Congratulations To Mr. Liang Ziying Received the 2023/24 HKU Foundation First Year Outstanding Doctorate Award. This award provides due recognition to doctoral students who have achieved outstanding performance during their probationary period.
Ziying is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Law. Her research interests include procedural law and public interest litigation, and her doctoral research is currently focused on public interest litigation for wildlife crimes in mainland China.
Before completing her PhD at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), she completed her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree at South China Normal University (SCNU, 2013-2017). He then obtained a master’s degree in procedural law from China University of Political Science and Law Graduate School (CUPL, 2017-20) and graduated from the Faculty of Criminal Justice as an excellent graduate student.
During her doctoral studies at the University of Hong Kong, Ziying also worked as a research assistant at the Faculty of Law, helping edit books and participating in research projects at the Faculty of Law. She is a student fellow at the Center for Interdisciplinary Legal Studies, University of Hong Kong. Ziying has published articles on public interest litigation in both English and Chinese journals and has spoken at relevant conferences in Asia. Her articles have received several awards for her contributions. Additionally, she has been appointed as one of the student representatives for the Faculty of Law RPG students for the academic year 2023-25.
1. What is your research topic?
I started my doctoral career by researching and exploring public interest litigation in China, which was also the topic of my master’s thesis. My current research interests are in the areas of public interest litigation and criminal procedure, with a particular focus on public interest litigation for wildlife crimes.
2. What are your main achievements?
This summer, I was honored to be selected as the recipient of the 2023/24 HKU Foundation First Year Excellent PhD Award. I believe that two accomplishments during my trial period greatly contributed to achieving this honor. First, my interest in research led me to participate in this call for papers. Symposium on strict legal prevention and control of environmental risks and protection of national ecological securityThis was the 2022 annual meeting of the Special Committee on Multiple Resolution Mechanisms of Environmental Disputes of the China Ecological Civilization Research Promotion Association and the China Society of Environmental and Resource Law. Out of the 123 papers submitted, my conference article “An Empirical Study on Wildlife Protection under the Threshold of Criminal Ancillary Civil Public Interest Litigation in the People’s Republic of China – Based on 496 Judgments” After a review by experts, the paper was selected as the runner-up prize winner (the first of seven runner-up papers). Next, I submitted a paper during the trial period. International Journal of Wildlife Law and Policyis an internationally renowned peer-reviewed journal and was successfully published in 2023.
In addition, my new paper “Restorative Compensation Mechanism for Criminal Ancillary Civil Public Interest Litigation Related to Marine Ecology in the Greater Bay Area of Mainland China – Sample of First Instance Judgments on Marine Ecological Crimes” (3rd place of 9) My first paper) was awarded 3rd place. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Legal Forum (GBA Legal Forum 2024). I am very honored to be able to participate in this forum on behalf of the 3rd place winners. The paper will be presented in the conference proceedings on August 30, 2024 and published in a Chinese peer-reviewed journal. Nomocracy Forum (Chinese academic journal. Chinese social science citation index (CSSCI)) April 2025.
3. How do you feel about receiving this award?
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the University of Hong Kong Foundation for recognizing my excellent academic performance during my probationary period. I must say that pursuing a doctoral career is definitely a difficult mission and requires great determination and perseverance. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my boss. Professor Amanda WhitfortI would like to thank her for her continued support and warm encouragement throughout my journey beyond myself. Furthermore, my co-mentor, Professor Richard Cullencontributed many insightful ideas to our discussion. Professor Simon YoungMy teachers have generously given me advice and encouragement throughout my student life. I am also deeply grateful to my family and close friends who have supported and supported me along the path I have chosen. I have always believed that the continued pursuit of self-transcendence is a lifelong journey that enriches our lives in countless ways. Failure is not fatal. Rather, what really matters is the courage to persist. I wish everyone who chooses a doctoral program happiness and success in their journey.