The wind and rain pounded the harbor, robbing the ceremony of its intended poignant backdrop against the sunset. Sitting in the second-to-last row in my rain-drenched suit, I witnessed the almost simultaneous lowering of the red, white and blue of the Union Jack and the raising of the red and yellow of the People’s Republic of China. As the People’s Liberation Army moved in, the HMS Britannia left the former British colony and sent its last transmission before being decommissioned: “I have relinquished the administration of this Government, God save the Queen.” Living on this little bastion to capitalism on the edge of China as it struggles to build itself into a competitive economy has given me a unique perspective; I have been witness to the importance of establishing laws that both create a stable economy and protect cultural individuality.

Teaching and traveling throughout China, I have seen a nation in its economic infancy, grasping at a few scattered free markets as a means to greater prosperity. Unfortunately, the lack of modern law and surrounding infrastructure to protect property, both concrete and intellectual, has persuaded foreign investors to look elsewhere. While interning in Allen and Overy’s London office, I watched financiers bail on proposed investments, concerned by China’s poor legal system and means of enforcing what few significant laws were present. The scandal involving the Fuijin power authority over the $700 million Meizhou Wan power project left the lender consortium with tremendous financial losses. The incident fostered grave reservations regarding investment in China, and that is only one such example of this trend.

Having studied economics for ten years, I have realized that ideas are perhaps the most important ingredient in sustained growth. Since intellectual property (IP) law guarantees that people can have their own ideas and profit from them, economics and law are inextricably linked to the development of civil society. The right to have one’s own ideas is more than a political maxim or a fundamental right; it is an economic necessity. The realization of the strong links between IP law and economics compelled me to research this area of law further. What I at first brushed off as a fairly boring subcategory relating to copyrights and patents soon revealed itself a complex system undergoing extensive flux as it adapts to deal with the ramifications of globalization and technological revolution.

IP law, which has traditionally been governed and enforced domestically, has now been forced into the international arena. The evolution of a global economy has caused conflicts such as the simultaneous registration of identical copyrights and patents in different domestic jurisdictions. Though the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents in particular have attempted to harmonize IP law, the mapping of the human genome has brought new questions to the fore regarding IP rights over potentially profitable genetic information. Perhaps even more pressing is whether a different set of criteria should be applied to the patents of drugs needed in less developed nations to combat rampant disease, such as the marked proliferation of HIV in several African countries.

Some of these challenges are purely logistical; some, however, force global society to answer important questions regarding what sort of balance should be sought between safeguarding rights and safeguarding lives. The role of IP law in fueling economic growth demands that such rights not be sacrificed cheaply. These are important and challenging times for IP law; my role as part of the new legal establishment as it undergoes such upheaval offers me an intellectually stimulating and rewarding career.

Having looked at all available options, I have concluded that pursuing a JD in the United States will take the same time as other, more conventional routes taken by my counterparts here in England, as well as provide me with the qualifications needed to practice in America. My experiences practicing law in the United States would contribute greatly to my professional development, regardless of whether I ultimately choose to continue to work in America or return home to Hong Kong. Though a JD is a professional qualification, it is also a dense, detailed exploration of law and human interaction, something to be pursued out of academic curiosity in addition to professional accreditation.

At Winchester College and the London School of Economics, I have been extremely fortunate to have been taught by passionate teachers and engaging students, individuals who have cultivated and fed my intellectual curiosity. Coupled with my unique life in China, a country struggling to define itself in the new global economy, these experiences have equipped me with the academic knowledge and practicable wisdom to make valuable contributions as we manage the challenges facing the legal system in the 21st century.

