Joining the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its impact on China

Author: Mo Hongxian, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: On August 12, 2005, it was the 80th birthday of Professor Ma Kechang, a renowned legal scholar and the first Dean of the Law School at Wuhan University. That year also marked the 56th anniversary of Professor Ma Kechang's career in legal education and research. This series of books was specially compiled to celebrate Professor Ma Kechang's 80th birthday and the 56th anniversary of his dedication to legal education and research. Over the 56 years of his legal education and academic career, Professor Ma Kechang witnessed and personally experienced the ups and downs of China's rule of law construction for 55 years. In 1946, he entered the prestigious National Wuhan University Law School from Xihua County, Henan Province, to study law and join the revolution. In 1950, due to his outstanding academic performance, he graduated and was retained by the university to teach. Soon after, he was recommended to the postgraduate program at Renmin University of China, where he received advanced education and specialized in criminal law under the guidance of Professor Bestrova, a Soviet criminal law scholar. In 1952, he completed his postgraduate studies and returned to Wuhan to teach criminal law. However, due to well-known reasons, when China's democratic rule of law construction faced severe setbacks, Professor Ma Kechang was also affected. In 1958, he was unfairly treated and sent to rural labor. In the second half of 1959, although he was officially "rehabilitated" and allowed to return to Wuhan University, the Law Department had already been abolished, and he had to take on jobs such as cashier in the canteen and librarian. After the Cultural Revolution began, he was again subjected to incorrect treatment and sent to the countryside for the so-called "Five Seven Road" labor reform, where he remained until 1972, when he returned to the Wuhan University Library and worked there until 1979. During these more than 20 difficult years, his youthful prime and the golden period of his academic research quietly passed away. Yet, in the face of both spiritual and physical hardships, he always maintained an optimistic attitude toward life. Even while working in the countryside or at the library, he achieved remarkable accomplishments. In 1979, at the age of 53, Professor Ma Kechang finally welcomed a major turning point in his era and life. He was appointed as the Deputy Dean of the Law Department by the then President of Wuhan University, Professor Liu Daoyu, to assist Dean Han Depai in restoring and developing the Law Department, ushering in a spring of rule of law construction and education in the new China. After accepting the appointment, Professor Ma Kechang, driven by his passion for the legal profession and his solid academic foundation, revitalized his career and fully demonstrated the charisma and charm of a legal activist, educator, and criminal law expert. As a legal social activist, in 1980, Professor Ma Kechang was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China to serve as the defense attorney for Wu Faqian in the sensational "Lin Biao and Jiang Qing Counter-Revolutionary Group Case," working legally and earning great praise. He also served concurrently as the Honorary President of the Chinese Criminal Law Society and a Special Consultant to the Supreme People's Court, making outstanding contributions to the country's legislative and judicial reforms. As a legal educator, starting in 1983, Professor Ma Kechang served as the Dean of the Law Department at Wuhan University. After the establishment of the Law School in 1986, he was appointed as its first Dean. With great passion and energy, he devoted himself to the development of the Law School, leading faculty and staff in unity and progress, achieving remarkable results in teaching, research, talent cultivation, and international exchanges, making the Wuhan University Law School a "pioneer force on Mount Luojia" and a renowned law school in China, maintaining its leading position domestically and gaining increasing international prestige. As a scholar, Professor Ma Kechang has remained active in the field of criminal law theory research, writing tirelessly. The multiple criminal law textbooks he co-edited are regarded as authoritative textbooks in China. His works, such as "General Theory of Crime," "General Theory of Punishment," "Chinese Criminal Policy," and "An Outline of the History of Modern Western Criminal Law," have received high praise from the academic community and have become classic documents in the study of criminal law in China, serving as prescribed textbooks for postgraduate students in criminal law at many universities. In 2002, his monograph "Principles of Comparative Criminal Law—General Theory of Foreign Criminal Law" was published, shocking the academic world with its rich content, extensive references, rigorous structure, and profound insights, and it became the only law-related work to win the National Book Award in 2003. As a teacher, Professor Ma Kechang has always been dedicated to teaching and nurturing students, lecturing to undergraduates, master's students, and doctoral students. He taught with meticulous care, effortlessly navigating complex theories and real-world cases, explaining them clearly and engagingly, earning the admiration and affection of his students. He not only guided students in mastering professional knowledge but also inspired them to become individuals with ideals, aspirations, responsibility, and high moral cultivation. He has cultivated many outstanding talents for China's rule of law construction and legal education, some of whom now hold key positions in the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and various judicial and administrative departments, while others have become professors, doctoral supervisors, and academic leaders, actively contributing to legal education and research in various fields. Professor Ma Kechang is a scholar with strategic vision. With an open perspective and a global mindset, he emphasized international exchanges and actively aligned his discipline with international standards, fostering its development within the international academic environment. He has been invited to visit and lecture in the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Brazil, and other countries, as well as in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. He has also warmly invited many renowned international scholars to visit China for lectures and conferences. Through exchanges with top universities, disciplines, and scholars, continuously introducing new academic information, theories, and trends, Professor Ma Kechang has actively organized international academic exchanges and cooperation, injecting vitality into discipline development, enhancing its reputation both domestically and internationally, strengthening its competitiveness among similar disciplines, and laying a solid foundation for its healthy development. With his profound knowledge, outstanding theoretical achievements, and noble character, Professor Ma Kechang has earned the respect and admiration of the Chinese judicial community, the criminal law field, and the entire legal community, as well as the esteem and admiration of his international peers, and the love of his students. As his 80th birthday approaches, his students have organized to plan this celebratory series of books to express their gratitude and congratulations to their mentor. The works in this series, some solo and some co-authored, represent the latest research achievements of Professor Ma Kechang's disciples in the fields of criminal law and criminology. The significance of this birthday gift is profound—it serves as both a report from disciples to their mentor and an opportunity to deepen the theoretical research of criminal law, which aligns perfectly with Professor Ma Kechang's expectations for his students.