XIAMEN UNIVERSITY NEWSLETTER SPRING 2011/ ISSUE 9ice.xmu.edu.cn/file/newsletter/201110.pdf ·...

CONTENTS XIAMEN UNIVERSITY NEWSLETTER SPRING 2011/ ISSUE 9

NEWS AND EVENTS

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PEOPLE

SPECIAL EDITION

VOICES

NewsVisitsAwardsConferences and Forums

Tan Kah-Kee - the Founding Father of Xiamen UniversityPioneers in EducationOverseas Students in XMU

Xiamen University Vice-President, Professor Wu Shi-nong wins 2010 Fudan Management AwardsXiamen: Magic Place, Magic People by Professor Bill BrownDeveloping a Health Shield - Professor Xia NingshaoA Rising Star in Chemistry - Professor Zheng Nanfeng

Xiamen University: bringing together outstanding tal-ents and building academic strengthThe Second Executive Workshop for Confucius Institute Directors 2010Teatime Symposia - Sipping Tea and Savouring Life

Office of International Co-operation and Exchange, Xiamen University

Office of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs, Xiamen University

Add: 422 Siming South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361005Email: [email protected]: +86-592-2186237; Fax: +86-592-2180240

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1. XMU establishes sister-university relation-ship with UMK

Professor Leo E. Morton, President of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, visited XMU between July 7th and 8th. XMU Presi-dent Zhu Chongshi and Prof. Morton signed a memorandum of co-operation.

2. Co-operation in research between XMU and Chuo University, Japan

On July 21st, a new agreement on international co-operative pro-jects was worked out between the XMU Department of Finance and Chuo University, Japan. The agreement ensures in-depth co-operation in the comparative study of the financial systems, fi-nancial supervision and monetary policies of China and Japan in the post-financial crisis era.

3. XMU and Waseda University run joint eco-logical survey

In July, An eco-culture research team from XMU and a research expedition on eco-culture from Waseda University in Japan held a joint survey on the current ecological state, the progress made in desertification-control and construction of the eco-culture in Inner Mongolia.

4. XMU-University of Southampton Summer School

The 2010 XMU-University of Southampton Summer School on research in bio-fuel cells and micro-energy devices was held be-

tween August 2nd and 11th under the sponsorship of XMU, the University of Southampton and the UK Research Council. Some 24 scholars from China and Britain were invited to contribute. 57 postgraduates and 33 undergraduates were accepted for the Sum-mer School.

5. XMU Vice-President Wu Daguang attends European Confucius Institutes Joint Confer-ence 2010

The European Confucius Institutes Joint Conference 2010, held by Confucius Institute Headquarters, was held in London be-tween September 6th and 8th. XMU Vice-President Wu Daguang attended the conference and visited Confucius Institutes around Europe.

6. XMU Chairman Zhu Zhiwen meets Bill Gates

On September 27th, XMU Chairman Zhu Zhiwen met Bill Gates at the China World Hotel in Beijing. They discussed the travelling wave reactor technology, particularly the possibilities of its popu-larisation and application in Fujian Province.

7. “State Key Laboratory of Marine Environ-mental Science (Xiamen University)” award-ed title of “Superior State Key Laboratory”

On September 28th, the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environ-mental Science (Xiamen University) was awarded the title “Supe-rior State Key Laboratory” in a nation-wide appraisal programme of 37 geosciences laboratories.

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NEWS AND EVENTS

8. Academic exchanges agreement signed between XMU and Universiteit Maastricht

On October 13th, President Gerard Mols of the Universiteit Maas-tricht in Holland visited XMU, where he had a meeting with XMU President Zhu Chongshi and signed an agreement for an academic exchanges programme between the two universities.

9. Opening of Confucius Institute at Univer-sity of Delaware

The University of Delaware’s Confucius Institute for the Advance-ment of Chinese Language and Culture was officially opened on October 19th in a ceremony attended by UD President Patrick Harker and XMU President Zhu Chongshi. Some 70 Confucius Institutes have been set up in the United States since the first one was established at the University of Maryland in March 2005.

10. Tohoku University Day held at XMU

On October 15th, a series of events was held in the XMU Science and Arts Centre by Tohoku University in Japan, to mark Tohoku University Day. The opening ceremony was attended by XMU President Zhu Chongshi and the President of Tohoku University, Prof. Akihisa Inoue.

11. XMU President Zhu Chongshi writes on the cultivation of creative talents in China Education Daily

On September 16th, XMU President Zhu Chongshi wrote an ar-ticle for the China Education Daily on the mission of cultivating innovative talents. In it, he emphasised the following five points: inculcating in students a sense of social responsibility; uphold-ing the concept of elite education; making scientific research the foundation of education; developing universities to reach inter-national standards; valuing the personal development of the stu-dents.

12. XMU Vice-President Wu Daguang meets former British Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott

On November 8th, Lord Prescott visited XMU, where he was warmly welcomed by Vice-President Wu Daguang. Lord Prescott, a former British Deputy Prime Minister, is and Honorary Profes-sor of XMU and a European Council Climate Envoy.

13. XMU Alumni Association established in Canada

On October 26th, the XMU Alumni Association of Canada was founded, with a membership of over 70 alumni from cities all over Canada, including Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. The founding ceremony was attended by a delegation from XMU led by Presi-dent Zhu Chongshi, who extended their congratulations, and af-firmed that XMU would be built into a high-level university well-known both at home and abroad.

14. Comprehensive agreement on co-op-eration and exchanges between XMU and Georgetown University initialled

At the end of October during his trip to America, XMU Presi-dent Zhu Chongshi visited Georgetown University, XMU’s newly-established academic partner university, where he had a meeting met with GU President Dr. John J. De Gioia.

15. XMU Vice-President Sun Shigang attends 30th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan

On November 12th, XMU Vice-President Sun Shigang attended the 30th Anniversary of Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. At the Presidents’ Forum, Prof. Sun gave a paper on “Competition and Co-operation: New Developments in Educational Exchanges and Co-operation across the Taiwan Strait”. He analysed the current

situation and problems in the field and proposed a series of solu-tions.

16. CommonWealth Magazine Publishes In-terview with President Zhu Chongshi

An interview with XMU President Zhu Chongshi was published in the latest issue of the Taiwanese CommonWealth Magazine (issue no. 460) under the title of “China’s rise needs talents with leadership”. In the article, Dr. Zhu said that China was expanding its role in the international arena, and that the ever increasing im-portance of its role in the global economy brought ever increasing responsibilities. That, in turn, entailed a higher responsibility on universities in the cultivation of talents. China needed universi-ties in the top rank, even if that meant only one percent or a few dozen of all the nation’s universities. This cultivation of talents with leadership ability should not be a matter of following market trends, it should set the market trends.CommonWealth Magazine, launched in June 1981, was Taiwan’s first political-economic magazine run by professional journalists and is Taiwan’s most respected publication on economics, politics and current events.

17. Professor Richard N. Zare made Honor-ary Professor of XMU

On December 6th, at a ceremony chaired by Professor Tian Zhongqun, XMU President Zhu Chongshi presented Prof. Rich-ard N. Zare of the Stanford University Department of Chemistry with a letter of appointment as an honorary professor of Xiamen University. Professor Zare is a member of the International Ad-visory Committee of the State Key Laboratory of the Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces (Xiamen University).

18. XMU President Zhu Chongshi attends Fifth Confucius Institute Conference

XMU President Zhu Chongshi, in his capacity as a Member of the Board of the Confucius Institute Headquarters, and XMU Vice-President Wu Daguang, as a representative of a Chinese partner university Confucius Institute attended the fifth Confucius In-stitute Conference, held in Beijing between December 10th and 12th. Other participants were staff members of the XMU Office of International Co-operation and Exchange, the XMU Overseas Education College and the Chinese and foreign directors of the 13 XMU-partnered Confucius Institutes. The conference focussed on the sustainable development of Confucius Institutes. It was at-tended by 1,400 university presidents and directors of Confucius Institutes from 96 countries and regions.

19. Five Professors appointed under “Re-cruitment Programme of Global Experts”

By December 28th, five professors from XMU had been appointed under the “Recruitment Programme of Global Experts”, a plan to bring in overseas expertise. They are: Professor Bu Guojun of the Institute for Biomedical Research, Professor Eric Meggers of the College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Professor Liu Xiangyang of the School of Physics and Mechanical & Electrical Engineering. Professor Gao Shuji of the College of Oceanography and Environmental Science, and Professor Zhao Qinjian of the School of Public Affairs. So far, the total number of professors ap-pointed at XMU under the programme has reached 16.

20. Programme led by XMU Vice-President Wu Daguang wins bid for Ministry of Educa-tion 2010 Programme in the study of Philos-ophy and Social Sciences

On December 6th, a research programme on “Quality Research on China’s Undergraduates”, led by XMU Vice-President Wu Daguang, has won a bid under the Ministry of Education 2010 Programme in the study of Philosophy and Social Sciences, with funding worth RMB 800,000.

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NEWS AND EVENTSNEWS AND EVENTS

Visits1. XMU Chairman Zhu Zhiwen visits New ZealandA delegation from XMU, led by the Chairman of Xiamen Uni-versity Council, Prof. Zhu Zhiwen, visited New Zealand between June 18th and 22nd, at the invitation of Victoria University of Wel-lington and Auckland University to attend the plaque-unveiling ceremony for the Confucius Institute at Victoria University of Wellington. Vice-President of China, Mr. Xi Jinping also attended the ceremony and delivered an important speech.

