On Dec. 4^th, 2013, the thirteenth Chinese National Law Popularization Day, “CCTV 2013 Legal Figure of the Year” jointly organized by the Department of Justice and CCTV took place. The founder and honorary director of King&Capital, Mr. Tian Wenchang was the only lawyer awarded the CCTV 2013 Legal Figure of the Year.  

 

 

At the award ceremony, Mr. Tian Wenchang’s achievements were introduced as follows:

 

Atty. Tian Wenchang was sent to work in rural and mountainous areas at an early age. He became a teacher and attended seminars held during that time by the Union Nations. Due to his reputation for legal defense, he is well-known as “China’s Best Defender” while also because of his legal defense, he is misunderstood as “Accomplice of Corruption”. No one else in Chinese legal circles has as diverse experiences as Mr. Tian Wenchang.

 

In the early 1990s, he spent three years defeating earthshaking and powerful figures; he also brought a lawsuit against an airline company on behalf of 81 customers free of charge; with his turning-the-tide defense, a person convicted and sentenced to the death penalty was acquitted by the court. From then on, Atty. Tian was noted all over the country as a fearless lawyer willing to plead for the people.

 

In 2003 after ten years of Mr. Tian’s rise to fame, he was involved in a couple of critical cases, triggering public crises. This year was the most troublesome year during his career. In April, 2013, Mr. Tian took the bribery case of the former governor of Yunnan Province, Li Jiating. After two months, Li Jiating was sentenced to a suspended death penalty instead of immediate execution. Since the amount of money involved totaled 1.8 million, which caused a public uproar, Mr. Tian came under unprecedented questioning. Some people were inclined to regard him as the special defender of illegal capitalists, corrupt officials and underworld heads. Huge public doubt and questioning turned Mr. Tian’s image from “guardian of justice” to “accomplice of evil”.

 

Confronted with high pressure, Mr. Tian Wenchang chose to stand fast at the front line of criminal defense. While adhering to the principle that a lawyers’ first duty is to safeguard clients’ legitimate rights and interests, Mr. Tian Wenchang has dedicated himself to improve the Chinese legal system and its construction. To justify every client and reflect fairness in each case has been Mr. Tian’s constant pursuit during his thirty-year career.

 

 

 

 

The award announced that “does it mean that a good attorney should only accept the application of a ‘good person’ while refusing that of a ‘bad person’? Behind the appearance of the defender, where the lawyers should focus is whether the accusation is consistent with the facts, and whether the crime conforms to the penalty. The socialist legal system endows lawyers with their professional mission to safeguard clients’ legitimate rights and interests, as well as the correct enforcement of law. His actions embody his pursuit for fairness in criminal justice!”

 

 

 

 

 

Atty. Tian Wenchang taught in the China University of Political Science and Law from 1983 to 1995. Beginning from 1985, he has been engaged in practicing law and in 1995 he founded King&Capital Law Firm. Currently, he serves as the Director of the Criminal Committee of the Chinese Bar Association. During his career, he has undertaken countless complicated cases. Besides, he is also committed to theoretical studies, accomplishing academic research and its translated versions, academic monographs and teaching materials totalling millions of words. His recently published “Chinese Experience in Criminal Defense”, “Lawyers and Constitutionality”, “Three People’s Talk on Prosecution, Accusation and Trail of Criminal Defense” etc. were widely spread across the the country. On account of his high-achieving legal practice and academic studies, he has won a reputation as a “scholar lawyer”.

 

In 1996, Atty. Tian Wenchang was elected as “First Beijing Top Ten Lawyers”. In 2002, Atty. Tian Wenchang was honored with the “Honorary Life Member” as the only Chinese lawyer with this title by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (“NACDL”).

 

The video of the award ceremony for Atty. Tian Wenchang:

 http://news.cntv.cn/2013/12/04/VIDE1386162002043483.shtml