TRANSCRIPT: FIRST LADY, ALBRIGHT AT LEGAL RESEARCH CENTER
(U.S. will work with China to strengthen rule of law)Beijing -- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton complimented China for the strides Chinese society is making to move the rule of law from promise to reality, and for the determination of Chinese citizens to gain for everyone the fullest protection under the law.
In remarks at the Peking University Women's Legal Research Center June 29, the Secretary said: "In the United States and all over the world, people are still struggling to meet that ideal. But we know that a strong and fair and accessible legal system benefits everyone. It protects the rights of ordinary citizens; it ensures a level playing field for business thus encouraging growth and investments; and by making government accountable, it gives people a stake in the system."
The United States, Albright said, wants to work with both China's citizens and its government to open and strengthen legal institutions through cooperation on legal education, administrative law, commercial law, protection of human rights, and legal aid to the poor.
Following is the official White House transcript of the event:
(begin transcript)
FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT
PEKING UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S LEGAL RESEARCH CENTER
BEIJING, CHINA
JUNE 29, 1998DIRECTOR GUO: Dear Mrs. Clinton, dear Secretary Albright, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning.
I've been longing to extend a warm welcome on behalf of the Women's Legal and Research Center to our honorable guests, Mrs. Clinton and Secretary Albright.
We've come to discuss an old and realistic issue -- the protection of women's rights and interests by means of law. We highly appreciate this rare opportunity to exchange our experiences regarding this far-reaching and significant cause. It's a privilege for us to have this opportunity today. We are truly glad of this opportunity. In order to facilitate a productive conversation, I will ask Ms. Guo Jianwei to begin a brief introduction of the Center and its work. Ms. Guo is a lawyer and Executive Director of the Women's Legal Service and Research Center.
The time is very short. I will try to put as much as possible into the few minutes I've been given.
The Center was founded in December 1995. It is a public interest law firm affiliated with the Law Department of Peking University. Its special mission is to provide women with legal aid and take care of research regarding women and law. The members from the Center come from students, faculty from the Law Department of Peking University and some members invited from outside the University.
The Center is set up to meet the needs of protecting women's rights and the needs of the society as a whole. The Center has carried out three major tasks. The first one is to offer free legal consultation to women from all over the country. We offer consultation by means of hotline, correspondence and sometimes we receive visitors. This Center also offers a window for some members of the Center to understand the society. The Center has received about 4,000 visits since its establishment. All these issues through the visits have reflected the major issues of the society.
The second job that the Center is engaged in is to offer legal aid. The first target group of legal aid is very poor women who cannot afford legal services on their own. The second part of our work is about major important cases. The third type of cases the Center has received is cases that are representative of social issues we are facing. For example, married women's worker's rights and interests, and senior women professionals' early retirements and empowerments. These issues are also receiving wide public attention.
The reason we focused on these three types of cases is that we want to distinguish ourselves from the clinic style of legal aid organizations which have existed in other countries. As we have understood, the clinic style of legal aid organizations may put their resources into all kinds of cases without any selection. But in China, we are limited in terms of human and financial resources, so we have to focus our resources on important issues. We hope by focusing our resources on major and important cases, we can push programs on general issues that face women.
At this time at the Center, we have received about 246 cases, and a full selection was chosen of over 100 cases of which there are 16 major important cases. So far we have closed 102 cases. Some of the other cases are still in a very long process of litigation. One feature of the major important cases is that they have complex facts, and they have been in litigation for a very long time, and so it is very difficult to close those cases and get them resolved. The many ways we offer legal assistance to our clients, for example, a means of arbitration and mediation and litigation. Sometimes we also provide legal opinions to courts and call for particular attention to our issues. The third aspect of the Center's work is to carry out research on major issues that face women. Our purpose is to provide policy opinions to the legislative and administrative organs of the state.
We believe that a good policy suggestion would be more effective than dealing with opinions of cases. This will also suit the specific situation of the University which offers legal aid to the society. We think it's a good model for the University's Legal Research Center which can combine both practice and research. An effective research and effective litigation work has received a lot of attention from society as well as support from the University. Our work has been imported by news agencies at home and abroad. We have full confidence in our work because we believe that our work will help to promote women's rights and interests and promote the interest of society.
Time is short and so I will stop here.
MODERATOR: Thank you Ms. Guo for the introduction, and now it's time for Mrs. Clinton and Secretary Albright and the professors from the Department to discuss what Ms. Guo has talked about.
SEC. ALBRIGHT: Thank you very much, Professor Wei, Ms. Guo, and Peking University officials and the Center's staff and clients for hosting this very interesting discussion. I think from these initial remarks, it is very clear that there are two points that need to be highlighted: The strides that Chinese society is making in turning the rule of law from promise to reality, and the determination from Chinese citizens like you to gain for everyone the fullest protection under the law. I think it's very clear from Ms. Guo's remarks that the work of the Center is innovative and courageous, and the programs you've launched benefit the women and the poor and disadvantaged throughout China by making the protections and benefits of law more widely available. In the United States and all over the world, people are still struggling to meet that ideal. But we know that a strong and fair and accessible legal system benefits everyone. It protects the rights of ordinary citizens; it ensures a level playing field for business thus encouraging growth and investments; and by making government accountable, it gives people a stake in the system.