2. XMU President Zhu Chongshi visits Cana-da and AmericaIn mid-June, a 14-member delegation from Xiamen, led by Dep-uty Mayor Pan Shijian, went on a visit to health care centres in Canada and USA to study health management systems. The del-egation included XMU President Zhu Chongshi, the Director of the XMU Medical College, Prof. Liu Zhuguo, and the Director of the President’s Office and PA to the President, Ms Pan Wei.

3. XMU and Chandrakasem Rajabhat Univer-sity exchange visitsIn the morning of July 17th, a three–member delegation from Chandrakasem Rajabhat University in Thailand, led by the Presi-dent, Prof. Suchart Muangkeow paid a visit to the XMU Medical School. In return, from September 8th to 10th, a delegation from XMU led by the Deputy Chairman of the University Council Chen Liwen attended the 70th Anniversary celebrations of Chandrakasem Ra-jabhat University and visited the Xiamen University Alumni As-sociation in Thailand.

4. Vice-President of Tokyo University visits

XMU Southeast Asia Research InstituteOn July 19th, a 6-member delegation from the “East Asian Com-munity” research group of Tokyo University, led by Vice-Presi-dent Tanaka Akirayan visited the XMU Southeast Asia Research Institute for in-depth discussions of an East Asia co-operation mechanism, economic integration and China’s policies on South-east Asia.

5. Prof. Ma Shuangge from Yale University visits XMU School of EconomicsIn the morning of July 24th, Prof. Ma Shuangge from the Yale Uni-versity Department of Statistics visited the XMU School of Eco-nomics for discussions with academic staff and students at XMU.

6. XMU President Zhu Chongshi meets Dele-gation from National Chung Hsing UniversityIn the afternoon of July 28th, a 8-member delegation from Na-tional Chung Hsing University in Taiwan, led by President Xiao Giefu and Vice President Huang Yongsheng, visited Xiamen Uni-versity. They had a meeting with XMU President Zhu Chongshi, at which they signed a co-operation agreement on academic staff and student exchanges.

7. Delegation from Hong Kong Polytechnic University visits XMUOn the August 9th, a delegation from Hong Kong Polytechnic Uni-versity led by the President, Prof. Tang Zhangwei visited Xiamen University, for discussions on institution development, subject construction, and communication and exchanges between Main-land and Hong Kong universities.

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8. Vice-Chancellor of Bocconi University vis-its XMUOn August 30th, the Vice-Rector for International Affairs of the Università Bocconi in Milan, Italy, Prof. Fulvio Ortu, paid a visit to Xiamen University. He had a meeting Vice-President Wu Da-guang of Xiamen University who gave him an introduction to XMU campus construction, international co-operation, interna-tional courses, the development of International Master’s degrees and the academic staff.

9. Delegation form Baltimore visits XMUIn the afternoon of the December 12th, a representative of Balti-more, Mr. Zhong Fangting, and the Vice-President of the Xiamen University Alumni Association in the Americas, Ms. Liu Weimin visited XMU.

10. President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago visits XMUOn the morning of September 13th, the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean Mr. George Richards, accompanied by his wife, visited Xiamen University, where they were met by XMU President Zhu Chongshi, who gave his guests an introduction to the University’s current situation and academ-ic strengths.

11. Professor William C. Kirby of Harvard University visits XMUOn the morning of September 14th, Prof. William C. Kirby of the Harvard University Fei Zhengqing East Asia Research Center paid a visit to the XMU Institute of Education. Prof. Kirby is con-currently Director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and Chairman of the Harvard China Fund.

12. President from Pingtung University of Education visits XMUOn the December 16th, a 10-member delegation from Pingtung University of Education led by the President Liu Zhongqing vis-ited XMU for discussions on university development, subject construction, and cross-Strait communication and academic ex-changes between universities.

13. Delegation from Government of British Columbia visits XMUOn the December 16th, an 18-member delegation from British Co-lumbia in Canada, led by the Mayor of Kamloops, Mr. Peter Mi-lobar visited XMU, where they were met by XMU Vice-President Zhang Ying who gave his guests and introduction to the current situation at XMU.

14. Terra Power Company visits XMUOn September 28th, a delegation from the Terra Power Company, including Chief Engineer Charles Ahlfeld, Development Director Keven Weaver, nuclear expert Bruce Hilton and Project Manager Tyler Ellis, visited XMU, where they had a meeting with the As-sistant to the President, Mr Ye Shiman and the Dean of the XMU Institute of Energy Research, Prof. Li Ning.

15. Delegation from Education Bureaus of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan visits XMUOn October 13th, a 3-member delegation from the Education Bu-reau of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan visited XMU at the invita-tion of the State Administration of Foreign Experts. The purpose of their visit was to sit in on classes and appraise the teaching.

16. President of Universität Trier visits XMUOn October 14th, a 4-member delegation from the Universität Tri-er in Germany, headed by the President, Pro-fessor Peter Schwenk-mezger, paid a visit to XMU. The delegation had meetings with XMU President Zhu Chongshi and Vice-President Sun Shigang.

17. Delegation from Enverga University in the Philippines visits XMUOn the October 26th, a 27-member delegation from Enverga Uni-versity in the Philippines visited Xiamen University with the aim of enhancing mutual understanding and improving co-operation.

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They had a friendly meeting with XMU Vice-President Lai Hong-kai.

18. Vice President of China Medical Univer-sity in Taiwan visits XMUFrom October 25th to 26th, the Vice-President of China Medical University in Taiwan, Prof. Li Yingxiong visited XMU accompa-nied by 16 students on the university’s Chinese medicine resourc-es major and teachers.

19. Educational delegation from Thailand visits XMU On October 29th, a 40-member delegation, including members of the Thai Ministry of Education together with university and col-lege presidents paid a visit to XMU. They were welcomed by XMU Vice-President Wu Daguang who gave them an introduction to the current situation in Xiamen University.

20. President Zhu Chongshi leads delegation to America and Canada From October 18th to 28th, a 7-member delegation from XMU, led by President Zhu Chongshi, visited America and Canada and took part in the opening ceremonies for the Confucius Institutes at the University of Delaware and St. Mary’s University in Nova Scotia. The delegation also attended the 2010 Annual Meeting of the XMU Alumni Association of America and the foundation of the XMU Alumni Association of Canada.

21. New Vice-Chancellor of University of Southampton visits XMUThe new Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, Prof. Don Nutbeam, visited XMU on November 13th and 14th, accom-panied by the Pro Vice-Chancellor International Affairs, Prof. Alistair Fitt, the Director of the International Office, Jo Doyle, and the Director of the Centre for Contemporary China, Prof. Lu Maozu. The visitors had a meeting with XMU President Zhu Chongshi.

22. Delegation from Providence University visits XMU Software SchoolFrom November 15th to 17th, a delegation from Providence Uni-versity led by the Vice-President, Prof. Zhou Wenguang visited the XMU Software School. During their visit, they had a meeting with XMU Vice-President Wu Daguang at which they signed a memorandum of agreement on student exchanges, academic staff visits and co-operation in scientific research.

23. Delegation of Congressional Assistants from the United States visits XMU School of Energy ResearchOn December 17th, a 7-member delegation of Congressional As-sistants from the United States visited the XMU School of En-ergy Research, accompanied by officials of the Chinese Embassy in the US. The purpose of this visit was to gain a comprehensive understanding of China’s reform and opening-up policy and to exchange ideas on energy issues and environmental protection with Chinese experts.

24. XMU Vice-President Sun Shigang visits GermanyFrom December 12th to 16th, XMU Vice-President Sun Shigang visited the Institut für Mikrotechnik and Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, in order to finalise a co-operative agreement on co-operation in science and technology between XMU and IMM, ushering in a new link in bi-lateral co-operation.

25. XMU President Zhu Chongshi meets President Yang Chaoxiang of Fo Guang Uni-versityIn the afternoon of December 22nd, XMU President Zhu Chong-shi had a meeting with a delegation from Fo Guang University, led by the Presi-dent Yang Chaoxiang. The two Presidents exchanged ideas on cross-Strait com-munication in culture and education.

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Awards

1. Teacher from XMU Arts College wins Platinum Award in 2010 International Piano CompetitionA teacher from the XMU Arts College, Mr. Guo Junyi took part in the international piano competition in the 2010 3rd Singapore Arts Festival in June, at which he won the platinum award in the solo piano section.

2. Three Professors from XMU win “Returned Overseas Chinese Association Contribution Award”In August 24th, the Returned Overseas Chinese Association held the “Third New Returned Overseas Innovation Achievements Exchange”. XMU Vice-President Zhang Ying and the Dean of WISE, Prof. Hong Yongmiao, both won “Innovative Talents Con-tribution” awards, while the Dean of the XMU College of Ocean-ography and Environmental Science, Prof. Dai Minhan won an “Innovative Achievement Contribution” award.

3. American Student Wu Mengtian at XMU wins award in “Chinese Bridge” Overseas Student Chinese Language CompetitionOn August 28th, Wu Mengtian a student at the XMU Overseas Education College came sixth in the 3rd “Chinese Bridge” Over-seas Student Chinese Language Competition and was placed first in the “Best Web Choice” award in the competition, which is sponsored by the Han Ban and CCTV. Xiamen University won the “Best Organization” award.

4. An Undergraduate Student from XMU wins National “Historiography Rookie Award”Su Xianhua, an undergraduate student at the XMU College of the Humanities, majoring in history won the first prize in the 7th “Historiography Rookie Award” of the Department of Higher

Education and the National Steering Committee of University History Teaching.

5. Fifteen Doctoral Candidates from XMU win “Doctoral Candidates Academic Rookie” award15 doctoral candidates from Xiamen University won “2010 Doc-toral Candidates Academic Rookie” awards, approved by the De-partment of Education and Academic Degree Commission of the State Council.

