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Zuo Quan and Perfecto "Boyet" Caparas offered the first Graduate Studies Program Lecture titled "Damocles' Sword: Human Rights Divergence Between China and the U.S. – Disputes and Reflections."

Zuo is a visiting scholar at IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law and a Ph.D. candidate at Southeast University School of Law—Nanjing (China).

Caparas holds an A.B. and LL.B. from Manuel Luis Quezon University, an LL.M. in Human Rights (Honors) from the University of Hong Kong, and an LL.M. in American Law for Foreign Lawyers from IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He is the program manager for the law school’s Graduate Studies Program.

Zuo talked about China’s human rights commitment and the nation’s desire to find its own unique path forward. Clashes among nations over human rights are inevitable, he said, and he called for mutual respect between the governments of the United States and China, and for leaders of both nations to stop politicizing human rights issues. “It is better to distinguish the American people from the American government,” he said warmly, noting that he is enjoying his studies at the law school and welcomes the opportunity to get to know people.

Caparas offered an historical perspective on human rights in the United States, all the way from the Founding Fathers embracing the natural theory of human rights forward to the impact of the Affordable Care Act’s impact on access to medical care as a basic human right.

The lecture was held August 21, 2012, in the Wynne Courtroom.