The wind and rain pounded the harbor, robbing the ceremony of its intended poignant backdrop against the sunset. Sitting in the second-to-last row in my rain-drenched suit, I witnessed the almost simultaneous lowering of the red, white and blue of the Union Jack and the raising of the red and yellow of the People’s Republic of China. As the People’s Liberation Army moved in, the HMS Britannia left the former British colony and sent its last transmission before being decommissioned: “I have relinquished the administration of this Government, God save the Queen.” Living on this little bastion to capitalism on the edge of China as it struggles to build itself into a competitive economy has given me a unique perspective; I have been witness to the importance of establishing laws that both create a stable economy and protect cultural individuality.

Teaching and traveling throughout China, I have seen a nation in its economic infancy, grasping at a few scattered free markets as a means to greater prosperity. Unfortunately, the lack of modern law and surrounding infrastructure to protect property, both concrete and intellectual, has persuaded foreign investors to look elsewhere. While interning in Allen and Overy’s London office, I watched financiers bail on proposed investments, concerned by China’s poor legal system and means of enforcing what few significant laws were present. The scandal involving the Fuijin power authority over the $700 million Meizhou Wan power project left the lender consortium with tremendous financial losses. The incident fostered grave reservations regarding investment in China, and that is only one such example of this trend.

Having studied economics for ten years, I have realized that ideas are perhaps the most important ingredient in sustained growth. Since intellectual property (IP) law guarantees that people can have their own ideas and profit from them, economics and law are inextricably linked to the development of civil society. The right to have one’s own ideas is more than a political maxim or a fundamental right; it is an economic necessity. The realization of the strong links between IP law and economics compelled me to research this area of law further. What I at first brushed off as a fairly boring subcategory relating to copyrights and patents soon revealed itself a complex system undergoing extensive flux as it adapts to deal with the ramifications of globalization and technological revolution.

IP law, which has traditionally been governed and enforced domestically, has now been forced into the international arena. The evolution of a global economy has caused conflicts such as the simultaneous registration of identical copyrights and patents in different domestic jurisdictions. Though the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents in particular have attempted to harmonize IP law, the mapping of the human genome has brought new questions to the fore regarding IP rights over potentially profitable genetic information. Perhaps even more pressing is whether a different set of criteria should be applied to the patents of drugs needed in less developed nations to combat rampant disease, such as the marked proliferation of HIV in several African countries.

Some of these challenges are purely logistical; some, however, force global society to answer important questions regarding what sort of balance should be sought between safeguarding rights and safeguarding lives. The role of IP law in fueling economic growth demands that such rights not be sacrificed cheaply. These are important and challenging times for IP law; my role as part of the new legal establishment as it undergoes such upheaval offers me an intellectually stimulating and rewarding career.

Having looked at all available options, I have concluded that pursuing a JD in the United States will take the same time as other, more conventional routes taken by my counterparts here in England, as well as provide me with the qualifications needed to practice in America. My experiences practicing law in the United States would contribute greatly to my professional development, regardless of whether I ultimately choose to continue to work in America or return home to Hong Kong. Though a JD is a professional qualification, it is also a dense, detailed exploration of law and human interaction, something to be pursued out of academic curiosity in addition to professional accreditation.

At Winchester College and the London School of Economics, I have been extremely fortunate to have been taught by passionate teachers and engaging students, individuals who have cultivated and fed my intellectual curiosity. Coupled with my unique life in China, a country struggling to define itself in the new global economy, these experiences have equipped me with the academic knowledge and practicable wisdom to make valuable contributions as we manage the challenges facing the legal system in the 21st century.

點(diǎn)評(píng)：

文章主要寫的是作者法學(xué)之路的所感所想。但前面的香港回歸與國(guó)內(nèi)的經(jīng)濟(jì)法規(guī)的不足，與下面的段落銜接不足，應(yīng)該加以一些過(guò)渡性的句子，否則初看只是一篇關(guān)于香港回歸與中國(guó)投資環(huán)境的文章。文章講到基因圖是探求道德與知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)的沖突表達(dá)的是對(duì)該職業(yè)的興趣，而如果以知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)為題目，后面是兩段又并不切題。建議如果調(diào)整一下所用的例子，要更有針對(duì)性，后面兩段要點(diǎn)題。

翻譯：

香港/知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)

風(fēng)雨侵襲著海港,正逆著陽(yáng)光干擾著本來(lái)有意令人傷感的典禮。坐在倒數(shù)第二排全身濕透的我目睹了英國(guó)國(guó)旗和中華人民共和國(guó)國(guó)旗同時(shí)分別下降和上升。當(dāng)中國(guó)人民解放軍進(jìn)場(chǎng)時(shí)，英國(guó)政府的公務(wù)人員離開英國(guó)以前的殖民地并在退役前發(fā)出最后一次廣播：“我已經(jīng)放棄了香港政府的管理權(quán)，愿天主保佑英女皇?！弊孕≡谶@個(gè)中國(guó)邊緣資本主義小地區(qū)生活的我，見證了香港努力奮斗成為一個(gè)具有強(qiáng)勁競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力的經(jīng)濟(jì)體，亦給以一種特別的觀點(diǎn)看法。我親身感受到立法創(chuàng)造一個(gè)穩(wěn)定的經(jīng)濟(jì)體系和保護(hù)文化獨(dú)立的重要性。