6. Professor Lin Boqiang nominated for the 2011 International ENI AwardProfessor Lin Boqiang of the XMU China Centre for Energy Economics Research was recently nominated for the 2011 Inter-national ENI Award, which is given in recognition of brilliant, cutting-edge scientific contributions to the world.

7. Students at XMU School of Economics win Outstanding Paper AwardA paper written by four students, Chen Xiding, Zhang Fangfang, Li Peng and Lu Yuchen, at the XMU School of Economics won an “Outstanding Paper” award at the Deloitte Taxation Cham-pionship Challenge (2010), which was held in Dalian in Liaoning Province on October 15th. Their paper was on The Reform of In-come Tax and Recapitalization and Its Economic Outcome.

8. Doctoral Candidate from XMU wins “Out-standing Paper” award at National Phase Diagram Academic ConferenceA paper by a doctoral candidate at Xiamen University won an “Outstanding Paper” award at the 15th National Phase Diagram Academic Conference and Phase Diagram and Material Design International Seminar, held in Shenyang. The paper, on direct

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evidence for FCC-type miscibility gaps in the Cu-Ni-V system at high temperatures, was written by Yu Yan under the supervision of Prof. Wang Cuiping of the Xiamen University College of Ma-terials.

9. Paper by XMU Department of Finance wins “Best Paper” award at 16th Annual TCFA ConferenceA paper on The price of correlation risk: Evidence from China stock market, co-authored by Professor Zheng Zhenlong, Liu Chen, a postgraduate student, and Deng Yiwei, a doctoral candi-date, was one of six papers to win a “Best Paper” award at the 16th Annual Conference of the Chinese Finance Association, which took place on October 29th to 30th at New York University.

10. Students from XMU win first class award in national final of College Students Chemi-cal Design ContestA team of 5 undergraduate students at the XMU College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, calling themselves “XMU Xiamen Legend”, came sixth in the national final of the College Students Chemical Design Contest, held in Central South Uni-versity from October 29th to 31st, and received a first class award. 11. Doctoral candidate from XMU wins “Best Paper” award at Degree and Postgraduate Education Evaluation ConferenceXMU doctoral candidate Yang Yuan’s paper on Basic academic organization: an important part of postgraduates’ education quality assurance won a “Best Paper” award at the 8th Degree and Postgraduate Education Evaluation Conference, which was held in Changsha from October 29th to 30th.

12. XMU Vice-President Professor Wu Shi-nong wins “2010 Fudan Management Award”A ceremony was held on the afternoon of November 15th in the Concert Hall of the XMU Science and Art Centre for the presen-tation of the “2010 Fudan Management Awards”. The main award, of 100 million RMB, was shared by XMU Vice-President, Profes-sor Wu Shinong of the School of Management, Professor Zhao Shuming of Nanjing University and Professor Chen Rongqiu of

Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The presenta-tion was made by former member of the Standing Committee of the CCCPC Central Committee, Vice-Chairman of the State Council, and Honorary President of the Fudan Management Awards Foundation, Mr. Li Lanqing.

13. Southern Base of Chinese Language In-ternational Promotion at XMU wins award at “Eleventh Five-Year” National Education Film CompetitionThe fifth annual meeting of the China Education Technology As-sociation, announced the results of the first “Eleventh Five-Year” National Education Film Competition. Internet Video Chinese Teaching Courseware “Magical robot” produced by Xiamen Uni-versity and selected by the Southern Base of Chinese Language International Promotion won the third prize.

14. Students from XMU win Chinese Instru-mentation Institute ScholarshipUndergraduate student Liu Zhiqiang, and doctoral candidate Zheng Gaofeng, of the XMU School of Physics and Mechanical and Electrical Engineering won first- and second-class 2009-2010 Instrumentation Institute Awards scholarships respectively.

15. Academician Huang Liben wins lifetime achievement awardAt the 4th Asia-Pacific Winter Conference on Plasma Spectro-chemistry, held in Chengdu in Sichuan Province from November 27th to 30th, Academician Huang Benli, a professor of the XMU Department of Chemistry and Chemical Enginerring, was pre-sented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Analytical Atomic Spectrometry in China in honour of his contributions to the field.

16. XMU student wins top prize in final of Second Cross-Strait Interpreting ContestOn December 23rd, the Second Cross-strait Interpreting Contest was held at National Changhua University of Education in Tai-wan. 16 contestants from Mainland China and Chinese Taiwan, gave a wonderful demonstration of interpreting skills. The top prize was won by Zhao Xiao, with a third prize going to Chen Si-jia, both of the XMU College of Foreign Languages and Cultures.

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Conferences and Forums1. The 2nd XMU--Humboldt University of Ber-lin Conference on Economics and Finance held in Berlin On July 21st, The 2nd XMU–Humboldt University of Berlin Con-ference on Economics and Finance was held in Berlin. Over 50 scholars from Germany, Belgium, Britain, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan took part.

2. “2010 Seminar on China’s Oil Market” and “2010 China Nuclear Summit” spon-sored by XMU China Centre for Energy Eco-nomics ResearchOn July 15th, the “2010 Seminar on China’s Oil Market”, hosted by the Shanghai Petroleum Institute and co-sponsored by the China Centre for Energy Economics Research (CCEER) at XMU, was held in Shanghai. Prof. Lin Boqiang of CCEER was a keynote speaker. The seminar covered such topics as the current economic landscape at home and abroad, the oil market supply and demand pattern and international oil price trends.In addition, the “2010 China Nuclear Summit”, also co-sponsored by the CCEER, opened in Beijing. Prof. Lin Boqiang spoke at the conference. This conference discussed China’s macroscopic nucle-ar power development programme as well as trends and potentials in the global nuclear market.

3. 2010 International Conference on Math-ematical Chemistry held in XMUOn August 4th, 2010 International Conference on Mathematical Chemistry opened at XMU under the chairmanship of Professor Li Xueliang of Nankai University. Deputy Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences, Prof. Cheng Lixin, and Prof. Zhang Fuji, and Professor Ivan Gutman from Uni-versity of Kragujevac addressed the confer-ence.

4. XMU Vice-President Sun Shigang attends the Sino-American Seminar on Electric Vehi-cles and Battery TechnologyXMU Vice-President Sun Shigang attended the Sino-American Seminar on Electric Vehicles and Battery Technology sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory on August 30th and September 1st. The Seminar covered issues such as the norms and standards for electric vehicles and batteries, mutual demonstration projects, and technology development plans.

5. XMU President Zhu Chongshi heads del-egation at Cross-Strait University Presidents’ ForumXMU Vice-President Sun Shigang attended the Sino-American Seminar on Electric Vehicles and Battery Technology sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory on August 30th and September 1st. The Seminar covered issues such as the norms and standards for electric vehicles and batteries, mutual demonstration projects, and technology development plans.The Cross-Strait University Presidents’ Forum, held in Taiwan be-tween October 31st and November 6th, was attended by representa-tives from 55 universities, 26 from the mainland and the remainder from Taiwan. This year’s theme was “Knowl-edge and Innovation: Higher Education in the Era of Glo-balisation”. The participants discussed the opportunities and challenges confronting higher education institutions on ei-ther side of the Taiwan Strait, and how to strengthen co-opera-tion and academic exchanges. The Xiamen University delegation was headed by President Zhu Chongshi and Vice President Wu Daguang; President Zhu was also deputy leader of the group of mainland universities.

6. 9th Symposium on Biodiversity Protection and Its Sustainable Use held at XMU3

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The 9th Symposium on Biodiversity Protection and Its Sustainable Use, held at XMU on November 4th to 7th, attracted more than 400 scholars and experts from research institutes and universi-ties in China to discuss the theme of “Biodiversity and Our Post-2010 Target”. The symposium addressed some 15 topics, including “Monitoring Biodiversity”, “Managing Ecological Systems”, “Re-search on Biodiversity and Its Protection and Sustainable Use”.

7. International Workshop on Teaching Phi-losophy and Innovation in the Chinese Lan-guage Teaching Model held at XMU An International Workshop on Teaching Philosophy and Innova-tion in the Chinese Language Teaching Model was held at XMU between November 12th and 15th, co-sponsored by the Beijing Culture and Language University, XMU and National Language Resource Monitoring & Research Centre. Themes covered were “Faculty Development and the Construction of Teaching Materi-als”, “Language Research and Teaching” and “Research on Teach-ing Theories and Practice”.

8. The 2nd Seminar between XMU and its partner universities in Confucius Institutes held in BeijingThe 2nd Seminar between XMU and its partner universities in Confucius Institutes of was held in Beijing on December 9th. XMU Vice-President Wu Daguang chaired the meeting and ad-dressed the seminar. The participants from the various Confucius Institutes discussed such issues as teaching practices and cultural activities.

9. International Symposium on Contempo-rary Labour Economics Held at XMUThe “2010 International Symposium on Contemporary Labour Economics”, hosted by WISE, was held at Xiamen University on December 11th and 12th. Key speakers included Prof. Li Hongbin of Tsinghua Univer-sity, Prof. Albert Park of Ox-ford University, Prof. Mark Rosenzweig of Yale Univer-sity and Prof. Scott Rozelle

of Stanford University. Their papers covered such China-related topics as economic development and reform, manpower capital investment, the labour system, the employment situation, the in-fluence of local labour on the market, and the gender make-up of the labour force.

10. International Seminar on Experimental Economics and Finance 2010 held in XMUOn December 15th, the International Seminar on Experimental Economics and Finance 2010 was held at XMU. The seminar, which was sponsored by WISE, was the first international semi-nar on the theme of experimental economics and finance.

