Former President Carter’s Keynote Address to the China University of Political Science and Law
From The China Elections and Governance website:
Thank you for your introduction, Professor Zhu Yong.
It is a great pleasure to be speaking at the largest law school in the world. When President Xu Xianming visited me in April this year, he told me there were 17,000 law students at your university, and I understand that since its founding in 1952, it has graduated over 100,000 students. These graduates are now the backbone of China’s judicial and administrative systems.
The law and political history have been intertwined in my life and yours. I began learning about China when I was 7 years old. My Uncle Tom Gordy was in the US Navy and stationed in China. In one of the letters he sent to me in 1931, Japan had invaded China’s Northeastern provinces, and he described Dr. Sun Yet-sen as China’s founding father, like our George Washington. Sun Yet-sen envisioned a unified, peaceful and democratic China to be governed by the rule of law. His dream was destroyed tragically by brutal civil wars, violent invasion of foreign powers, and a general lack of respect for the rule of law. Power came from the barrels of guns, and decisions were made and enforced by those who had the largest armed forces.[Full Text]
