China-EU School of Law and Finland to deepen student exchange

The Speaker of the Finnish Parliament, Maria Lohela, and the China University of Political Science and Law’s (CUPL) President Huang Jin hope to deepen Finnish-Chinese student exchange between high-level universities in Finland and CUPL.

They discussed ways to increase university cooperation as well as the possibilities of traineeships at the Parliament in Helsinki at Lohela’s visit to CUPL on 6 November 2017 that was part of her state visit to China. The European Co-Dean of the China-EU School of Law, Prof. Bengt Lundell, was asked to join the meeting. Subsequently, for an audience of more than 200 interested students and lecturers, Maria Lohela held a lecture on the Finnish legal and parliamentary system in CUPL’s Academic Hall.

Huang Jin told Lohela about the China-EU School of Law’s aim to equip tomorrow’s legal elite with a profound knowledge of both Chinese and European law. He introduced her to CUPL’s long-term strategy to contribute to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s aim to establish a rule of law with socialistic characteristics in China by cultivating excellent law graduates and internationalising education. Currently, CUPL is cooperating with over 230 universities, research institutions and international organisations in 50 countries and regions worldwide.

Maria Lohela, a graduate from one of CUPL’s three partner universities in Finland, the University of Turku, talked with Huang Jin about the Finnish higher education system and current reforms that are discussed in the Parliament. She focused on the Finnish students’ free choice of study programmes that in certain disciplines leads to an unbalanced male-female ratio and a disconnection of the numbers of graduates and demands by the employment market.

In Parliamentary Speaker Lohela’s lecture, law students gained insights into Finland’s history and present day politics, economy, culture and society. Politician Lohela described why she had chosen to purse a political career and expressed her firm belief in the political participation of women and the Finnish parliamentary system. She outlined Chinese-Finnish cooperation and described ways to further strengthen these bilateral relationships. When students and lecturers asked questions, she discussed all issues from gender equality, global governance and judicial cooperation to immigration policy with careful thought for detail.

Finland’s Ambassador to China, Jarno Syrjälä, and members of Parliament accompanied her. The Vice Chairperson of the Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China and Vice-Chair of the China-Finland Friendship Group of NPC, He Huahui, NPC officials and CUPL professors joined the visit. The day after the visit to CUPL, Maria Lohela held talks with China’s Premier Li Keqiang and Chinese top legislator Zhang Dejiang in Beijing.

Source: China-EU School of Law

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