11. International Seminar on Emerging Is-sues and Challenges to Statistics held in Xia-menAninternational Workshop on Emerging Issues and Challenges to Statistics (IWEICS), held at the Marine Garden Hotel in Xiamen, was sponsored jointly by XMU, the International Chinese Statisti-cal Association, and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. Participants discussed such issues as statistical genetics, bio-informatics and financial statistics.

12. National MBA Education Seminar held at XMUOn December 29th, the National MBA Education Seminar was held in the XMU Science and Arts Centre, attracting some 500 scholars from 236 management schools. The participants dis-cussed important issues and reform measures in MBA education in China, including curriculum design and innovation in teach-ing, quality assurance and continuous improvement in EMBA education.

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11 The Founding Father of Xiamen University

Tan Kah-Kee

Xiamen University was founded in 1921, the first univer-

sity in China to be established by an Overseas Chinese

leader. Mr. Tan Kah-Kee was the pioneer of private education

in China, spending his entire fortune in support of education

in his native country. Tan Kah-Kee is an inspirational figure

in China’s history of education, and was described by Mao

Zedong as a “Standard-bearer of the Overseas Chinese and

Glory of the Nation”. He was the first President of the China

Overseas Chinese League, an outstanding Overseas Chinese

leader, a great patriot, and an eminent entrepreneur, educa-

tor and social activist.

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NEWS AND EVENTS

STANDARD-BEARER OF THE OVERSEAS CHINESE AND GLORY OF THE NATION

Tan Kah-Kee was born on October 21st, 1874 in Jimei, in what was then

Tong’an County in Fujian Province—currently Jimei District of Xiamen. He was born into an Overseas Chinese fam-ily, and was sent to a private school at the age of 7, to be educated in the tradi-tional Chinese manner. He left China for Singapore at the age of 17 to work in his father’s business. He took over the com-pany in 1904, but eventually it failed. In 1916, he started his own business in rub-ber planting and processing. By 1925, Tan Kah-Kee had become famous as an entrepreneur, known as one of the four founders of the “Malaya Rubber King-dom” in Singapore.

Tan Kah-Kee was a real patriot, and considered the revitalisation of the

Chinese nation a responsibility. He met Sun Yat-sen and, one year later, joined the United League. After the liberation of Fujian in the1911 Revolution, Tan was chosen to be leader of the Fujian Public Security Committee, to raise money for Sun’s revolution. He became the Chair-man of the South Seas China Relief Fund Union following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937 — the incident thought

of as the start of the Anti-Japanese War — and in 1939, he sent Wang Jingwei a telegram accusing him in harsh terms of betraying his motherland — Wang Jin-gwei was originally a close associate of Sun Yat-sen, but in 1939 was negotiating a settlement with the Japanese, which led in 1940, to his setting up an independ-ent government in Shanghai in opposi-tion to Chiang Kai-Shek. In March 1940, Tan Kah-Kee led a team of Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia to visit major war zones and Chongqing and Yan’an. He had become disillusioned with the corruption within Kuomintang and the dictatorship of Chiang Kai-shek, and became a firm supporter of the Commu-nist Party as the force to save the people and the nation from chaos. He was the leader of the Singapore Overseas Chinese Anti-invasion Union when the Japanese invaded Malaya, and even though his life was in danger and he was forced to leave Singapore and seek refuge in Java, he never vacillated in sacrificing his own interests to the noble cause of the libera-tion of China.

When the Anti-Japanese War end-ed in 1945, he returned to Sin-

gapore to a warm welcome from every group within the Singaporean commu-nity. At the invitation of Chairman Mao, he attended the first National People’s Consultative Conference and the found-ing ceremony of New China in 1949, and in February 1952, returned to China permanently. Tan Kah-Kee held numer-ous positions within the Communist Party of China, including Member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Deputy-Chairman of the National People’s Political Consul-tative Conference. In his later years, he continued to visit cities all over China, in order to understand the primary con-cerns in life of the common people, and devoted himself to the establishment of the Chinese socialist society. He was also a pre-eminent factor in bringing the Overseas Chinese together to support the development of their hometowns and the nation as a whole. His final wish, even as he lay on his sick-bed was the unification of China. He died in Beijing on August 12th, 1961 at the age of 87, and was given a state funeral. His coffin was sent to his hometown of Jimei, where it is buried in the Turtle Garden.

DEVOTING HIS ALL TO EDUCATION

Even though he spent much of his life in Singapore, Tan Kah-Kee al-

ways retained the deepest love for his motherland. As an alien in a foreign

land who had suffered indifference and discrimination, he felt the greatest sym-

pathy for the suffering of the people of China as a result of domestic unrest and foreign invasion. He was an honest and successful businessman, and feeling his responsibilities as a Chinese, he resolved to use his wealth to support education in China as a way of helping the nation’s development. In 1913, Tan founded the

Jimei Primary School, followed by the endowment of Jimei High School, Jimei Normal College, Jimei Fishery School, Jimei Navigation College, Jimei Business School and the School of Agriculture, which came to be known collectively as the “Jimei Schools”.

In due course, Tan Kah-Kee realised that there was not a single university,

neither public nor private, within Fu-jian Province — a province with a rather large population — with a consequent shortage of professional expertise in both education and other fields. He also realised that there was no possibility of a government-funded university being set up in the province at the time, so, in 1921, he drew on his personal fortune to found Xiamen University. Initially, he saw to every detail himself: the selection of the President; the construction of the necessary buildings; and the recruitment of the academic staff; and, of course, the site for the university — with its back to

the hills and its face to the sea, the Uni-versity is widely acknowledged to have perhaps the most beautiful campus of any university in China. His aim was the development of talented people from both home and abroad, to which end he set up five schools in the University, teaching a total of 17 majors: the School of Liberal Arts, the School of Science, the School of Law, the School of Economics and the School of Education.

Tan Kah-Kee’s educational philan-thropy in Singapore was equally

impressive. He founded a number of schools of various kinds, and his endow-ments created an extensive, open educa-tion system known by his name. In spite of the fact that his business was running into difficulties as a result of an econom-ic recession, he still managed to raise

money in every possible way so as to maintain the continued operation of his schools. This commitment extended as far as turning down flat, in 1932, a gen-erous offer from an overseas consortium which would have saved his business, simply because there was a precondition of withdrawing his support for Xiamen University and Jimei School Village. By spring 1937, he could no longer keep it up, having spent every penny of his for-tune on supporting Xiamen University, so the Government of the Republic of China took over the university. Even af-

ter it became a public-funded university, he still followed its development closely. He returned to China to visit the uni-

versity in 1940, after it had been forced to move to Changting because of the war, which the university survived in a manner that earned it the honorary title “Strength of the South”. Following his permanent return to Jimei in 1952, Tan Kah-Kee continued his efforts to raise funds for the expansion of the university.

But Tan Kah-Kee was not merely dedicated to educational philan-

thropy; he was a far-sighted, extraordi-

nary visionary. He was a firm advocate of the overall development of the students, physically, intellectually and morally; he stressed the importance of vocational education and teacher training; and he laid emphasis on the decisive role in edu-cation of the university leadership and its academic staff.

Tan Kah-Kee also promoted social development actively; he founded

the museum in the Turtle Garden and it was he who proposed the establishment of the Xiamen Overseas Chinese Mu-seum.

According to incomplete figures, Tan Kah-Kee’s spent a total of 13.21

billion RMB between 1904 and 1931, in-cluding 8.37 billion directly on education

12 1312 13

IN THE SPOTLIGHTIN THE SPOTLIGHT

itself and 3.8 billion on interest charges related to his educational funding, in all 92% of his total outgoings. In contrast, his monthly living expenses amounted to less than 1,000 RMB. He said, “My

earnings should be spent on public causes, not on personal affairs.” His gen-erosity inspired many Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia to follow his lead in supporting education. The figures show

that, between 1915 and 1948, Overseas Chinese of Fujian Province origin set up 48 high schools in various regions of the Province, proof positive of Tan Kah-Kee’s influence on education in China.

THE TAN KAH-KEE SPIRIT: “PURSUE EXCELLENCE, STRIVE FOR PERFECTION”

On establishing Xiamen University in 1921, Tan Kah-Kee gave it the

motto: “Pursue Excellence, Strive for Perfection”.

“Pursue Excellence” refers to the conscious, unceasing effort to

improve oneself. The expression first ap-pears in the Book of Changes: “As Heaven maintains its vigour through move-ment, so the gentleman should pursue self-improvement unremittingly.” Tao Kan, the Governor of Jing Zhou during the Jin Dynasty made it his motto, and through his dedication became a power-ful, outstanding military figure, whose

fame spread wide. His stories of untir-ingly pursued self-improvement were even recorded. This appears in the Book of Rites compiled towards the end of the Tang Dynasty, where it says, “Tao Kan, throughout his life was diligent and pur-sued self-improvement unremittingly”.

“Strive for Perfection” concerns the persistent effort to pursue ulti-

mate perfection. It refers to the Daxue — “Great Learning” chapter of the Book of Rites: “The way of great learning con-sists in manifesting one’s shining virtue, in loving the people, in only stopping on achieving perfection.” Zhu Xi, a re-nowned Song Dynasty scholar explained the term “qin-min” as meaning “xin-min”, or “renovating the people” rather than “loving the people”, emphasising the role of education in fostering people’s inner good qualities. Zhu Xi also laid stress on “persistence” and “perfection” in “only stopping on achieving perfec-tion”. Tan Kah-Kee’s aim in basing the university on ancient wisdom was to

inspire the students and staff of the Uni-versity to maintain a constant pursuit towards the grand goal of perfection and excellence which is the essence of educa-tion.