The United States wants to work with both China's citizens and its government as you strive to open and strengthen your legal institutions and that's why President Clinton and President Jiang agreed Saturday to launch new cooperation on key judicial and legal subjects. We will work closely together on legal education, we will hold judicial training seminars and expand exchanges to increase professionalism among lawyers and judges, and the United States will help China develop legal teaching materials.
We will also cooperate on reforming administrative law which governs how bureaucracies deal with citizens and businesses. And we will support China's efforts to develop commercial law that is transparent, consistent, and fair.
And we will hold conferences in the next 12 months on several important areas of law, including the protection of human rights in law and legal aid to the poor inspired by the work of Centers such as yours.
These are only initial projects but we hope that these meetings, exchanges and partnerships will inspire further cooperation and further progress, and I look forward to active involvement of non-governmental organizations such as the American Bar Association, the main professional organization of American lawyers which is completely independent of our government.
I hope that these projects will have a positive impact on your work as well as the cause of legal reform throughout China, and I look forward to all American organizations being able to see the work that you are doing here.
And I'm certain that when the history of legal reform in China is written, this Center and its founders will have earned a place in it and the gratitude of the millions of Chinese people whose rights you are defending.
I congratulate you again for the path-breaking work you are doing, and we're looking forward to hearing more from you.
Now I am not a lawyer myself, but I am the mother, however, of all lawyers. I have two daughters who are lawyers who are married to two lawyers. (Laughter) But I would now like to introduce one of America's leading advocates for women and the disadvantaged who is also a lawyer who has spent a lot of time on these subjects and who also just happens to be the First Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
FIRST LADY: Thank you, Secretary Albright, and Professor Wei, and Director Guo. I'm so pleased to be here at this Center for Women's Law Studies and Legal Services at Peking University.
I'm also very pleased at the announcements that Secretary Albright has just made about the increased cooperation both between the governments of our two countries and between organizations such as this one and likeminded ones in our country to further the rule of law and provide more opportunities for people to have access to the legal system.
I have been a legal aid lawyer, I have run a legal aid service, I have chaired the board of our national legal services cooperation, and I know firsthand from the work I have done on behalf of clients and on behalf of major cases and issues how important the work of this Center is. And I want to hear more from the other panelists about the work that you are doing, the clients you are helping, the major cases you are bringing, and the policy issues that you are advocating before courts and legislative and administrative bodies.
Because I thought the Director's explanation of the functions of the Center was very clear and exactly the focus that a Center such as this must have, because there is no way, as I have found from my own experience, for a Center to take care of all the clients who need personal help. That is why it is important to have a combination of free legal consultation as the Center has, of offering legal aid to poor women, and taking on major cases and representation of social issues so that the changes that can be brought about will affect far more than just one client. And I think that the research that is done and the training of young lawyers is also very important.
PROFESSOR WEI: I will tell you more about the question of the relationship between the Center and the University. The reason we set up this Center is to provide a window for our students and faculty so this window can help them understand these legal issues. And this is also a window through which we will provide legal services to the society. We hope through these services we can identify the most critical issues we face and we can find solutions to such issues. As to what Mrs. Clinton has talked about, we can use this (inaudible) to the issue in general. (inaudible) of the Center. We would like to hear a brief selection from our legal professors on the speeches by Mrs. Clinton and Secretary Albright.
SEC. ALBRIGHT: Let me just add, before the professors speak, that I was also a professor of law and ran a legal services center much like this and found, as Professor Yu has said, what an important window it was for my students into the real world of peoples lives and the operation of the legal system.
(No Comments)
SEC. ALBRIGHT: I've never known law professors to be quiet. (Laughter)
RESPONSE: I believe our professors really have a lot to say but I'm afraid our time is short.
Today in the audience, some of them are graduate students in the Law Department, they have reported that the work of the Center has helped them to understand more of society.
FIRST LADY: That is very interesting, because I see the hands that went up, these are all young women. I believe, is that right? Were all the hands young women? (Laughter) So there is a great move on for more active women lawyers in China.
------ : These students have been licensed to practice law. They have participated in the major important cases that the Center has received, and they have done a great job.
FIRST LADY: Could you perhaps give me an example or two of the major important cases that the Center has done? Because I know I have read a lot about the work you have done, particularly in the field of marriage and employment, and the progress that you have created because of the cases you have brought in interpreting the 1992 Marriage and Family Law, and in interpreting the employment laws.
