On August 20, 2020, the ninth Han Kun Youth Legal Scholarship competition concluded successfully. The competition consisted of four rounds: review of application materials, preliminary interviews, written examinations, and second interviews. 10 highly qualified legal talents with outstanding academic credentials were selected as candidates for second interviews after the first three rounds. Today, after rigorous appraisal and selection by a panel of judges (comprising well-known law school professors and Han Kun partners), five candidates were selected as scholarship winners, each of whom will receive a scholarship of RMB 100,000. This year's winners include Chen Sihan, from Renmin University of China, Cao Xiangchen from Peking University, Fan Xiaolu, from Peking University, Liu Xinran, from Renmin University of China, and Wang Boyang, from the University of International Business and Economics; another five candidates were awarded honorary awards and each will receive a scholarship of RMB 10,000.
The list of winners for the Han Kun Youth Legal Scholarship and honorary award winners is as follows (in an alphabetical order):
Winners of the Han Kun Youth Legal Scholarship
Chen Sihan
Ms. Chen graduated from the Renmin University Law School with a bachelor's degree and will soon attend Tsinghua University Law School for a master's degree program, majoring in civil and commercial law. Ms. Chen has impressive academic performance and previously won a national scholarship. She has also been awarded the title of an Outstanding Graduate in Beijing. Ms. Chen shows interests in social practice, and has participated in or led a number of academic practice projects. In addition, she has also conducted in-depth research on topics such as circuit trial systems, consumer rights protection, and quasi-financial supervision. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Chen mentioned that it was such a blessing to participate in the Han Kun scholarship competition at the beginning of her new legal journey, allowing her to reflect on and reaffirm herself. She hopes that everyone can discover his or her goals along the long journey of legal study and then stick to and achieve those goals.
Cao Xiangchen
Ms. Cao graduated from Peking University Law School, and will attend Cambridge University Law School for an LL.M. program. Ms. Cao has impressive academic credentials and has won a national scholarship. She has participated in the Silk Road Soar Youth Leadership Program as the student leader of Peking University, and has traveled to Israel, Kyrgyzstan, and other countries to conduct in-depth research on issues such as ethnic diversity and the education of abandoned children. She wishes to become an expert in a certain legal practice area and grow with both a Chinese perspective and global vision. Ms. Cao embraces idea of the Han Kun scholarship and believes that Han Kun shows its long-term view and caring by the firm's willingness to support students to study abroad in the currently depressed environment. She appealed the students to believe in the power of time, to temper their minds in hard times, discover their goals for legal study and work hard towards their goals and strive to promote the progress of the rule of law in China.
Fan Xiaolu
Ms. Fan received a bachelor's degree and master's degree in international law from Peking University Law School and will attend Yale University for an LL.M. program. She has participated in the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, where she achieved outstanding results, first as a player and then as a coach. Post-graduation, she served as a research assistant to several professors and assisted in composition of monographs themed on international law. Ms. Fan adores diverse cultures and environments and is willing to meet new friends from different cultures. She aspires to become an excellent scholar of international law, and aims to understand and build the relationship between international law and China and the Chinese society from an interdisciplinary perspective. In her acceptance speech, she mentioned that, due to the influence of COVID-19, individuals face restrictions in activities and studying abroad has become increasingly difficult, which also permits us more opportunities to reflect on ourselves in the turbulent environment. She was greatly touched by Han Kun, which is willing to care for and support young students through scholarships.
Liu Xinran
Ms. Liu graduated from the Renmin University of China, Experimental Class of Journalism Law with bachelor's degrees in law and journalism, and has also studied as an exchange student at the University of California, Davis. She will attend the University of Pennsylvania for an LL.M. program this year. Ms. Liu shows interest in public welfare and serves as the head of the legal department of an education NGO, which focuses on the legal protection of vulnerable children. She hopes to become an excellent international commercial lawyer by combining her personal interests with the needs of the times, and assist Chinese companies in protection of their rights and interests in their "going abroad" and "overseas rights protection". Ms. Liu mentioned in her acceptance speech that the Han Kun Scholarship winners are selected from young talents who have the courage and ability to face the substantial changes of the times. Being selected by the judges and her communications with the other nine talents reaffirmed her confidence and motivation. In the upcoming year of studying abroad, as well as the time after she completes her studies and begins her legal career, Ms. Liu will always keep in mind the "aspirational words" she delivered today and brave the wind and waves towards her goal.
