How does Party-building guide judicial work? How can financial adjudication and grassroots governance achieve mutual progress? To mark the 7th annual ¡°May 15 National Investor Protection Awareness Day¡±, the ¡°Rongju¡± (Convergence Torch) Party-building initiative of Shanghai courts joined hands with the Hongkou District People's Court to explore these questions in practice.

Recently, under the guidance of the Party Branch of the Financial Division of the Shanghai High People's Court, the Hongkou District People's Court (hereinafter ¡°Hongkou Court¡±) held a series of activities in recognition of ¡°May 15 National Investor Protection Awareness Day¡±. The initiative aimed to carry forward the ¡°Fengqiao Experience¡± in the new era and promote rational investment awareness.

Applying the ¡°Fengqiao Experience¡± as fundamental guidance to deliver essential investor education

Investor education serves as fundamental groundwork for investor protection. How to make such education better meet public needs and address financial risk prevention remains a crucial issue in its advancement.

With growing diversified, personalized financial demands among elderly investors, the ¡°silver economy¡± has emerged as a promising new growth area¡ªone that also calls for proper regulatory guidance. To provide proper guidance, Hongkou Court has actively applied the ¡°Fengqiao Experience for the New Era.¡± The court selected an infringement dispute case involving middle-aged and elderly investors in foreign exchange trading for a circuit trial at North Bund Subdistrict, inviting district-level NPC deputies and local residents to observe the proceedings.

¡°I had a USD time deposit that had not yet matured, which I needed to convert into RMB at the defendant bank. However, the bank staff failed to remind or confirm with me whether I had sufficient annual quota under the simplified foreign exchange settlement and sale policy before proceeding. They directly converted my time deposit into a current account. The subsequent exchange failed due to insufficient annual foreign exchange settlement and sale quota, causing me financial losses. I maintain the bank neglected its duty of disclosure and seek compensation for this infringement,¡± the plaintiff argued before the Collegial Bench, presenting the case facts.

In response, the defendant bank argued: ¡°First, individuals are responsible for keeping track of their own available quota under the simplified foreign exchange settlement and sale policy. Secondly, prior to processing the deposit certificate transaction, our bank had duly notified the plaintiff of the interest loss risk associated with early withdrawal. Furthermore, after the failed currency exchange attempt, the bank promptly re-deposited the funds into a new time deposit certificate for the plaintiff, who consequently has sustained no actual damages.¡±

Presided over by the court, both parties presented extensive evidence and delivered arguments regarding the disputed issues. ¡°The Collegial Bench will deliberate and announce the judgment at a later date,¡± the Presiding Judge announced before adjourning the session after hearing both sides.

Following the trial, Zhang Yi, Chief Judge of the Financial Division of Hongkou Court, and Judge Li Yaofei from Hongkou Court conducted on-site legal education. Using real financial dispute cases, they addressed public inquiries about wealth management, making this circuit trial both substantive and well-received.

¡°My biggest takeaway is that we must keep learning throughout life. Before making any investment, it's essential to fully understand the product and relevant laws. Caution is key,¡± said an elderly resident who attended the session.

Strengthening investor protection through comprehensive judicial engagement

Since China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) established the ¡°May 15 National Investor Protection Awareness Day¡± in 2019, Shanghai's financial judiciary has consistently upheld the principle that 'investors are the foundation of the market.' Grounded in the political and people-centric nature of financial justice, the courts have robustly safeguarded investors' legitimate rights and interests.

Inside the community governance center, circuit court proceedings were conducted in an orderly manner, while outside in the 'Rule of Law Garden,' public education campaigns on rational investing unfolded simultaneously. Judges and Judge Assistants from Hongkou Court's Financial Division engaged with residents, distributing case study booklets and providing expert legal guidance on financial matters.

The catchy risk-prevention rhymes¡ª¡±Don't click unknown links, don't trust strange calls, never share personal data, always verify transfers¡± and ¡°Check product licenses, recognize suspicious pitches, secure your transactions, keep proper records¡±¡ªprovided on-site investors with reliable, memorable guidelines.