在中國(guó)游學(xué)期間，我發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)處于經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展初期的國(guó)家，開放一些離散的特區(qū)作為取得更大繁榮的方法。不幸的是，由于缺乏法律和周邊基礎(chǔ)架構(gòu)保護(hù)財(cái)產(chǎn)，包括有形和無(wú)形的，這樣使投資者望而卻步。當(dāng)在Allen and Overy的倫敦公司實(shí)習(xí)時(shí)，我注意到受到中國(guó)落后系統(tǒng)所關(guān)心的金融家從被提議中的項(xiàng)目中得到保釋,以及同時(shí)意味著少數(shù)重要強(qiáng)制執(zhí)行的法律將會(huì)出臺(tái)。而其中的丑聞包括Fuijin電力以7億授權(quán)于Meizhou Wan電力項(xiàng)目，致使貸方財(cái)團(tuán)蒙受具大財(cái)政的損失。這樣的事件使投資者進(jìn)入中國(guó)有所保留，而這僅是這種趨勢(shì)中的一個(gè)例子而矣。

經(jīng)過(guò)十年的經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)，我認(rèn)識(shí)到創(chuàng)意或者是保持持續(xù)增長(zhǎng)的最重要因素。從知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)（IP）法保證人們可以擁有自己的創(chuàng)意和創(chuàng)意中產(chǎn)生的利益可得知，經(jīng)濟(jì)和法律不可避免與文明社會(huì)發(fā)展聯(lián)結(jié)在一起。擁有自己的創(chuàng)意的權(quán)利比一個(gè)政治格言或者一個(gè)基礎(chǔ)權(quán)利更加重要；這是經(jīng)濟(jì)的必要。知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)法和經(jīng)濟(jì)的強(qiáng)大聯(lián)結(jié)作用這一現(xiàn)實(shí)促使我更深入地調(diào)查這一法律領(lǐng)域。像一個(gè)公平的而又令人煩厭與版權(quán)和著作權(quán)有關(guān)的領(lǐng)域一樣，我開始所丟棄的是回顧它原有的所遭受廣泛變遷的復(fù)雜系統(tǒng)，因?yàn)樗m合于解決全球化與技術(shù)革命的分歧。

合乎國(guó)情地從傳統(tǒng)上受到管理和實(shí)行的知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)法已經(jīng)被強(qiáng)制應(yīng)用到國(guó)際領(lǐng)域。經(jīng)濟(jì)全球化所帶來(lái)的沖突，如同樣的版權(quán)和專利在不同國(guó)家權(quán)限的現(xiàn)時(shí)注冊(cè)。通過(guò)世界知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)組織及專利權(quán)常務(wù)委員會(huì)特別嘗試協(xié)調(diào)知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)法，人類基因圖所帶來(lái)的新問(wèn)題致使以前奉行知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)超越了基因的潛在利益?；蛟S更多的爭(zhēng)論是是否允許一個(gè)不同系列的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)上應(yīng)用于少數(shù)發(fā)展中國(guó)家用以抗擊猖獗的疾?。ㄈ缭诜侵迋魅灸芰?qiáng)艾滋?。┑牟∪怂幬锷?。

這些挑戰(zhàn)中有一些只是純粹的物流問(wèn)題；有一些，無(wú)論如何，促使全球社會(huì)去回應(yīng)我們?cè)诒Ｗo(hù)權(quán)益和保護(hù)生命中所要尋求的平衡。知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)法在加速經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)需求扮演重要角色，這種權(quán)利不會(huì)輕易的犧牲。這些是知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)法的重要和具有挑戰(zhàn)性的時(shí)刻。當(dāng)它遭受到如此劇變時(shí)作為新法律的制定者這一個(gè)角色給我提供了一個(gè)技術(shù)性地刺激的有意義的職業(yè)。

經(jīng)過(guò)考慮所有可行選項(xiàng)，我已經(jīng)總結(jié)出在美國(guó)攻讀一個(gè)法學(xué)博士所花費(fèi)的時(shí)間將會(huì)與其他國(guó)家一樣，以及有比我在英國(guó)的副本更多的常規(guī)路徑，就如在我取得學(xué)位前必需在美國(guó)實(shí)踐。我在美國(guó)的法律實(shí)踐經(jīng)驗(yàn)對(duì)我的職業(yè)發(fā)展有很大的幫助，不管我最終是否在美國(guó)從事工作或者是回香港。取得一個(gè)法學(xué)博士學(xué)位只是一個(gè)職業(yè)資格，但它也是密集細(xì)致的法律和人類交互作用的探索，是一些出去追尋理論好奇心職業(yè)鑒定補(bǔ)充。

在溫徹斯特大學(xué)和倫敦經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)院，我非常幸運(yùn)地得到熱情的老師和有能力的學(xué)生的教導(dǎo)，各自培養(yǎng)和滿足我的對(duì)知識(shí)的好奇。外加我在一個(gè)努力奮斗在全球化經(jīng)濟(jì)中定位自己的中國(guó)的獨(dú)特生活，這些經(jīng)歷用理論知識(shí)和能夠做出貢獻(xiàn)的可行學(xué)識(shí)來(lái)武裝我，應(yīng)對(duì)21世紀(jì)法律系統(tǒng)的挑戰(zhàn)。