RESPONSE: The Center has focused its resources on labor cases, (inaudible) cases, and marriage and family cases, and we have clients present, and should I just give you a summary of the cases?
FIRST LADY: Yes.
RESPONSE: One of the kinds of the cases I am going to present to you is a group suit, and one of the clients is here, and I'm really moved by her persistence in pursuing this lawsuit. This case happened in Beijing, but the client is originally from Hebei Province, Laixue County. The case was reported to the Center at the beginning of 1997. This is a back-wage case, where the boss owes a delayed payment for the worker. The workers have worked at the factory for about a year, but the boss has refused to pay them. The workers got angry, and complained to the Department about this. Some months have passed between their complaints to the administration in charge of these cases and their coming to the Center. The case was acquitted by the Labor Arbitration Committee of the west district of Beijing Municipality, and the workers won the case. But the boss had appealed this arbitration decision to the Court, so that case is in the process of litigation. This case has not yet been resolved because it involves many legal issues, such as the liability of the legal subjects, and the parties to the contract.
FIRST LADY: Can I ask the client how she found her way to the Center to seek legal assistance?
RESPONSE: I heard about the Center from some other people, so I came to the Center and received an enthusiastic welcome by the Center. Ms. Guo and her staff members have put a lot of effort into our case, and we have met with initial success of winning this arbitration. But now the case is still in the process of litigation. The Party has been very supportive of this case of the time and they made the decision, when the defendant was absent, in favor of the client.
FIRST LADY: Is there another client here whose case you could describe to us as well?
RESPONSE: We have other clients here today. But if you have time we will...
FIRST LADY: Maybe one more.
RESPONSE: This is the Chinese representative for the client. My name is Zhang Hongming, and I am 42 years old, and I am an ordinary worker, and I have a twelve-year-old daughter. I came to know the Center because of my divorce, and I got help from the attorney Liu Donghua of the Center. These efforts one has no way out. I thank the Center for turning my situation around, and this suit or effort...inaudible So I got a judgment. Afterwards, I still had to share an apartment with my husband. He has kept on hurting me and my daughter. My ex-husband has refused to pay the child's costs. He is working, and does not pay the child support. Some of the leaders concerned have been paying a lot of attention to my daughter. But I believe my predicament is temporary, and I believe with the help of the leaders and people who care about me, we will be able to get our housing problem solved and my daughter will get her child support. Dear Mrs. Clinton, I am delighted to see you today. I believe we must give compliments to you for being such a beautiful person with authority and making friendship between China and the U.S.. Thank you.
RESPONSE: Her daughter has made up her mind to become a lawyer like you.
MODERATOR: Professor Yang Gaowen from the Law Department at People's University would like to say a few words about her case. The case has been won, but the implementation has problems, so that's why she still has the problem with the housing.
RESPONSE: This has been a puzzling question for our judges to solve the problem of divorcee's housing arrangements. This problem has been a legacy of the housing system which China has practices for a long time, because most women live with their husbands in houses which were assigned by their husband's work unit, or even their husband's parents' work unit. So of course, the husband has the power to reassign the housing to the women. To solve this problem, the Supreme People's Court has issued a judicial interpretation, which has been helpful, but can't solve all problems. I hope that, with the reform of the housing assignment system, that the issue with divorced women's status will be solved.
RESPONSE: And I think the thing that we have found is while in each country the degree of problem may be different, the similarity of problems that women face throughout the world is quite stunning.
And each country is working very hard, I think, in its own ways to follow up the results of the Beijing Women's Conference where it was so clear how much we all had in common.
And indeed, as Americans we were very proud of the First Lady's remarks where she made very clear about women's rights being human rights and human rights being women's rights.
So I think that it's very enlightening. I know you agree with me, Mrs. Clinton, in terms of what occurred here today and can see the leadership role that there is to grow thinking in these very complicated issues, so we're very grateful to you.
MODERATOR: Thanks, Secretary Albright, for your talk. So, now because time is short, now we'll ask Professor Liu Sun Man (?) Who is the Deputy Vice Chair of the University to give concluding remarks.
PROFESSOR LIU: Dear Mrs. Clinton, Dear Secretary Albright, first let me thank you for your insightful interest today.
Today I'm very delighted to extend a very warm welcome from Peking University to Mrs. Clinton and Secretary Albright for your visit to the Legal Research and Service Center at Peking University. I hope this visit will help to inform Mrs. Clinton and Secretary Albright of the work of our ... of the protections we'd like to interest in China.
It has only started for universities in China in engage in legal aid work for the society. Peking University has made a particular effort in this regard .. As the party group for their legal assistance. Our department has set up the world's legal research center as a window to bring together legal teaching and practice.
The members of the section have given great attention and success in the work at Peking University to continue to support this meaningful part.
I hope your visit will strengthen the communication and the cooperation between us and the colleagues in the U.S. for mutual support and interest.
I wish you a successful visit at Peking University. Thank you, thank you very much.
(end transcript)
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