Xiamen University has now become a comprehensive university offering

programmes and courses in a wide range of disciplines. It is the only high-level national key research university in any of China’s six Special Economic Zones which comes under the state key “211” and “985” projects. Its location in Xia-men facing the ocean on the southeast coast of China gives Xiamen University the unique geographical advantages of close proximity to Taiwan and easy ac-cess to Southeast Asia and the outside world.

• “Education is the foundation of a nation, supporting education is the responsibility of every citizen.”

• “For me, education is the ultimate way to save the nation. Though it may not bring immediate success, it will at least preserve the nation’s culture and spirit for future revival.”

• “The wealth and well-being of a nation lies in its citizens, whose develop-ment depends on education.”

• “A person can contribute the public cause within his ability at any time. If you choose to wait until you are wealthy, you will never be a philan-thropist.”

• “In spite of constant difficulties and frustrations, I am fully determined

to donate the fortune I have earned to education and the service of the people.”

• “In simple words, the goals of the University are, on the one hand to pursue scientific development through research, and on the other to pro-mote social progress so that China can become one of the strong nations of this Earth.”

• “A student should always make the prosperity of his nation and the well-being of his fellow citizens his first priority.”

• “I would rather shut down my business than close the university.” • “I would sell all my properties if need be to continue my support for Xia-

men University.”

The sayings of Tan Kah-Kee: words of wisdom and TruTh

Pioneers in education

Prof. Pan MaoyuanProf. Wu XuangongProf. Zhang Yichun

When Professor Pan Maoyuan received his Honorary Doctorate from the University of Hull in the UK, he was described as a pio-neering founder of higher education theories in China who, through his hard work and wisdom, had contributed extensively to the

reform of higher education in the country and played a major role in establishing China’s higher education research system.

Since first setting foot on the podium, in 1935, Prof. Pan has devoted his life to education in China, of which he feels most proud. Now in his 90s, he is still active on the frontline of teaching. “If I was given a second life, I would once again choose to become a teacher.”

A ceremony was held on October 9th, 2010 to celebrate his seventy-five years of devotion as a teacher at Xiamen University, which was attended by nearly 500 guests from Departments of Education at various levels of government, higher education institutes and

universities. Prof. Pan received an “Award for Special Contributions to Higher Education Studies” by the Chinese Association of Higher Education, presented to him by the Director of the Association, Professor Zhou Yuanqing.

Prof. Pan maoyuan Pioneering founder of Higher Education Studies in ChinaBuilding the foundations of Higher Education: seventy-five years in teaching

Prof. Pan has been teaching since he was 15 years old, when he gave his first class,

standing in for his brother, who taught at a primary school, and who was unwell at

the time. He can still recall how it felt to be standing on the podium for the first time: “Every time I turned my back to write on the blackboard, the students started throwing

balls of paper at each other and making a racket. I finished everything I had prepared within the first 15 minutes, and then just stood there with no idea what to do next.”

• Starting Teaching at the Age of Fifteen.

• Studying at Xiamen University at the Age of Twenty-One

Having settled on a career in educa-tion, Prof. Pan joined a high-school

teacher-training course and on gradua-tion became a teacher in a village school.

Still a young man, he felt that he could go still further in his career and applied

1414

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

After the founding of the New Chi-na, Prof. Pan was asked by Wang

Ya’nan, the President of Xiamen Univer-sity, to put on a training course for staff of higher education institutions around the nation. However, educational stud-ies at that time only covered pre-school, primary and secondary education. Prof. Pan realised the vital need to establish Higher Education Studies as a discipline. In 1956, he was the first person in China to propose an academic discipline fo-

cussing on studies of various domains within the university curriculum, a dis-cipline which later became Higher Edu-cation Studies. His proposal received a lukewarm response, however, and its im-portance was only finally acknowledged in 1978. Nowadays, Higher Education Studies has become a mature academic discipline, included on the course lists of most universities across the country. Speaking of those years of unremitting efforts, Prof. Pan Maoyuan likes to quote

a well-known line of poetry, roughly translatable as “I spent ten years sitting on a cold bench, meaning being given the cold shoulder.”

for a place on the education studies pro-gramme in Xiamen University. It was the early 1940s, the time of the Anti-Japa-nese War, when living conditions were extremely difficult; with little transport available, Pan and his classmates had no choice but to walk for seven days from Jieyang to Changting in order to sign-up and sit the entrance exam. During his time as a student in XMU, owing to the

lack of transport, he was only able to go home once, for his mother’s funeral.

At that time, despite the shortages of necessities and difficult living

conditions, the people led a more peace-ful and tranquil existence. Studying was unquestionably the top priority of every student. As Prof. Pan recalls, they had to rush to the canteen after class every day

and have a really quick meal so that they could secure a seat in the reading room where they could study undisturbed. Besides their busy study timetable, the students had their own free-time enter-tainments, including writing poetry and plays, and wood carving, which were very popular at the time.

• Twenty-two years exploring of Higher Education

Now in his 90s, Prof. Pan considers that line of poetry to be his motto.

The key lesson from his life is strong-mindedness: if you want to succeed, you

must be sufficiently strong-minded to put up with the cold shoulder from oth-ers, to insist on what you believe in, and to accept your failures. Prof. Pan’s life-

time pursuit in Higher Education Stud-ies is living evidence of his strong-mind-edness and indefatigable willingness to confront failure.

• Lessons from a life of ninety years

Prof. wu XuangongA leading figure in MBA education

80-year-old Professor Wu Xuangong was born in Jinjiang, in Quanzhou, and graduated from the Xiamen University College of Foreign Languages and Cultures in 1951. He received his Mas-

ters degree in Political and Economic Studies from Renmin University of China in 1960. Besides his academic work, he held the posts of Head of the Department of Economics, Vice-President of Xia-men University, and University Party Secretary. He is a national expert in the theory of ownership and property ownership and in Marxist Economics.

On November 20th, 2010, the University held a ceremony to honour his 60 years of devotion to education, with 100 of his former students from political, business and academic circles join-

ing the celebration.

• Founder of the Xiamen University MBA

In 1982, the International Development Bureau of Canada began funding de-

velopment of management programmes in China under the China-Canada Ex-change Programme on Management. Outstanding Chinese students were selected to join MBA programmes in Canada, and Chinese teachers were of-fered opportunities for short-term vis-its to business schools in Canada. Eight national key universities were selected

for the first group to take part in the pro-gramme, including Xiamen University. Prof. Wu was adamant that MBA courses must be established in China to foster management experts ourselves. Under the efficient organisation and leadership of Prof. Wu, the first MBA Centre in China was founded at Xiamen Univer-sity.

• Compilation of MBA Textbooks

Early MBA programmes under the China-Canada Project only used im-

ported English textbooks, which, despite their up-to-the-minute theories, seemed far-removed from the reality of business practice in China. This made Prof. Wu to think about the possibility of compil-ing and publishing a series of MBA text-

books which were adaptable for Chinese reality. He organised a team consisting of young teachers with overseas education-al backgrounds in the area, and together they produced top-level textbooks which attracted intense attention from the do-mestic circles.

• Issuing the MBA degree

In 1990, when the first group of MBA students was about to graduate, no of-

ficial authorising document, defining the qualifications and title of the degree, had yet been received from the Ministry of Education. Two days before the gradu-

ation ceremony was due to take place, Prof. Wu spent one-hour on the phone to the Ministry, explaining the entire pro-cess of the course, including application procedures and course structure. The fol-lowing day, XMU received a telegraphic

notification from the Ministry, author-ising it to issue the MBA and a Masters degree in Economics. Xiamen University was the first university in China author-ised to grant MBA degrees.

• Great love of teaching

Prof. Wu always conveys great affec-tion every time he talks about his 60

years as a university teacher. “Teaching is a process of self-improvement which requires prior learning on the part of the teachers themselves. You should prepare your lectures carefully, mak-ing them more detailed, specific and student-oriented, which is a laborious

and demanding process. However, when students truly benefit from your lectures and put the knowledge they have ac-quired into practice, this rewards your hard work and brings you enormous de-light. It makes you eternally aware of the real value of teaching. That’s the reason I have always felt a profound affection for my job.”

(Prof. Zhang Yichun)16 1716 17


Prof. Zhang yichunA half century of nurturing talents

A ceremony was held on November 13th, 2010, to honour Prof. Zhang, a nationally renowned financial economist, and Director of the National Key Programme in Finance at Xiamen

University, for his 50 years of contributions to education. The ceremony was attended by over 200 former students of Prof. Zhang who are now working in the fields of politics, business and aca-demia. At the same time, the ceremony marked the publication of an anthology of his writings, and the launch of the Zhang Yichun Research Foundation.

Prof. Zhang, who is now in his late 70s, was born in Lianjiang, in Fujian Province. After gradu-ating in political economics at Xiamen University in 1960, he stayed on as a teacher, rising

later to the positions of Head of the Department of Financial Economics and then Dean of the School of Economics. He is the founder and Dean of the Xiamen University Institute for Finan-cial and Accounting Studies.

