TO: LAWRENCE GOLDMAN, PRESIDENT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS
We, the undersigned Members of the Association propose an Honorary Membership for Life, Tien Wen Chang, Attorney at Law in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the public welfare and for his exemplary lifetime acheivement in ensuring justice and due process for persons accused of crime in the People's Republic of China, for fostering the integrity, independence and expertise of the criminal defense profession, and for promoting the proper and fair administration of criminal justice.
Mr. Tian, who was born in 1947, graduated with an LLM degree from the Northwest Institute of Politics and Law. He has served as a professor, postgraduate supervisor, and the vice-director of the Department of Law of the China University of Politics and Law. He started practicing law in 1985 and was one of the founders of King & Capital Lawyers, one of the first law firms approved to practice in the P.R.C. He is also the Director of the Criminal Law Panel of the China Association of Law, Director of the Beijing Association of Law, Director of the All China Lawyers Association and Beijing Lawyers Association. Based in Beijing, Mr. Tian specializes in criminal defense, commercial litigation and arbitration, and judicial review. He is particularly reputed for his ability in dealing with various difficult legal issues. Mr. Tian who is called the "Scholar Lawyer," is renowned for his idealism in the pursuit of justice. His name has been included in the Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Middle-Aged Scholars and the Dictionary of Chinese Education Specialist. He is frequently involved in legislation research and debates and his publications have received wide praise from the legal sector.
By his constant work and example, Tian Wen Chang has paved the way for a generation of criminal defense lawyers in establishing the criminal defense bar in the People's Republic of China, a group of men and women whose ideals and goals are shared by the Members of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Barry Scheck
Carman D. Hernandez
Barbara Bergman
Irwin Schwartz
Martin Pinales
Chicago, Illinois
