Personal Statement
Applicant: Zhang Lei (No.: 111)  Applied Program: LLM

When I was working as an teaching assistant in Sino-American Link (China Program)中美紐帶 in the summer of 2002, I met a student from Ohio who, though deaf, was so proficient in Chinese as a result of years of diligence and perseverance in the language studies. I became wordless honestly at the moment he started to make his very first presentation that was so strikingly impressive. At that moment, I started to tell myself that time is flying but each and every second can be as much colorful and significant as we want it to be, if we are bold and industrious enough to address whatever challenges we may encounter. Resolutely, I have identified criminal law as the object of my pursuit of advanced studies, because I wish I could work hard for the rest of my life to make contribution to help the restoration of social justice and establishment of a genuine rule of law for my country.

Currently I am a senior student at the Law School of Peking University. As many other people around, I study law in order to help in realization of social order and impartiality, and as I continue with the specialty studies I become all the more motivated. As a major of law, I have attended many courses and read extensively, and now I have started to work independently on certain issues and to learn more of sociological, philosophical and economic knowledge so as to enrich myself. During this process of schooling and growth, I have come to identify the object of my greatest interest, criminal law. I have obtained “A” for both criminal law and criminal procedure law. Despite my profound interests in a range of areas, I stood one of the top ten of the entire session (totaling 150 students) in terms of credits of undergraduate courses. I know it wouldn’t be possible but for my keen interest in the specialty and a wholehearted devotion to the studies.

To conduct independent studies and research are the two major tasks I have completed during the undergraduate program. Since I was a sophomore, I have altogether authored and published three articles, namely, On the Essence of Common Law, Economic Analysis of the Right to Muteness, and Investigation Report of Evidencing by Witnesses During A Criminal Procedure. The last one, which was based on extensive investigations and interviews with nearly 200 judges, prosecutors, counsels and witnesses and commons who appeared in court, gives a true reflection of the reality and is highly considered and made referential by China Prosecutors Journal, a national key publication on legal practice. In addition, I also participated in the famous Challenge Cup Collegiate Paper Contest, and was one of the only two prize-winners of Beijing contest area.

I am fully aware that sound interpersonal skills and motivation of team spirit are the basic personal qualities required of a good legal practitioner, so I have been very active in taking part in various social activities during the undergraduate period. I used to be the class monitor and the assistant information officer of the Law School‘s Students’ Union. I find these rewarding experiences extremely helpful in developing leadership skills. Besides, I interned in a lawyer company of the Law School of Peking University and subsequently in Mingtai Company, where I gained substantial knowledge about the practical problems of law enforcement in China. It is worthy of a special note that throughout the schooling days in the University, I have been the key player of basketball team of the School, and have taken part in quite many contests and won prizes for the School. I always find playing the ball extremely helpful in developing team motivation, willpower and a spirit of going all out for success.

The major driving forces behind my identification of criminal law are my profound interest in this subject and knowledge of so many problems related with criminal law that need now addressing urgently. For instance, a misjudged case we find during the criminal procedure in China is just because of the absence of witnesses who are supposed to appear in court. So it becomes extremely important, considering the current social circumstances in China, to have a good look at the causes of preventing the witnesses from appearing in court and to explore a best possible solution thereto. When I was studying in the University, I came across a number of books written by foreign law professors, and I found their research methodologies very interesting. I believe good methodologies are critical to successful studies and analysis of specific issues. In addition, when I was working in the Sino-American Link (China Program), I became acquainted with quite many American students, who helped me a lot to understand the cultural and ideological differences between China and the western world. These unique experiences form the basis of my decision to apply for admission by your acclaimed university. For I believe that extensively comparative studies and intensive knowledge of different cultures and histories are absolutely necessary for me to study law well.

In my studies in the future, I will focus on the courses on criminal procedure and evidencing law as well as the methodology studies, and will integrate the knowledge obtained in these courses with the witnessing in court and other criminal procedure issues that I will address in the future. The issues related to witnessing and protection of the rights of the defendants are as much a hot-spot as a bottleneck of theoretical studies of law in China. So far I have already read quite extensively on these issues and conducted some research work. The aforesaid two prize-winning articles that have been published reflect part of my observations on these issues. Based on the published Investigation Report of Evidencing by Witnesses, I am now working on my graduation thesis titled Studies on the Witnessing . I wish I could continue with the exploration in this area in the future studies, in order to work out a perfect legislative approach from sociological and economic perspectives.

To become a criminal law professor is what I aim to be for a life career. I wish to explore the field of criminal law and to contribute to the development of rule of law and an improved criminal law of China. Anglo-American legal system claims the most up-to-date achievements of studies in procedure law in addition to the best methodologies applicable for research in the field of law. While attaining the goal of my life, I will surely benefit tremendously from the resources of faculty, dynamic academic atmosphere and unparalleled facilities of your distinguished university. Moreover, I am confident that, considering my keen interest in criminal law, the fundamental knowledge I gained in this field and a spirit of perseverance I have always cherished, I will make substantial contribution to the sector of law of China in the future. In this I firmly believe: success is the product of combination of interest, competence and hard work.