點評：

文章主要寫的是作者法學之路的所感所想。但前面的香港回歸與國內的經濟法規的不足，與下面的段落銜接不足，應該加以一些過渡性的句子，否則初看只是一篇關于香港回歸與中國投資環境的文章。文章講到基因圖是探求道德與知識產權的沖突表達的是對該職業的興趣，而如果以知識產權為題目，后面是兩段又并不切題。建議如果調整一下所用的例子，要更有針對性，后面兩段要點題。

翻譯：

香港/知識產權

風雨侵襲著海港,正逆著陽光干擾著本來有意令人傷感的典禮。坐在倒數第二排全身濕透的我目睹了英國國旗和中華人民共和國國旗同時分別下降和上升。當中國人民解放軍進場時，英國政府的公務人員離開英國以前的殖民地并在退役前發出最后一次廣播：“我已經放棄了香港政府的管理權，愿天主保佑英女皇。”自小在這個中國邊緣資本主義小地區生活的我，見證了香港努力奮斗成為一個具有強勁競爭力的經濟體，亦給以一種特別的觀點看法。我親身感受到立法創造一個穩定的經濟體系和保護文化獨立的重要性。

在中國游學期間，我發現一個處于經濟發展初期的國家，開放一些離散的特區作為取得更大繁榮的方法。不幸的是，由于缺乏法律和周邊基礎架構保護財產，包括有形和無形的，這樣使投資者望而卻步。當在Allen and Overy的倫敦公司實習時，我注意到受到中國落后系統所關心的金融家從被提議中的項目中得到保釋,以及同時意味著少數重要強制執行的法律將會出臺。而其中的丑聞包括Fuijin電力以7億授權于Meizhou Wan電力項目，致使貸方財團蒙受具大財政的損失。這樣的事件使投資者進入中國有所保留，而這僅是這種趨勢中的一個例子而矣。

經過十年的經濟學學習，我認識到創意或者是保持持續增長的最重要因素。從知識產權（IP）法保證人們可以擁有自己的創意和創意中產生的利益可得知，經濟和法律不可避免與文明社會發展聯結在一起。擁有自己的創意的權利比一個政治格言或者一個基礎權利更加重要；這是經濟的必要。知識產權法和經濟的強大聯結作用這一現實促使我更深入地調查這一法律領域。像一個公平的而又令人煩厭與版權和著作權有關的領域一樣，我開始所丟棄的是回顧它原有的所遭受廣泛變遷的復雜系統，因為它適合于解決全球化與技術革命的分歧。

合乎國情地從傳統上受到管理和實行的知識產權法已經被強制應用到國際領域。經濟全球化所帶來的沖突，如同樣的版權和專利在不同國家權限的現時注冊。通過世界知識產權組織及專利權常務委員會特別嘗試協調知識產權法，人類基因圖所帶來的新問題致使以前奉行知識產權超越了基因的潛在利益。或許更多的爭論是是否允許一個不同系列的標準上應用于少數發展中國家用以抗擊猖獗的疾病（如在非洲傳染能力強艾滋病）的病人藥物上。

這些挑戰中有一些只是純粹的物流問題；有一些，無論如何，促使全球社會去回應我們在保護權益和保護生命中所要尋求的平衡。知識產權法在加速經濟增長需求扮演重要角色，這種權利不會輕易的犧牲。這些是知識產權法的重要和具有挑戰性的時刻。當它遭受到如此劇變時作為新法律的制定者這一個角色給我提供了一個技術性地刺激的有意義的職業。

經過考慮所有可行選項，我已經總結出在美國攻讀一個法學博士所花費的時間將會與其他國家一樣，以及有比我在英國的副本更多的常規路徑，就如在我取得學位前必需在美國實踐。我在美國的法律實踐經驗對我的職業發展有很大的幫助，不管我最終是否在美國從事工作或者是回香港。取得一個法學博士學位只是一個職業資格，但它也是密集細致的法律和人類交互作用的探索，是一些出去追尋理論好奇心職業鑒定補充。

在溫徹斯特大學和倫敦經濟學院，我非常幸運地得到熱情的老師和有能力的學生的教導，各自培養和滿足我的對知識的好奇。外加我在一個努力奮斗在全球化經濟中定位自己的中國的獨特生活，這些經歷用理論知識和能夠做出貢獻的可行學識來武裝我，應對21世紀法律系統的挑戰。