September 22nd, 2016

(From TouTiao.org, Correspondent An Qing) At 2 pm on September 20, the 16th International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution co-organized by the Asia Pacific Exchange & Cooperation Foundation was held at the Lecture Hall on the 3rd floor of Ningyuan Building of the University of International Business and Economics. The academic conference on “Innovate Mediation Mechanism through Eastern Wisdom” was held successfully with a total of more than 100 people participating, including representatives from global related industries and scholars of Chinese traditional culture. Mr. Xiao Wunan, Executive Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific Exchange & Cooperation Foundation, presided over the conference and delivered a speech.

Mr. Xiao Wunan said that at present when resolving of world crises and mediating disputes, there existed obvious differences between the East and the West. Eastern civilization tended to use wisdom, especially Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism to resolve disputes and contradictions, and solve the fundamental problems through the internal examination and the adjustment of thinking. He hoped to let Eastern civilization make due contributions to the future of mankind through the discussion and exchanges.

Ms. Ma Xianrui, a famous cultural scholar, delivered a keynote speech on “Taoist enlightenment : no lawsuits”. She elaborated that how Taoism used monism to resolve disputes caused by dualism, how to turn “existing lawsuit” to “no lawsuit” in order to resolve root of the disputes. From the approaches of recognizing the world, we could move from the opposition of dualism to the harmony of monism.

Mr. Xu Zhonglin, a famous researcher of the University of International Business and Economics, delivered a keynote speech on “harmony in diversity, seek common ground while reserving differences” based on Confucianism. He elaborated the Confucian philosophy of “harmony between man and nature, harmony is precious, combining mind and body, making all nations live together peacefully”, and emphatically introduced that Confucian culture regarded “benevolence” as the high point of morality to resolve conflicts and disputes.

Mr. Wang Zhiyuan, a researcher of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, expounded Buddhism’s understanding of the polynary world, especially emphasizing that many disputes had their own cause and effect. He pointed out that solving problems from its root was fundamental. At the same time, he listed some classic cases in Buddhism, dialectically analyzing the relationship between “treating symptoms” and “treating root cause”, and expressed the view that if a person did a good deed, he would be repaid. People’s willingness would eventually overcome the karma, and turn evil to good and peace.

Conference Chairman Mr. Li Anyu made a summary statement that the 16th International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution was held in Beijing, the session of “Innovate Mediation Mechanism through Eastern Wisdom” was the biggest highlight of this conference. It was also an attempt to explore how Eastern civilization could contribute to mankind, which was a research direction worthy of encouragement. In the end, representatives from the participating countries published the “Beijing Consensus on ODR”.

The 16th International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution hosted by the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution and co-organized by the Shenzhen Institute of the University of International Business and Economics was held on September 18 - 19 at the university campus. This conference continued the theme “Innovative, Invigorated, interconnected, inclusive” proposed by the G20 summit, and discussed the application of information technology in dispute resolution. This conference was a top-ranked academic conference in ODR held in China for the first time, which fully reflected China’s status in rule making of the international order.

Mr. Wang Jiaqiong, President of the University of International Business and Economics, Mr. Yang Hongcan, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Mr. Jiang Huiling, Director of Applied Law Institute of China, Mr. Ethan Katsh, Director of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution, Ms. Liu Hongyu, a member of the National Committee of CPPCC, delivered opening remarks.