Sun Bo, a judge in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, has been dedicated to judicial work for over 20 years despite being stricken by serious illness.

Sun, a judge from the Gongnong District People’s Court in Hegang, Heilongjiang, was recently awarded the “excellent grassroots judge” jointly by the Supreme People’s Court and media organizations based in Beijing.

He carries on his mission of seeking the essence of the law, and has always regarded justice and fairness as the core of jurisdiction.

So far, Sun has heard 1,890 cases, and among the 430 cases in which he acted as the chief umpire, no case was commuted, and no litigant appealed to a higher court. And, under his leadership, the mediation satisfaction rate for civil procedures incidental to criminal cases reached 98 percent.

Over the past 20 years, his work has won affirmation and praise from many legal experts and scholars when working on major cases.

“He is just like a live code, I can always turn to him for help in case I forget certain details concerning the law,” said colleague Song Wenhao.

As a part-time teacher for the Hegang Judges’ Institute, Sun was often invited to give lessons to judges within Hegang.

“I have faith in justice and law, and working for my faith always makes me happy,” Sun said.

Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with uremia in April, 2011. “The uremia makes me stronger as I know that death is approaching. I will cherish every single minute when I am alive, and do what I can to fulfill my mission and dream,” he said.

He said he hopes to get back to work whole-heartedly once he has conquered the uremia, and to work as a qualified judge for another 20 years.