Business China and River Valley High School have organised the China Studies Perspectives Forum for the third year in a row on 11 April at the school’s auditorium. More than 560 students and teachers from various Junior Colleges, IP Schools, Polytechnics and Universities attended the bilingual forum. The theme “Can China Truly Achieve Rule of Law” caught students’ attention due to their curiosity about the Chinese legal system and the principle of rule of law. Students enthusiastically asked questions.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Trade and Industry Ms Low Yen Ling was the Guest-of-Honor of this forum. She expressed her appreciation to Business China and River Valley High School in creating this bilingual platform for students to understand current affairs from Chinese and Western perspectives. Ms Low also emphasised the importance of being effectively bilingual.
Associate Professor Wang Jiangyu from Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and Mr Chia Kim Huat, Regional Head of Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP were the guest speakers for this forum. Both of them are experts on China’s legal landscape and its developments.
Professor Wang admitted that yesterday was his very first time to talk about law in front of non-undergraduates. Firstly, he complimented Singapore’s position as a role model of rule of law. Secondly, He said that China has achieved considerable progress in attaining rule of law since the implementation of reform and opening up. However, the long-standing traditional mindset rooted in Chinese society is the true challenge for the country to truly achieve rule of law.
Mr Chia Kim Huat conducted his speech in English, humorously explained the definition of rule of law. He asked students to think about the difference between “rule of law” and “rule by law” .
CEO of Business China Ms Sun Xue Ling was delighted by students’ enthusiastic involvement. “I believe that we can make this forum bigger and greater on this basis”, Ms Sun said in her closing remarks.
The China Studies Perspectives Forum is an annual bilingual student forum organised by Business China and River Valley High School which aims to motivate students from the Bicultural Studies Programme (BSP) to keep abreast with the latest developments in China. It targets students across Junior Colleges (JCs), Integrated Programme (IP) schools, Polytechnics and Universities. The forum is presided by two speakers, relatively share about China’s development from both Chinese and Western perspective.