• Production of a Large Number of Bank Presidents

In his 50 years at the University, Prof. Zhang has supervised 111 Master’s De-

gree students, 74 doctoral students and countless of undergraduates. Many of his former students have become important figures in the finance industry and aca-demic finance circles in China. They in-clude: Gui Minjie, the Deputy-Secretary of the China Securities Regulatory Com-mission; Li Lihui, the President of Bank of China; Dong Wenbiao, the Chair-man of the Board of China Minsheng Bank; Wan Jianhua, the Chairman of the Board of Guotai Jun’an Securities; Jiang Shuxia, Deputy-Secretary of the Chinese

People’s Political Consultative Confer-ence Xiamen Committee and Professor of Finance at Xiamen University; Zheng Zhenlong, a member of the Discipline Appraisal Committee under the State Council and Professor of Finance at Xia-men University. His former students also include political figures such as Member of the Fujian CPC Standing Committee and Secretary of the Fujian Politics and Law Committee, Xu Qian, Deputy Gov-ernor of Guangdong Province, Liu Kun, Deputy Governor of Hubei Province, Zhang Tong, and Secretary of the Xia-men Municipal Committee of the CPC,

Chen Rongkai.

While Prof. Zhang is a very dis-tinguished teacher, outside class

he is extremely friendly and easy-going; his students have even been known to fish around in his pockets for cigarettes during class breaks. Besides giving them academic guidance, Prof. Zhang takes very good care of his students, even to the extent of setting up blind dates for them. To his students, he is both a highly respected teacher and a good friend.

• Prof. Zhang and the Stock Exchange

Despite his age, Prof. Zhang is still active on the academic stage, re-

maining young and passionate at heart. He follows every hot financial and eco-nomic issue closely, whether it concerns merchant banking, stock-markets, or even the recent financial tsunami. He is always the one to break the ice at a semi-nar or symposium, drawing the atten-tion of everyone in the audience. At an advanced age, he got into sending short messages, surfing on the internet and us-ing email to make sure he has access to

the latest information. There is a story that, when he was in hospital, he sneaked out to a nearby internet café to search for some information.

Another story popular among his students and colleagues in Xia-

men University has it that Prof. Zhang is an expert on the stock-markets with a good eye for the potentially most profit-able stocks. He began writing books on stock-markets in the 1980s, using the information as course material for his undergraduate classes. To Xiamen Uni-

versity President Zhu Chongshi, Prof. Zhang’s operations on the stock-market constitute an example of putting theoret-ical studies into practice; to Prof. Zhang himself, investing in stocks and shares can be a driving-force impelling peo-ple to learn about changes in the global economy, in interest rates and exchange rates, and in macro-regulation policies, and therefore constitutes a good source of material for teaching.

overseasstudentsin XMuXiamen University is located on the southern shore of Xiamen Island, in a city which is

widely recognised as the most liveable city in China. The University was a pioneer in pro-viding educational opportunities for overseas students, and for many decades now it has been warmly welcoming students from all over the world. Currently, some 1000 or so overseas stu-dents are pursuing regular courses at Xiamen University. The delightful environment on this beautiful campus enables them to enjoy their life here as well as to make great progress thanks to the excellent academic atmosphere provided by its excellent academic staff and superb re-search facilities. At Xiamen University, many overseas students develop a passionate interest in Chinese and in China’s traditional culture. They can be seen participating in many cultural activities in the University, and many of them leave the campus to enjoy the larger stage of Xia-men itself. Let us hear what they have to say about their life in Xiamen and their perceptions of Xiamen University.

1818

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Magnus Bain from Norway

Cendrawaty T. from Indonesia

It is not easy to describe Xiamen Uni-versity and our lives on this island

with a few words. I could focus on the fact that Xiamen University is a famous university in China, with a beautiful campus and long beaches nearby, but I am not going to. The pictures speak for themselves. Instead I would like to say that this city has a relaxed atmosphere. We live a comfortable life here. Xiamen

is a modern city with everything you need.

To be honest with you, at times it can be hard to live in China. The culture

is still different. The language is the big-gest barrier. Most people here speak some English but in the end you are better off learning a few words of Chinese yourself. It is actually not that difficult to learn. At

the moment very few people from over-seas have even a basic knowledge of Chi-nese law. Foreign companies mainly rely on Chinese staff to do their legal work. With a background in Chinese law you would be able to offer almost unique knowledge about doing business in one of the most important economies in the world. It is a study choice for the future.

During my stay in China I’ve visited many places and cities; each has

its own culture and charm that stunned me in many different ways. However, Xiamen is the one that has impressed me the most. I fell in love with Xiamen the moment I landed at this beautiful place. With the friendliest and warmest people I’ve ever met in China, and delicious cui-sine, Xiamen is really a recommended place for anyone who wishes to have a cosy, healthy life.

As the city has a deep tie on me, it is pretty much understandable that

I chose Xiamen University to continue my graduate programme. The campus speaks for itself, and indeed justifies my true feeling for the city. Xiamen Univer-sity is one of the most beautiful campus-es I’ve ever seen, with its lakes, elegant and classic buildings, and numerous sta-diums. The atmosphere of study at Xia-men University is also very stimulating; the relationship between the professors

and students is pretty cool and informal but with mutual respect.

I really feel at home at Xiamen Uni-versity. One of the experiences that

I’ll never forget getting to know what “Bo Bing” is, a local dice game which is quite interesting and fun to play. Finally, thank you Xiamen for making my life worth living.

Master’s student in Chinese Civil and Commercial Law

Master’s student in Literature

Mohammed Mahabubur Rahmanfrom Bangladesh

I came to Xiamen University in 2006 on a Chinese government scholarship to

study for a master’s degree leading to a PhD. Specifically I am a student of Pollu-

tion Ecology in the Department of Biolo-gy. I feel very proud because I have found some rare characteristics here in this university especially in my research lab.

First of all, I must mention my teach-ers, fellow students and the excellent

learning environment. Secondly, the sci-entific research at this university is really

Master’s student in Ecology

Elisafrom Italy

When, in September 2008, I bravely or crazily arrived in Xiamen

without knowing a single word of Chi-nese, the first days around the city were pretty challenging to the point of being hilarious — staring at the street signs in mysterious Chinese characters and try-ing to use gestures to communicate with the lovely and friendly Xiamen people. A few days later I set foot in the office of the Xiamen University Overseas Education College and had a pleasant surprise…not only did the registration go smoothly, but also many existing students were there to assist the new and lost students by translating and answering questions and doubts. One of them really kindly ac-companied me in searching for an apart-ment and helped me with the real estate agency, then to buy a phone-card, and showed me around the city and much more. I didn’t, at any time, get frustrated about not being able to communicate myself, and didn’t feel any culture shock despite the differences between Italian and Chinese customs. It’s probably also thanks to the simply beautiful Xiamen and positive vibrations all around the city that I just felt immediately welcome and at home.

At first I hadn’t planned how long I would stay in China … maybe one

year, maybe two. I am now in my third year and haven’t had enough yet of this wonderful experience. This new adven-ture is absorbing me totally. So I agreed

to be part of the Students Association and I am always happy to offer myself to help as class representative. This may also be because I’m not 20 years old any-more, and after about 15 years working in my country I am totally enjoying this plunge back into student life and want to live every bit of it. Xiada teachers are not only professional and knowledgeable, but they also try to build a human relation-ship with the students and are willing to help and give advice outside studying matters. A couple of times per semester they arrange extra-class activities for us, such as trips to Zhanghou, Gulangyu, the Tulou, multiethnic lunches, delicious dinners with KTV, bicycle trips, bowling days and many more. These extra-class activities are really a great help for teach-ers and students coming from different countries and various backgrounds to get to know each other.

Soon af ter the karaoke competi-tion the University also organized a

sports competition…our team was the only laowai team and out of 20 teams we

came 20th. If there had been 30 teams we would have been the 30th! All the Chinese teams had been seriously train-ing for weeks in the sports fields, but us, we didn’t even meet one time before the competition not even to try a few jumps. When our competitors were already at the end of the race, our last member would be still running in his sack strug-gling to get to the end at least. We laowai also have a face to save! Anyway, what was important that day for our team, a great mix of nationalities, 1 Italian (me!), 2 from Cape Verde, 1 from Thailand, 2 from France, 1 from Pakistan, 2 from the Philippines and 1 from Russia, was hav-ing the chance to know each other more out of the classroom and to have a great laugh. But next time we will win!

Apart from that, there is also a very interesting event in Xiada: the

Chinese Language Competition. Sadly I haven’t been brave enough to participate so far; I’m just too shy. But I really appre-ciate the university organising all these events, and I would like to encourage other students not be as cowardly as me but to try instead and take part in all the possible activities, in order to meet new friends, beat their fears, improve their language skills, and get more self-confi-dent; to use their precious time in China to absorb as a sponge as much as this fas-cinating culture can transmit to us.

Bachelor’s student in teaching Chinese as a foreign language

incomparable with many scientific re-search papers published every year in re-nowned international journals. Thirdly, all the people of the campus are friendly! They are willing to talk with you and help you. Fourthly, Xiamen is modern

and is one of the cleanest cities in China. Xiamen is a coastal city, well-known for its natural beauty, tourist attractions, and friendly people. Transport is very convenient with bus routes linking all locations. So I think Xiamen University

has already reached great heights and is one of the most famous universities in China. This is indeed a very beautiful university!

20 2120 21


Martinfrom Indonesia

Although I have nearly finished my final year at college, actually I have

realised that I am just beginning the pro-cess of recognising Chinese culture, my dream ever since the first time I came here. Unfortunately, I was not able to master the Chinese language quickly, which is the most important requirement to learn Chinese culture. Since my Chi-nese language has improved, it can help me to recognise the beauty, the values, and the meaning of Chinese culture. But, at this point, I have nearly finished my study and should leave China and work in Indonesia.