Wang Boyang
Ms. Wang completed her bachelor and master's programs from the University of International Business and Economics and successively received an honorary bachelor's degree in law, a bachelor's degree in literature, and a master's degree in law. She will attend Harvard Law School for further studies. During her undergraduate and post-graduate stages, she actively participated in various domestic and international moot court competitions and won the CIETAC Cup Championship while serving as the team leader. Ms. Wang hopes that she will never cease the pursuit of fairness and justice represented by law, and aspires to become a legal person with a warm heart. She appeals to more young students to actively sign up for the Han Kun Youth Legal Scholarship competition, because she believes youth is the greatest capital they possess and young people should be careful but also dare to take risks.
List of Honorary Award Winners for the Han Kun Youth Legal Scholarship
Guo Yiwei
Ms. Guo graduated from the Beijing Normal University Law School with bachelor's degrees respectively in law and German, and has been admitted into the LL.M. program at Cambridge University. She has achieved outstanding academic performance and has won a national scholarship. Ms. Guo shows interest in international dispute resolution and has participated in international law moot court competitions such as Jessup and ICC, where she achieved excellent results. In addition, Ms. Guo has also participated as a research assistant in research on the construction of legal systems applicable outside China. Ms. Guo hopes her studies in Cambridge will help her to be closer to realizing her dream of becoming an expert in international dispute resolution, and she aspires to contribute to efforts of Chinese enterprises to protect their rights and interests in international dispute resolution.
Lin Ziyu
Ms. Lin graduated from Tsinghua University with a bachelor's degree in law and economics and will soon attend Harvard University for a J.D. program. During her undergraduate and post-graduate stages, she achieved outstanding academic performance, won multiple national scholarships, and obtained the titles of Outstanding Graduate of Beijing and Honorary Dean's Graduate. In addition, she also served as the editor-in-chief of the English language legal journal Tsinghua China Law Review. Ms. Lin has decided to work hard to gain a solid grasp of legal knowledge and skills during the three-year J.D. program so that she can advance in the field of litigation in the future.
Lu Quanzhu
Ms. Lu graduated from Wuhan University with a bachelor's degree and studied as an exchange student at the National Taiwan University Law School. In September this year, she will attend Oxford University Law School to study law and finance. During her undergraduate career, she achieved outstanding academic performance and won a national scholarship. Ms. Lu's hobbies include traveling, hiking, food, and musicals. She aspires to become an outstanding commercial lawyer and serve clients with exceptional legal services.
Liu Shukai
Mr. Liu graduated from Nanjing University with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, and from Tsinghua University with a master's degree in law. He completed a master's program this year on human rights at Peking University Law School and will attend the University of Pennsylvania for an LL.M. program. Mr. Liu's academic interests mainly include financial supervision in the post-epidemic era, and theories on industry and commerce, human rights, and emergency circumstances.
Xiang Nan
Ms. Xiang graduated from the China University of Political Science and Law and studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science for an LL.M. program (majoring in business law and corporate law). She will soon attend Oxford University for an LL.M. program. Ms. Xiang has impressive academic credentials and won a national scholarship. She enjoys yoga and documentaries and is always willing to try new things. Ms. Xiang suggests students who plan to apply for the Han Kun Scholarship to improve their professional skills, to closely watch current affairs, and to develop their independent thinking and opinions on social events.
In order to encourage outstanding legal talents to continue their studies and promote the lasting progress and prosperity of the Chinese legal industry, Han Kun Law Offices, as a leading full-service Chinese law firm, established the Han Kun Youth Legal Scholarship competition in 2012, aiming to grant scholarships to excellent young students who graduated from recognized colleges and universities in China (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), are soon to participate in recognized programs at well-known law schools either at home or abroad, and are willing to pursue a legal career in mainland China after completing their studies.
Han Kun has received high praise and a warm reception from law students across the country after deciding to hold the Han Kun Youth Legal Scholarship competition despite the influence of COVID-19 and the fact that we would face more difficulties and inconveniences in preparing for and holding the event during this time. Considering the special circumstances this year, the scholarship judges accordingly adjusted the competition procedures and scholarship distribution rules. To best protect the safety and health of all participants, both the interviews and written examinations were conducted remotely online and the on-site awards ceremony was also held online. In addition, students who delay freshman registration to next year due to COVID-19 will still be entitled to their scholarships.
At the virtual award ceremony, Mr. Li Xiaoming, a partner of Han Kun and a member of the judges panel, delivered a speech on behalf of the judges. He mentioned: "This year is very extraordinary, and it is the first time that we have conducted the initial and second interviews online and witnessed the outstanding performance of participants through a live camera feed. Since the first Han Kun Youth Legal Scholarship competition was held, we have selected nearly a hundred winners and finalists who have attended or will attend world-renowned law schools for further studies, and become active post-graduation in various law-related fields. These students are part of Han Kun's efforts to promote the progress of Chinese legal society. We feel very honored and are proud of our contribution."
