Hello, I’m Zhan Qingyun.

I noticed other Vistopia hosts sometimes devote an episode to criticism and questions about a program’s overall philosophy rather than a specific topic.

A quarter of the way through this program, one comment deserves a candid response: why do a Chinese host and Chinese audience spend so much time on American law?

I should explain my real thinking and plan, or that pressure will constrain every later recording.

When Daolong invited me to make Vistopia’s first law program, I felt proud—he has been my idol since childhood—but hesitant. I too believed it should serve discussion of Chinese rule of law, and I did not consider myself the ideal host.

I never systematically studied Chinese law. In Hong Kong I studied economics, then earned a political-science doctorate researching Chinese land policy. Many apparent legal problems proved insoluble through law because rapid reform, growth, and social change outpaced legislation.

Large gaps remain as China continues exploring the construction of rule of law.

Asked in a US law-school interview why I wanted to study American law, I answered sincerely: stones from another mountain can polish jade. I wanted to learn what successes and failures a society founded on law had accumulated over two centuries.

Before going, I imagined more success; afterward I saw much failure too. Either way, I studied it as a reference. Experience always shapes cognition.

My perspective is that of someone raised and educated in China, who studied Chinese governance academically and then encountered a very different Western legal system. Those reflections are what I want to share.

I overcame hesitation by clarifying what the program would and would not do.

After U Can U Bibi, many platforms invited me to make practical legal programs: what to put in a lease or contract, or how to defend yourself against extreme overtime.

I am not the best presenter for that. Practical guidance requires extensive firsthand experience, and specialized lawyers already offer it.

When people ask me specific legal questions online, I recruit volunteer friends because no one can master every field.

Law looks like rules but enters life as individual cases. Place, factual details, and the people involved determine outcomes.

A general-audience program explaining basic rules may not help a concrete problem, which requires someone to examine its details within the legal framework.

That is not what this program promises.