Distinguished Guests, Dear Faculty Members,
Dear Class of 2025 Freshmen,
Good afternoon!
In this golden autumn season, we gather with joyful hearts to welcome all of you, our outstanding students, to the Faculty of Law of Macau University of Science and Technology (M.U.S.T.). This academic year, a total of 586 new students have enrolled in the nine undergraduate, master, and doctoral degree programs offered by the Faculty of Law. On behalf of the Faculty, I would like to extend a warm welcome to each of you and express my sincere gratitude to our distinguished guests for taking the time to join us today.
Macau University of Science and Technology, established after Macau's return to China, is the first comprehensive university in the region. Upholding the motto of "Dedication to practical studies, enhancement of knowledge, ability, and quality," M.U.S.T. is dedicated to cultivating outstanding talents who will lead the future. As one of the four founding faculties of the university, the Faculty of Law has, over the past 25 years, consistently implemented the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" in legal education within the Macau Special Administrative Region. Leveraging its diverse legal and cultural background, the Faculty is committed to nurturing both local and cross-jurisdictional legal talents. Here, you will not only attend classes to study legal knowledge but also hone your legal thinking, shape your professional character, and pursue your dreams of the rule of law.
Students, we are living in an era of profound transformation. The waves of globalization and the trends of regionalization coexist and intertwine, leading to increasingly frequent exchanges, collisions, and integration of various legal systems, rules, and institutions. Regional and global issues, such as regional disputes, climate change, and cybersecurity, all call for legal talents with international perspectives and expertise in cross-jurisdictional rules. I hope you will actively embrace this diversity and strive to become legal professionals who are not only well-versed in the essence of your own legal system but also proficient in applying international rules and knowledge from different jurisdictions. May you uphold fairness and justice and foster cooperation and mutual success on a broader stage.
At the same time, we are also in the midst of a sweeping global technological wave—artificial intelligence is reshaping every aspect of social life, and the field of law is no exception. Tasks such as legal research, contract review, and case outcome prediction are gradually being assisted or even replaced by AI tools. With the immense computational power of artificial intelligence, the exclusivity of legal knowledge, legal thinking, and even legal experience is being dismantled. Undoubtedly, legal education and the legal profession have entered a new stage of development, demanding that future legal professionals possess a broader set of skills and qualities to demonstrate the value of legal professionals in more complex domains. These include the ability to deeply understand legal principles and value judgments, creatively solve cross-disciplinary problems, uphold humanistic and the belief in the rule of law, as well as the ability to apply and interact in human-machine collaboration.
We must also recognize that since the industrial society, we have never been overwhelmed by any technological wave, and artificial intelligence is no exception. As the Buddhist sutra says, "The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon." The finger is just the finger; it does not become the moon simply because it points to it. Artificial intelligence will become a powerful tool to help us achieve the goals of the rule of law more efficiently and accurately, rather than a dominant force replacing human wisdom and values. This is why the university encourages students to embrace artificial intelligence from the very beginning but does not allow you to submit an assignment entirely generated by AI. The goal of legal education has never been to produce mere repositories of legal knowledge but to cultivate designers and guardians of the civilization of the rule of law.
Students, a new chapter of your lives is unfolding before you—a journey full of infinite possibilities and challenges. I hope you will quickly adapt to your new environment, cherish your valuable time for learning, be diligent in thinking, courageous in exploration, and willing to collaborate. May you set sail on the vast ocean of knowledge, grow robustly through the tempering of practice, and become cross-disciplinary legal talents who resonate in sync with the pulse of the times.
Once again, welcome to all of you! I wish you health, happiness, and academic success! I also wish all faculty members and distinguished guests good health and all the best!
Thank you!
