On November 23^rd, RUC Law School held the “Chinese Humanities and Social Science Forum 2014” at the Yifu Conference Centre. The theme of the forum was “Chinese Rule of Law: Modernizing the National Governance System and Governance Capabilities,” with the purpose of promoting the vitality of the Fourth Plenary Session of 18th CPC Central Committee and modernizing the current national governance system. A total of 380 students and scholars attended the opening ceremony of the forum. Notable attendees included: former President of the Supreme People’s Court of China and RUC Law School Alumni Xiao Yang, Vice President of the China Law Society and Director of its Academic Committee Zhang Wenxian, Deputy Director of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council Yuan Shuhong, Ministry of Education Social Science Deputy Inspector Chen Mao, RUC President Chen Yulu, Peking University Executive Vice-President Wu Zhipan, RUC Vice-President Wang Liming, Member of the National People’s Congress and RUC Professor Zheng Gongcheng, and RUC International Relations Professor Yang Guangbin. During President Chen’s opening speech, he thanked all of the leading experts, Law School faculty, and students who participated in organizing the forum and expressed their views on possible reformation within the legal system. He pointed out that the Third Plenary Session of the 18^th CPC Central Committee, focusing on “major issues concerning comprehensive and deepened reforms” hopes to strive towards comprehensive and deepened reforms to bring about vitality, while the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18^th CPC Central Committee focusing on “comprehensively advancing the rule of law” hopes to comprehensively advance the rule of law to ensure order. The opening ceremony was presided over by RUC Law School Dean Han Dayuan. Professor Xiao Yang subsequently gave his keynote speech “China’s judicial system is facing an important period of strategic opportunities.” He pointed out that before our country can go through a complex period of transformation, the rule of law should be the consensus of our entire society. Firstly, rule of law must be done in accordance with the Constitution. Secondly, the basic components of the rule of law—good laws and good governance—mustpositively interact with one another in practice. Thirdly, we must handle correctly the many aspects involved, such as judicial reform and industrial labor reform that will strengthen the relationship between legal authorities and supervising managers. Finally, he stressed the need for rule of law to have ideals and convictions that can be passed down to future generations, so that the dream of Chinese law to strengthen and progress throughout the rest of time can surely be realized. Professor Zhang Wenxian spoke on the report entitled “the Fourth Plenary Session Concerning the Major Developments in the Theory of Law.” He describes the Fourth Plenary Session’s “resolutions” regarding the national system of governance and the rule of law, the relationship between the leadership of the party and rule of law, the relationship betweenrule by law and rule by virtue, and reform of the relationship between rule of law and other major theoretical innovation and development—thus revealing the spirit of the rule of law in contemporary China. Deputy Director Yuan Shuhong spoke about the socialist direction of Chinese rule of law. He said that time has proved for that a socialist direction is the least costly and the best suited for Chinese conditions. He further noted that there is no best route for the development of rule of law, but rather just the most suitable route for an individual country’s conditions. Professor Wu Zhipan discussed the “Economic development’s ‘new normalcy’ and rule of law’s new era.” He explained that this ‘new normalcy’ will slow down GDP growth, change economic development patterns, adhere to enterprise as the main foundation of the market economy, and transform the relationship between the market and the government. He pointed out that our country’s socialist economy is already developing into a new stage, and that in analyzing the modernization of the country we must look at not only the wealth that has been created, but also how the strength of rule of law has been upheld. Professor Wang Liming spoke from the point of view of civil law scholarscalling for the “accelerated codification of civil law and promotion of the improvement of the legal system.” He pointed out that the Fourth Plenary Session’s “resolutions” require increased codification of the civil law so that civil legal circumstances can be clearer in the future. He believes that the civil code needs to be developed in a manner that is suitable for China and that embodies the spirit of modern era and the appropriate characteristics of 21^st century civil codes. Civil law must also reflect the trend of economic globalization, the Internet age, the age of ‘big data,’ and other characteristics that reflect the social and ecological circumstances of our present society. Professor Zheng Gongcheng vividly expounded that the“comprehensive improvement of the quality of rule of law is the foundation for the path forward.” He said the good law is the prerequisite for good governance.While the foundations of law in this country have been formed, there is still a lot of progress to be made to improve its quality and bring the legal system into the modern era. He believes that there must a be a multi-pronged comprehensive approach to improving legislation, establishing clear boundaries of legislative power, and strengthening the legal implementation in a number of areas. Professor Yang Guangbin spoke from the perspective of a political scientist, explaining the “modernization of government thoughts and strategies.” He pointed out that the ability to create a limited government will lead to the modernization of national governance. He also believes that the law must be national in nature, while governance should be local. Three sub-forums were held later in the afternoon including "Social governance and rule of law in China,” "Traditional culture and rule of law in China,” and a sub-forum commemorating RUC Law Professor Sun Guohua. This annual forum is an important opportunity to showcase the latest research in the fields of humanities and social science. Since 2001, the “Chinese Humanities and Social Science Forum” has been held for 14 consecutive sessions and focuses on many of the major issues of society today, as well as provides a medium for exchanging ideas and discussing solutions for the world of tomorrow.