Week One
My first meal in China was a $2.50 tofu bowl bought in a jet-lagged haze from a fast-food shop around the corner from my hotel and it was possibly the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. Getting to China was a Herculean labor in and of itself. My first flight took me thirteen hours over the Pacific, Europe, and most of the middle east into a layover in Dubai. From Dubai, I boarded my seven-hour flight into the tiny airplane seats to Beijing. We landed in Beijing around 10:50 PM, making it to my hotel around midnight after going through customs, gathering my luggage, and taking the taxi to my hotel. Saturday was mostly spent between trying to fight the jetlag (and sorely losing) and trying to figure out where to get my next meal (enter tofu bowl).
Sunday, Lily and I met with our host family and moved into the apartment. Warren, our host, has a six-year-old son, Kevin, that Lily and I are going to split teaching English to for our stay. Kevin is rambunctious, brutally honest, and quite possibly the most adorable child ever.
Unfortunately, our start date at ZhiCheng was delayed from Monday to Tuesday due to the new office not being ready for us, but fortunately that gave us some time to figure out the metro and do some sightseeing! Neither of which was entirely successful. The metro in Beijing is unbelievably convenient, safe, and clean. It, however, did not want to let either of us use it. After a kindly metro worker took pity (or became too exasperated with us to continue helping), we got our free metro tickets and headed to Tiananmen Square! Where we were promptly turned around and told to come back with tickets booked a day in advance. However, Beijing is a big enough city that soon we found something to do. Warren had pointed out Qianmen Street on Sunday, so we walked down this famous Beijing street full of delicious foods, refreshing drinks, and interesting trinkets.
Tuesday, we started work. ZhiCheng has just recently moved to a new location so trying to find the new office was a bit chaotic. Along the way, we met Cameron, another American legal intern who would be completing his ten-week internship at the same time as our’s. Tuesday, we took a small tour of the office and met with Director Tong. The Director is a soft-spoken unbelievably intelligent man who established Zhicheng and is responsible for many of the advancements China has made in regard to children protection and more recently, user rights. Tuesday, we were told to pick our topic that would then connect us to a supervisor (whom, we were warned, may or may not speak English). After hearing the various departments to choose from (child protection, digital rights, and migrant workers), I decided I was most interested in the child protection department.
We were informed our internship would comprise of three main parts: a case analysis, a comparative case analysis report, and a presentation on our research.
The case analysis would include reading some of the active cases being handled by ZhiCheng right now, deciding which of the case law interests us the most, then writing a short paper on the law behind the case and how it should move forward. This seems to mostly make sure we can grasp the legal concepts behind Chinese law. The comparative case analysis report builds from the same case as the case analysis, however, in this report, we are to compare it to the American legal system and how this case would likely be decided in the States. Lastly, we are to present these findings to the lawyers and other interns here in a ten-to-fifteen-minute presentation.
From my understanding, it seems they are mostly interested in helping facilitate learning and understanding between the lawyers here of the American legal system and us of the Chinese legal system. Knowing this, I feel even more grateful for this opportunity to participate in this exchange of ideas and knowledge.
Wednesday was also a flurry of activity as the staff and workers attempted to get the building ready for officials from the Ministry of Justice to visit on Thursday. This meeting was very important to everyone here as it is the first time someone from the government has been to the new office. While we were not included in on this meeting, we could see the flurry of activity happening in the courtyard to prepare.
One of ZhiCheng’s Chinese interns, Jiang, is a godsend in human form. She comes to lunch with us, translating and explaining different dishes. During lunch, we chat about the differences between Chinese and American legal systems. She asks questions about American life; we ask questions about China. Lily and I have decided that we would be absolutely lost without her.
The last day of the week feels like when our internship really begins. We meet with the child protection department members with our supervisor Lu and Jiang translating and filling in the gaps when necessary. In the morning, we get to know the members better, they introduce themselves along with their areas of interest. We let them know which areas we’re interested in and they assign us to one specific person. The interests of my potential project led me to be assigned to work with Chen and Ms. Li on child internet celebrities and child sex abuse, respectively. We also receive our first project from Director Tong on the effect of internet usage on juvenile delinquency. For lunch, the department takes us to a local restaurant where we share Jiangxi spicy food. I have always prided myself on being able to handle spicy foods, but most meals here I walk away with my lips stinging. Friday afternoon, I attend a live stream webinar with Ms. Li and Jiang in coordination with another famous Chinese NGO, Girls Protection. The webinar was meant to educate the public regarding potential online sexual abuse toward minors. Their mission is to promote comprehensive sex education to prevent minors from being taken advantage of on the internet.
During the intermission, Jiang and I talked about our own experiences with sex education and the differences (but more similarities) in how China and America approach conversations about sex. Although the topic is difficult to discuss, it is work like this that normalizes having conversations of this nature and can protect more children going forward.
This weekend, Lily and I are going to attempt to brave Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City once more (this time with a ticket!). It feels strange to have been in China a week already, but I am getting more and more used to it by the day.