The study of Chinese literature and culture have inspired me on how

the Chinese people give a meaning to their life and appreciate their life. In my heart I admire and have a deep impres-sion of how Chinese culture makes peo-ple experience joy and happiness, but it is not overwhelming. It also makes people experience sorrow and shed their tears but does not leave a deep scar in their heart. Moreover, it also teaches me the harmony between people and nature which leads to peaceful, beautiful, and enjoyable life. Nature does not only pro-duce crops but also teaches us to be wise, and the beauty of nature can satisfy our souls. From a bitter life full of challenge and difficulty, Chinese culture was born

and became not only fascinating, but also a meaningful culture which con-tains a lot of wisdom.

My enjoyment of a Chinese song and music led me to be interested

in Chinese culture. At that time, I did not understand the meaning of the lyrics but I could feel its soul. When I listened to it, I felt as if I was in a different and magnificent world, which was created from the relationship between humans and nature. I asked someone who can speak Chinese the meaning of that Chi-nese song’s lyrics, and I became more in-terested in and amazed by Chinese. Up till now my first impression of Chinese culture has never changed, because there is a spirit in Chinese culture which is in line with my own dream.

When I learned the Chinese lan-guage, I experienced exhaus-

tion because I felt that I could no longer see the beauty of the Chinese language. Therefore, in that situation I tried to listen to Chinese music and tried to translate the lyrics. I also repeatedly lis-tened to my favourite Chinese songs and learned how to sing them. Besides that, I really like to watch Chinese drama se-ries. They are interesting because the stories show the reality of life and the messages from the story educate the au-

diences. Chinese music and drama help me to revise the material that had been told in the class.

I like arts quite a lot. Besides learning Chinese, I use my free time to sing

Chinese songs. I have also entered the karaoke competition in the university almost every year. Besides that, I also enjoy Chinese paintings and Chinese calligraphy; I had the opportunity to join in calligraphy competitions too. In my opinion, calligraphy balances the Chi-nese learning journey that is sometimes stressful and tiring. It is this harmony in music and calligraphy that really in-terests me. The values of wisdom and the beauty of Chinese culture will always at-tract me. I am grateful that the Overseas Education College gave me the chance to learn Chinese arts. I hope that one day, I will have one more chance to learn not just the language, but the Chinese arts and culture more deeply.

Chinese language, songs, and arts

Martin Wiley Woods from the US

The most popular participant in Chinese Bridge 2010

I come from Louisville in Kentucky; it’s one of the less-known cities in the

US. One of my high school teachers was keen on Chinese culture and taught us a

bit about the Chinese writing system and language. The first expressions I came

across were “Ni”, “Hao, “Ma” — mean-ing “Hello” — and “Yi’, “Er”, “San” — “one”, “two”, “three”. I found it very in-teresting and asked my mother whether I could go to China. To my surprise, my mother agreed without a second thought; it seemed she believed I was kind of sim-ple-minded that I would not be accepted. But, as it turned out, I was. Besides, one of my high school seniors told me that he had once studied at Xiamen University, which was very beautiful, as soon as you went out the gate you were by the sea. At the beginning of 2008, I came to Xia-men University myself with high expec-tations, even though I only knew a few Chinese characters. I can still remember: it was past eleven in the evening when I arrived at Xiamen Gaoqi Airport. See-ing the pitch-darkness outside, I was so scared that I could not even find the courage to step out of the door and de-cided to sleep in the airport lounge, until two o’clock when I was woken up by a se-curity guard.

When I came to Xiamen, I was ea-ger to learn the Chinese language

well. At first, I dared not open my mouth to speak Chinese; I felt my Chinese was awful, just like a kid in kindergarten. Later, one of my friends told me that lis-tening to Chinese songs would help with learning Chinese. I went to Zhongshan Road and bought two CDs. But, good heavens, I could not understand even a single word of the songs. Chinese was so difficult to learn, but I soon began to gain

confidence. That was because one of my Chinese friends told me the names of the two singers: one was Lee Hom Wang; the other was Jay Chow. He also told me that many Chinese people did not understand what they were singing, either.

I met many excellent “talent scouts” in the Overseas Education College. One

of them was my teacher Ms. Zhang Li. She discovered both my talent and my love of performing. She was convinced that I was quick-witted, thoughtful, and a good performer. Ms. Zhang gave me a lot of support and set up an opportu-nity for me to take part in a well-known programme on China Central Televi-sion. Although my Chinese was still not good at that time, I still thought it would be a good opportunity to practise. I had chaired many competitions and events in Xiamen University and my Chinese had improved greatly.

I have taken part in the CCTV pro-gramme “Chinese Bridge” twice and

have become a familiar face for many people. In 2009, I reached the semi-final, but came 31st. The sad thing was that only the first thirty competitors go on to the final. At the time, my teachers and classmates all thought I could make it, and I am a person who wants to do well in everything, so I preferred to say that I came first of those who did not make it to the final. In 2010, when I took part in the competition again, I was more familiar with the rules and much more

confident. I responded to any question quickly, whether I understood it or not. Many people on the Internet supported me for my performance and I became the most popular competitor online. Actu-ally the ranking was not that important to me; coming first did not mean your Chinese was the best, and it was just a TV programme. I had taken part in it as an opportunity to practise and meet others. I wanted to master the Chinese language by the time I graduated and then pursue postgraduate studies. My interests are in performance and arts management. I want to stay in Xiamen, but that still depends on whether I get a good opportunity. This place has become my second hometown. I don’t like eating western-style food any more, and, apart from Sea Worm Jelly — a local special-ity — my eating habits have become even more local than those of the locals.

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Xiamen university vice-PresidentProfessor Wu Shinong

Wins 2010 Fudan Management Awards

On November 15th 2010, a presen-tation ceremony was held in the

Concert Hall of the Xiamen University Science and Arts Centre for the 2010 Fudan Management Awards. Professor Wu Shinong of Xiamen University was one of three people to be so honoured. Prof. Wu was given the award for his contributions to the field of Business Management.

On graduating from the Xiamen University School of Economics in

1982, Professor Wu joined the faculty. He went to Dalhousie University in Canada in July 1984 to study for his MBA, and returned to Xiamen University in 1986. In early 1990, he went back to Dalhou-

sie University as a PhD student under the Canada-China Project and returned to Xiamen in 1992 with a PhD in Eco-nomics. He spent the 1994-95 academic year as a Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University. In 1991, Professor Wu was appointed Chief Director of the Xiamen University MBA Centre, followed by ap-pointment as the Dean of the Xiamen University School of Management. He is currently a Vice-President of Xiamen University, a member of the committee of the National Natural Science Foun-dation of China, Vice-President of the Chinese Society for Management Mod-ernisation, and convenor of Business Administration Review Group of the Academic Degrees Committee under the

State Council.

Before 2001, Chinese enterprise man-agers had no monitoring system or

forecast model appropriate for studying Chinese corporate financial distress. Furthermore, there was even no agree-ment on the definition of or criteria for

establishing corporate financial distress.

Prof. Wu’s research provided a timely and effective solution to these prob-

lems. Using a dynamic, three-stage theo-ry he re-defined and optimised the con-

cept of financial distress used by foreign companies, and on that basis proposed that financial distress is predictable. By comparing and contrasting financial data of Chinese enterprises, Professor Wu and his team finally set up a finan-

The financial distress is predictable

Professor Wu has long held the view that the internal financial manage-

ment of a company and the external capital market are interactive; a financial manager cannot afford to know nothing

about the capital market, and the devel-opment of a company is inevitably influ-enced by the capital market in terms of its financial policies.

Prof. Wu was the first management scholar to pay attention to China’s

capital market. Already in the early 1990s, he realised that China’s stock markets fluctuated radically, which re-vealed a problem of effectiveness in the

markets. In August 1994, he published a paper entitled Effectiveness of the Shang-hai Stock Market: an Appraisal based on an empirical analysis of financial data on listed companies. In it, he stated that it was necessary for China to ensure the ef-fectiveness of its capital market and that stock prices should ref lect all relevant factors, from which, using an effective scientific analysis of the prices, the dis-tribution of capital resources could be optimised.

From then on, Prof. Wu has focussed on effectiveness within China’s capi-

tal market. During 2003 and 2004, he put forward the concept of market risk, and showed that classic western investment theories did not apply to China’s stock markets. Since 2005, he has carried out a series of studies on the reform to the division of equity in China. He says that China should carry out such a reform so as to improve market effectiveness and to improve legal protection for Chinese

small investors. He also proposed a set of extensions within the theory of Anchor-ing Effects, including dynamic vs. static anchors and high vs. low anchors. In this way, Prof. Wu developed a method for assessing the reform to the division of equity in China.

For over a decade now, Prof. Wu has been continuing to monitor ef-

fectiveness within the stock markets through his follow-up survey of financial data on listed companies. He believes that for any capital market, of no-matter what type, the crucial thing is follow market regulations and prioritise effec-tiveness.

The key to the Chinese capital market is efficiency

Professor Wu insists on two principles for any research: it should be based

on the actuality in China; and it should

benefit China. In the early 1990s, he felt strongly that international scholars paid no attention to Chinese scholars. He rec-

ognised that, in such a situation, if Chi-nese scholars didn’t base their research on the actuality of China and its needs,

Research is to be based on China’s actual needs

cial distress forecast model, consisting of 18 warning indices, enabling the over-all analysis of the state of growth, asset turnover, profitability, balance sheet, as-sets liquidity, and cash generation ability of a company. Prof. Wu’s forecast model proved superior to that used by foreign scholars in both applicability and effec-tiveness.

