Reflecting on her over 14 years of U.S.-China legal education exchange and legal reform work, Professor Hom, a former Fulbright scholar in China (1986-88), delivered informal remarks on legal education reforms, and roles of Chinese, Chinese Americans, and Asian Americans in ongoing civil and human rights struggles.
To set the context for her remarks, she cited recent events in the U.S. and in China, including, the Memorial Day weekend opening of “Pearl Harbor,” with its dangerously racist and misleading portrayal of “history,” the outrageous treatment by security officials at the Department of Energy, when U.S. Congressman David Wu, arrived to deliver a keynote speech at an Asian Heritage celebration, and the recent detention by China of ethnic Chinese U.S. citizens and permanent residents scholars and businessmen, with two charged with spying.
In the shadow of the recent survey conducted by the Committee of 100, that reported 25% of Americans have doubts about the loyalty of Asian Americans, Prof. Hom pointed out the importance of ongoing civil rights struggles for Asian Americans. At the same time, the current detention of ethnic Chinese by China underscores the status of being foreign/suspected “here” in the U.S. and back “home” in China. Professor Hom also cited the persecution of alleged ethnic Chinese “Communists” by the U.S. government during the McCarthy period, when they were accused of “trading with the enemy” when they sent money home to China. A recent film, ” the Chinatown Files” (2001), by Amy Chen, has powerfully documented this little known period of U.S. history.
In the audience, Prof. Betty Lee Sung echoed her agreement with the importance of civil rights struggles by pointing out the success of the Wen Ho Lee case and the role of mobilization and organization of legal and community organizations.
In her edited collection, Chinese Women Traversing Diaspora: memoirs, essays, and poetry (Garland 1999) Professor Hom argued for rethinking diasporic responsibility. Beyond models of forever looking “homeward” – sojourner models, or bridge between-countries models, she suggested a more fluid model of multiple loyalties and accountabilities of communities that we choose and that chose us. However, this also suggests the dangers and the need to be vigilant not to be trapped by the geo-politics of the ups and downs of U.S-China bilateral politics in the U.S.
Discussing her work in legal education reform in China, Professor Hom first briefly described the three aspects of Chinese legal reform since reopening in 1978 (promulgation of formal laws, the training of lawyers, and the development of institutions such as the courts). In her efforts to introduce critical and clinical pedagogy, she introduced role plays, simulations, and collaborative work to her classes of Chinese law teachers, judges, and lawyers. As part of foundation funded initiatives, she was also active in bringing Chinese law teachers and scholars to the U.S. for advanced training, organized over 10 sessions of an intensive summer training workshop in Beijing, Shanghai, and Jilin, and organized clinical training workshops.
In addition to her law work, Professor Hom also spoke briefly about her work with women’s groups in China and the need to be sensitive to the relationship between human rights and women’s rights discourse and strategies that could open or reduce discursive or strategic space.
An exciting talk it was. Members of the audience stayed to discuss with Prof. Hom long after the conclusion.
As part of her own trajectory of combining academic, scholarly and activist work, professor Hom will be working with Human Rights in China, a group of Chinese students, scientists, and democracy activists, formed after June 4, 1989. She distributed copies of HRIC’s journal and materials of current human rights campaign of the Tiananmen Mothers, demanding accountability from the Chinese government for their missing children. Professor Hom was also a judge for the NGO Tribunal on Violence Against Women convened at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing 1995. She co-edited a Chinese-English Lexicon on Women and Law (UNESCO 1995) distributed at the Conference.
