues in socioeconomic development; strengthen all-round exchange and cooperation with relevant departments, local governments, industrial associations, leading enterprises and various other types of social bodies; and practically give play to its functions of highlevel consultancy and research. And in the aspect of cultural inheritance and innovation, the CUPL will further inherit and carry forward the fine traditional cultures of the Chinese nation. In particular, it will assume the great mission of carrying forward cultures of the socialist rule of law in China, promote international exchange and cooperation, and serve as an emissary for exchange in law and the relevant academic and cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world, in order to commonly contribute to the development and progress of the whole mankind.
The CUPL will improve and highlight its advantages in operating higher education, within the framework of vigorously promoting its development with unique characteristics: The CUPL will strive to build itself into a multidisciplinary university with legal education as a characteristic and advantage, and will serve as an architect, leader and operator of development of legal education. In striving to strengthen characteristics of its operation of higher education, efforts must be made to grasp the core processes in which characteristics of operation of education will form and develop, vigorously maintain existing characteristics, actively develop new characteristics, and establish a system of ideas, system of regimes, structures, mechanisms and system of competency assessment for promoting the operation of education with characteristics. In doing so, the CUPL will carry forward the spirit of “daring first”, seize all opportunities, and strive to become a core campus for the education and development of prominent legal human resources, a model campus for the establishment of university education systems and a pioneering campus for the coordination of innovative planning. While maintaining and carrying forward its advantaged status in jurisprudence, the CUPL will exert great efforts to foster and develop cross-disciplinary branches of learning and emerging disciplines, and greatly promote integration of jurisprudence with political science, philosophy, economics, administration, sociology, journalism and communication, literature and other academic disciplines, in order to form a multidisciplinary structure of education with integrated diversity, with pluralistic development in integration, and with balanced and coordinated development of all disciplines.
The CUPL will strive to build itself into an innovative university, within the framework of coordinated innovation: To build the CUPL into an innovative university is a target of operation of education by the CUPL. It means that the CUPL will, with reform and innovation as motive forces, keep strengthening its innovation capacity, strive to educate and develop outstanding innovative human resources, innovate theoretical knowledge, innovate social service, and promote cultural inheritance and innovation. The CUPL will take an active part in implementation of the Program for Promoting Innovation Capacity of Higher Education, and greatly promote in-depth cooperation between the CUPL and other higher educational institutions, scientific research institutions, governments, enterprises, etc both in China and abroad in multiple fields, with promotion of the capacity of trinity innovation of human resources, disciplines and scientific research at the core. It will make explorations to develop new models of multiform coordinated innovation, give play to its roles as think tanks and brain trusts of law and other disciplines, actively promote knowledge innovation and regional innovation, strive to promote its overall academic research capacity and international influence, and play major roles in the development of innovation systems in China. It will also, in accordance with promotion of coordinated innovation, actively step up education and teaching reforms, strengthen the development of its faculty, innovate models of human resources education and development, and promote its scientific research to higher levels, in order to make a series of major landmark achievements, develop a series of outstanding innovative human resources, and build itself into a modern innovative university on a full scale.
The salutary influence of education operated by the CUPL over the past six decades has witnessed the course of the most arduous endeavor to great success by the CUPL in an entire cycle of 60 years. Tied to the rule of law for six decades so far, the CUPL is an embodiment of the quiet contribution by the entire faculty and staff of the university over an entire cycle of 60 years. At a new start point in history, the CUPL will further implement the Scientific Outlook on Development, continue emancipating the mind, stick to reform and innovation, improve the quality of its education, keep advancing toward the target of building itself into an open, international, multidisciplinary and innovative worldfamous powerful university of law, write new chapters of successfulness on a continued basis, assume the sacred mission of imparting knowledge and educating people, assume the glorious mission of promoting the governance of China by law, and actively contribute to realizing the great cause of building China with the rule of law and rejuvenating the Chinese nation.