Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School has a longstanding commitment to teaching and research activities related to China. This work has become particularly important as China dramatically expands its economic and political influence in the world. The kind of rapid growth and industrialization happening today in China--home to a quarter of the world's population--requires well-functioning legal systems and a corresponding commitment to legal education. In addition to several courses in the HLS curriculum that cover aspects of China and Chinese law, the following programs also cover this increasingly important area of study.

Berkman Center for Internet & Society (top)
The Berkman Center, in collaboration with programs at the University of Toronto, Cambridge University, and Oxford University, has partnered to create the OpenNet Initiative, whose mission is to excavate, expose and analyze filtering and surveillance practices in a credible and non-partisan fashion. One of many countries they have studied is China, and they have released their most recent information on Internet Filtering in China.

Chinese-American Law Students Association (top)
The Harvard Law School Chinese American Law Students Association (CHALSA) aims to build a community among Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong American students at HLS, as well as other students interested in Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong culture and life.

East Asia Legal Studies Program (top)
The East Asian Legal Studies Program (EALS) is the United States' oldest and most extensive academic program devoted to the study of the law and legal history of the nations and peoples of East Asia and their interaction with the United States. The program was created in 1965 in response to increasing interest among lawyers and scholars of international and comparative law in the legal cultures of China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia.

Harvard Asia Law Society (top)
HALS is an organization for members of the Harvard Law School Community with interests in Asia be they the academic to the professional to the social. It holds a variety of activities throughout the year including running the Asia Business Conference in conjunction with the Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government and sending a delegation to Asia every spring break. It also brings speakers to campus, runs Asian language tables, participates in community service, and provides networking, professional development, and social activities for its members.