Week Seven
This week at work we officially wrapped up our project on the age of criminal responsibility, and I began a new project looking into anti-bullying laws in the United States which will eventually culminate in a brief two-minute speech that will be recorded and uploaded onto ZhiCheng’s TikTok-equivalent account. We were also briefed by one of the attorneys in the office regarding an ongoing worker’s compensation case as he explained the current employee-employer legal responsibilities.
Chen, one of the attorneys/media specialists/tech guy, tasked us with four potential topics for a short comparative legal video that would be uploaded on Douyin. The four topics to choose from were the following: the age of criminal responsibility, the age of sexual consent, the laws on liability for adults who injure children while in their care (teachers, foster parents, etc), and anti-bullying laws in the United States.
I chose anti-bullying as I realized I had a very shallow understanding of anti-bullying laws in the United States. Growing up in an evolving digital age, there was confusion on the school district and state’s part about their responsibility to their students. As a result, I witnessed many instances of cyberbullying go either unreported or without consequences for the perpetrator. As I looked into current states’ legislation, I realized that almost all states have definitions for cyberbullying and punishments for instances that happen outside of school. I also began reading relevant case law on lawsuits against schools for their liability for injuries while being bullied.
On Wednesday afternoon, we spent it with one of the attorneys from the migrant workers division. In China, two types of worker’s compensation can be pursued in either a criminal or civil case. He also explained a current case that they are trying to pursue at the moment, however, they are running into issues verifying his employment status at the time of injury. First, the attorneys must apply to the court for verification that this employee should be eligible to receive compensation from his employer for his injuries, and then the case may proceed. This is different from the United States as in those cases, as long as the worker is not a contract worker and was injured while on the clock, they are eligible for compensation. It was very interesting to hear the differences in employment law in China as they have many types of employment and compensation types that can result from injuries.
Outside of work, there was quite a lot going on. This past weekend, Lily and I traveled to the Great Wall of China in the Mutianyu section! We opted to go with a tour group, which ended up being the best decision. Mutianyu is the longest reconstructed section of the Wall and is typically less crowded than the alternative Badaling. There are two sides of the wall – the North and South side. We tried to go to the South side first which offered an option to Toboggan down, but unfortunately, the line was much too long so we opted to go to the north side which had guard towers fourteen through twenty. We were lucky as the weather was cloudy and there was a breeze in the air plus there weren’t too many people on the wall. Right after you get to Guard Tower Nineteen, there is a steep climb several hundred feet to No. Twenty. All this to say, I stopped at Nineteen. As Lily trudged ahead, I took a break at Tower No. Eighteen where there was a stand for cold water and banana-flavored ice cream. I must have looked haggard because he handed over the items immediately.
I found a window seat to rest on, a view of the mountains and the wall outside of me. As I finished my 冰水 (‘bīng shuǐ’ = iced water) and enjoyed my ice cream, I was able to slow down and truly appreciate the magnitude of this experience. I’ve been dreaming about coming to the Wall since I was a teenager, and I was actually here. I must’ve looked even more strange than normal to the Chinese tourists who saw me stuffed into my corner, laughing to myself as I marveled at the sheer amount of history surrounding me. After sufficiently recovering, I went to meet Lily as she trekked down from her climb to Tower Twenty. We made the hike back which, of course, went much faster than the hike in the beginning. By that point, the sun had come out to greet us. We jumped into one of the cable cars heading down, thankful no one had joined our sweaty stinky selves.
Once down, we grabbed some celebratory Great Wall-themed ice cream (a tradition at this point) and stuffed ourselves on a shuttle bus heading down to the main area. Of course, we had to do some shopping while there, purchasing absorbedly overpriced trinkets for gifts.
This upcoming weekend, we have a trip planned to Seoul, South Korea for visa purposes where we will meet up with another one of the interns, Mecca Vance. I lucked out and had four interviews Thursday night for next summer’s internships, so I was up until 3 a.m. speaking with interviewers. Of course, their favorite question was, “I noticed something interesting on your resume, you’re in China?” As I spoke with them about my experience here, I realized I had done and learned so much more than I originally gave myself credit for.