Three US judges praised China's rapid progress during a US-China meeting this month.

During the US-China Intellectual Property Protection Cooperation and Research Forum, held at the John Marshall Law School, three US judges who served as panelists told Xinhua about their first-hand experiences in China during an exclusive interview.

James F. Holderman has been chief judge of US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois since 2006. He has been a judge for more than 20 years.

Holderman shared his experience traveling to Beijing just before the 2008 Olympics.

"I had the good fortune of being in Beijing during that time and was wonderfully impressed," Holderman said.

Collins T. Fitzpatrick, circuit executive for the federal courts in the US Seventh Circuit Court, said that he was mostly impressed by Chinese people's eagerness to learn whenever they can and their advanced level of knowledge.

"It was eye-opening to me to see that, not only in Beijing, but in Shanghai and Xi'an, and other parts of the country," Fitzpatrick said.

David Coar, a judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, visited Beijing and Shanghai before and during the Olympics.

He was in awe of the rapid growth he saw in China.

"I have never seen so many building cranes in all my life. I am also very impressed by the energy of the Chinese people and the cultural aspects in Beijing," Coar said.

Regarding China's intellectual property (IP) system, the three judges agreed that China is making great progress and has successfully cooperated with the United States in the IP area.

"China is making substantial strides in connection with the resolution of IP issues. I think it is a credit to the Chinese government for the steps that they have taken," Holderman said.

The three judges served as panelists on the judicial panel during the US-China Intellectual Property Protection Cooperation and Research Forum on Sept 3 to share their knowledge and experience in the US court system.

Xinhua

(China Daily 09/14/2009 page9)