For Immediate Relase: August 7, 2003
Contact: Cara Santos Pianesi, 202-939-2211, csantos@ceip.org

Kimsey China Scholar Begins Term at Carnegie Endowment
Yayun Li's Research Focuses on Chinese Judicial Independence

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace announces its newest visiting scholar from China's Central Party School in Beijing. Yayun Li, associate professor of law, joined the Endowment in the beginning of August. Her primary research focus is China's effort to improve judicial independence. As a three-month Kimsey Scholar, she is a participant in an Endowment effort to foster the exchange of ideas between Chinese and U.S. experts. The initiative, funded by the Kimsey Foundation, is designed to influence political reform in China and inform U.S. policymakers about Chinese political trends.

"Yayun's presence will increase our understanding of the Chinese judicial system and its attempts at reform. More generally, she will enhance the work of the Endowment's China Program and bring current, first-hand experience to Washington policy discussions," said Jessica Mathews, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Yayun Li is an associate professor of law at the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China and also serves as the director of the school's law department and women's studies center. In addition, Li is a part-time lawyer for the Beijing law firm Jing Yi; member of the Labor Law Committee of the Beijing Lawyer's Association; juror of the Intermediate People's Court of Bejing; and arbitrator of the Arbitration Committee of Labor Law. Li researches commercial, economic, labor and social security law and has published numerous articles. She received her Bachelor of Law degree from the Law College of Peking University and a postgraduate degree from the Central Party School.

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