Judge Zhang Yue of Hongkou Court's Financial Division remarked, ¡°Investor protection requires a systematic approach. Developing mature investment culture and fostering a law-abiding market ecosystem demands proactive judicial engagement.¡±

The financial judiciary's role in investor protection extends far beyond the courtroom. By bringing legal services to enterprises and households, and participating in the operations of social governance centers, courts not only enhance investors' legal awareness but also gain firsthand understanding of their concerns. This proactive approach to moving investor protection ¡°upstream¡± vividly embodies the judicial philosophy of ¡°serving the broader public interest while administering justice for the people.

Advancing Party-building through joint initiatives: one strategic move activates the entire board

As a highly specialized political institution, how do people's courts integrate Party-building with judicial adjudication? This event marked the first grassroots outreach under the Shanghai Courts' ¡°Rongju¡± Party-building initiative in financial adjudication.

In April 2024, the Shanghai High People's Court promulgated the Implementation Guidelines on the Integrated Development of Party Building in Shanghai Courts (hereinafter ¡°Guidelines¡±), which articulated the fundamental principles of organically blending political consciousness with judicial professionalism, deeply fusing Party construction with judicial operations, and effectively coordinating vertical management with horizontal governance. By September 2024, the ¡°Rongju¡± program emerged as the embodiment of Shanghai financial adjudication divisions' collective ethos¡ªwhere the torch of Party leadership converges with specialized judicial work.

Today, the Party-building approach of ¡°dual implementation through vertical-horizontal coordination and integrated advancement through top-down collaboration¡± has become the consensus across Shanghai's financial adjudication system. The establishment of this joint Party-building initiative and grassroots contact point represents another innovative measure to implement the Guidelines' requirements, leverage the impact of the ¡°Rongju¡± Party-building program, and strengthen branch development throughout the judicial system.

At the ceremony, Zhu Chuan, Chief Judge of the Financial Division of the Shanghai High People's Court, and Feng Jing, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of Hongkou Court, jointly unveiled the ¡°Rongju¡± grassroots contact point for Shanghai's financial adjudication. The event was attended by Zhang Xingfeng, Deputy Director of North Bund Subdistrict Office, and Feng Jianbo, Director of the North Bund Subdistrict Judicial Office.

The ¡°Rongju¡± Party-building initiative inherently embodies the concept of integrating judicial work with serving Shanghai's financial development strategy. Following the unveiling ceremony, participants convened for a symposium titled ¡°Engaging in Grassroots Dispute Resolution: Extending Judicial Functions.¡± Judges from various Party branches of Shanghai's financial adjudication system exchanged views grounded in their primary responsibilities, discussing approaches to ¡°strengthening professional work through Party-building and team development¡± and ¡°enhancing source governance of financial disputes.¡± The event concluded with an educational visit to the Memorial Hall of the Fourth National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Comments from representative committee members

Zhao Liqin, Deputy to the Hongkou District People's Congress and General Manager of Shanghai Hongkou Commercial (Group) Co., Ltd.

Hongkou Court leveraged the ¡°May 15 National Investor Protection Awareness Day¡± to conduct legal education campaigns, demonstrating deep integration of judicial services with investor rights protection through its North Bund Circuit Court. This initiative vividly embodies the judiciary's people-centered philosophy, showcasing exemplary rule-of-law practices with significant educational value. By combining financial dispute adjudication with legal publicity, the Circuit Court effectively resolves conflicts while enhancing public financial literacy - a dual approach that strengthens legal awareness and addresses disputes at their source. We hope the court will continue intensifying legal education with more tailored investor content to optimize our regional legal ecosystem.

Gu Yu, Deputy to Hongkou District People's Congress and President of Bank of China Quyang Branch (Shanghai)

As Shanghai's core international financial hub, North Bund benefits profoundly from the Court's investor protection initiatives during the Awareness Day. Through case demonstrations and legal consultations, these efforts highlight judicial commitment to investor rights while enhancing credibility and transparency - a contemporary application of the ¡°Fengqiao Experience¡± in grassroots governance. The North Bund Circuit Court's public hearings of landmark cases demonstrate the effective integration of judicial practice and legal education through professional adjudication. This approach not only strengthens investors' trust in the judicial system but also facilitates the establishment of a fairer and more efficient investor protection framework, yielding multifaceted benefits for both rights protection and grassroots rule-of-law development. Moving forward, amid increasingly complex financial innovation challenges, we expect the court to further enhance its legal advocacy and circuit court operations, thereby contributing greater judicial expertise to the field.