In 2006, Prof. Wu proposed a further forecast model based on value crea-

tion, which introduced corporate gov-ernance variables into the model. This

method helps uncover some important factors leading to financial distress for a company. He believes that problems caused by the international financial cri-sis have shown that corporate manage-ment is closely linked to selfish behav-iour on the part of company executives resulting in financial distress for the company. Modern financial management research should therefore be combined with studies of corporate executive be-haviour as well as the political and social environment outside an enterprise. Pro-fessor Wu says that he and his team will

carry out further research into financial management, looking at practical prob-lems and using methods of applied psy-chology, sociology and other behavioural sciences.

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Though I was only 32 when I moved to Xiamen (the former Amoy) in

1988, I had already lived in over 30 cit-ies, and certainly had no intention to stay in Xiamen longer than a year or two. I’d never have imagined our family would still be here 22 years later. While I still love to travel, and each year visit cities around China and the rest of the world, I’ve come to realise that while many plac-es are nice for a visit, there really is no place like home, especially if that home is Xiamen.

I did not come to that decision easily. It is hard for an inveterate wanderer

to settle down, so I explored the rest of China, just to be sure. In 1994, my family and I drove our van over 40,000 kilome-tres around China, from Xiamen up the coast to Beijing and Mongolia, through the Gobi desert to Tibet, and back to Xiamen via Southern China. We were amazed by the sheer scope and variety of

China’s natural beauty, and the friend-liness and hospitality throughout the country, but nowhere compared with Xi-amen as a place to actually live and work.

Xiamen’s most obvious attraction is of course its natural beauty. For

centuries, foreign visitors have been

enchanted by its green hills, the rocky granite crags which many compared with Scotland, and the serene gardens and picturesque beaches. My wife and I certainly appreciate the island’s beauty. We walk the boardwalk each morning, taking in the bracing sea air while watch-ing the massive merchant ships, the sam-pans and junks, and the sailing yachts, and admiring the beauty of Xiamen bay and the majestic Great Southern War-rior peak. I can relate to young Miss Jane Edkins, who on April 20th, 1860, wrote to her brother Simon:

“Here we are at Amoy … We an-chored outside, on a beauti-

ful moonlight evening. The scenery all round was enchanting. Noble hills of rocky brown overhung the entrance, crowned by pagodas, etc. Rocky islands, the abode of wild fowl, encircled us. The sun poured his last mellow rays o’er the delightful scene as we entered, and my

it would simply be a case of who pays the piper calls the tune. Furthermore, he is of the opinion that one of the major tasks confronting China’s scholars is to popu-larise management theories in a way that allows policymakers, entrepreneurs and students to understand, master and ap-ply.

Those two principles are the founda-tion on which Prof. Wu’s research

has been built. He has published over 80 papers in key academic journals, such as the Economic Research Journal, Journal of Financial Research, China Account-ing and Finance Review, and Corporate

Governance: an International Review, and at international conferences. In ad-dition, he has written 30 books, four as sole author and 10 either as a contribut-ing author or as translator, and has been Editor-in-Chief on 16 textbooks.

In 1995, Professor Wu was awarded “Outstanding Teacher in Fujian Prov-

ince”. Two years later, he was cited by the State Education of Commission and the Ministry of Personnel with “Award for Outstanding Personnel Returning from Abroad”. In the year 2001, he won the award “Chinese Excellent Teachers in Universities and Colleges”. The year

2006 saw him win the first prize with his research program in the field of Chi-nese academic humanities and social science. Professor Wu won “The Best Paper Award” in the 13th and 15th TCFA Annual Conference in 2007 and 2009 re-spectively.

Xiamen: Magic Place, Magic PeopleBy Professor Bill Brown

heart bounded with joy at the sight.”

Today, Xiamen has retained its en-chanting 19th century beauty while

evolving into a modern city where life is almost like a vacation—except that vaca-tions get old, whereas life on the garden island of Xiamen only gets better as the city continues to evolve. In fact, my wife and I sometimes take a weekend vacation and stay right here in a Xiamen hotel just so we can appreciate our rapidly chang-ing hometown from a visitor’s perspec-tive.

Xiamen has grown rapidly in part because of its natural beauty, idyl-

lic climate, deep natural harbour (one of the best in the world), and strategic coastal location between Hong Kong and Shanghai, and facing Taiwan. But fortunately for us, the rapid growth has not sacrificed our environment. Dur-ing one 20-year period, Xiamen was not

only number one in economic develop-ment for cities its size, but also second in environmental protection. Xiamen’s provincial-level autonomy has helped the city to boldly pioneer numerous green development practices. Xiamen had Chi-na’s first daily air quality forecasts, and was a pilot city for national environment protection. We had China’s first ISO-au-thenticated garden, and Gulangyu Islet was the country’s first ISO-authenticated administrative district. Xiamen greenery has grown from 13% to almost 40%, new communities have at least 30% green space, and our Yuandang Lake, which is now the green heart of the city, was se-lected as a United Nations Development Project demonstration site.

When Xiamen entered the UN-sponsored “Nations in Bloom”

competition in Germany in 2002, the six judges voted unanimously for Xiamen, noting that Xiamen was not only number one but far ahead of number two. And in 2004, Xiamen received the coveted “UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award”. But the secret of Xiamen’s success is found not just in its natural beauty and economic strategies but in the spirit of its people.

Centuries before Hong Kong or Shanghai were on the map, Xia-

men people had a reputation for bold-ness, business savvy (they were dubbed the “Yankees of China”), and integrity. Most overseas Chinese emigrated from the Xiamen area, so Xiamen people had contacts with relatives abroad, and they were open to foreign trade, travel, and exchange of ideas. Allom and Wright

wrote of Xiamen in 1843,

“Besides the natural advantages…our embassies and expeditions

have uniformly found a kindlier spirit, a more generous feeling, predominant at Amoy, towards foreigners, and traders, and visitors, than at other parts of China …”

Xiamen had consulates for 14 coun-tries, and an international settle-

ment so successful that in 1900, a foreign author wrote that Xiamen’s Gulangyu Islet had the wealthiest square kilometre on the planet. Xiamen prospered because of its great concentration of both wealth and talent, and the uniquely close co-op-eration between Chinese and foreigners. Xiamen had 20 educational institutes, and Chinese and foreigners working to-gether helped pioneer China’s modern medicine, modern education (especially for women), sports, art and literature, and music. Gulangyu Islet was home to such famous Chinese as Lin Qiaozhi, “Mother of modern obstetrics”, John Ma, pioneer of China’s modern sports, world famous pianist Teng Hiok Chiu, internationally acclaimed pianist Ying Chengzong, Lu Zhuangzhang, “Father of Pinyin”, and others. Xiamen is also recognised internationally as the “Home of Modern Tropical Medicine”, thanks to the discoveries here of Sir Patrick Man-son, the “Father of Tropical Medicine”. The list of famous Xiamen residents, both Chinese and foreign, continues to grow. Last year I received a letter from the son of the famous American artist Horace Day, who said his father was born to missionary parents in Xiamen in 1909,

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Bill Brown is a professor at the Xia-men University MBA Centre. He

graduated from Walden Univer-sity with a PhD in Administra-tion and Management, and has been teaching business studies to graduate students for over 20 years. He has written textbooks on Organizational Behaviour and Business Strategy, together with over 60 articles for a wide range of journals and newspa-pers, several television documen-taries, and a number of books in-cluding Amoy Magic—Guide to Xiamen, Mystic Quanzhou—City of Light, Discov-er Gulangyu, Magic Fujian, and Xiamen University—Strength of the Nation. In

addition, he maintains his own website, http://www.amoymagic.mts.cn/, and

writes two blogs, http://offthewallchina.blogspot.com/ and http://oldchinapho-tos.blogspot.com/ as platforms for intro-ducing Xiamen and China.

In 1990, he was awarded the Fujian Provincial Friendship Award, and

two years later he was the first foreigner in Fujian Province to be granted permanent residence. In 1993, he was presented with the National Friendship Award by Premier Li Peng. In 2002, Bill Brown represented Xiamen at the international “Nations in Bloom” competition, helping Xiamen to win its category. In 2003, he was voted one of “Top Ten Movers in Xiamen”. Bill Brown is well-

known among local people who refer to him as “Lao Pan”.

and his South Fujian upbringing was a great influence upon his award-winning art.

The “Xiamen spirit” that won for-eigners’ respect, trust and co-op-

eration for so many centuries continues even today to enchant foreign visitors seeking not only an excellent business and investment environment but also a high quality of life. A few years ago, a foreigner with 20 years business experi-ence in China who had just visited Xia-men for the first time asked me out to breakfast. I was told, “To foreign busi-ness people, all Chinese cities are alike. We see the airport, the hotel, the fac-tory, and go home. Though Xiamen is

of course very beautiful, I’d have never noticed had a factory worker not asked to give me a brief tour of Xiamen dur-ing my first trip here. It was that man’s enthusiasm for his hometown, and the bit of history I read from one of your books, that moved me to do more busi-ness in Xiamen. Although Shanghai, Canton and Beijing are of course larger, and I have more contacts there, Xiamen’s modern transportation and communica-tions help compensate for that, and I love the big city convenience and small island atmosphere of Xiamen. Xiamen really is magic. “I could not have said it better myself. Xiamen is indeed the largest little island on the planet.”

A picture may well be worth a thou-sand words, but a visit is worth ten

thousand pictures. Visit Xiamen and discover first-hand why over 5,000 long term foreigners, and tens of thousands of Overseas Chinese, are proud to say there is no place like home, especially when that home is Xiamen!

About Prof. Bill Brown

developing a health shieldFeature Story of Professor Xia Ningshao

On January 14th, 2011, a ceremony was held in the Great Hall of Peo-

ple in Beijing for the presentation of the 2010 National Science and Technology Awards, the highest national award in the field. