Zhang says she has devoted decades to studying international law. "This is my interest. I'm looking forward to working for the appellate body and I'm confident that I can do it well."

From the profile descriptions of DSB members, Zhang realized that there would be a vacancy for a position at the end of this year and next summer. Undetered by not making it the first time, she decided to reapply.

Indeed, her failure to secure her place in the WTO appellate body only energized her. "I got up at five every morning, went through all the reports, transcripts, and cases that were related to WTO, and learnt the cases being dealt with by the appellate body on the net. It was a tougher job even compared to preparing a dissertation," Zhang recalls. The past 19 months was spent in the very same way, with piles of documents and books on her desk.

The second chance finally came last month, when she took a candidacy selection examination.

Zhang made outstanding statements in response to issues that WTO members are most concerned about, such as environmental conservation, anti-dumping, and reform of the appellate body. This time round, she won unanimous approval from the selection committee and was finally appointed as one of the four new members of the appellate body. The other three judges are Lilia R. Bautista of the Philippines, Jennifer Hillman of the United States, and Japan's Shotaro Oshima.

Following the appointment, WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell has told the EO in an email reply, "The (selection committee) members said they were confident all four of the new panelists would be impartial and independent and they were all very qualified in terms of their expertise, experience, and abilities. All members said the process had been run in a fair, transparent, and inclusive manner." He adds that the selection was based on personal competence, and had nothing to do with the candidates' nationalities.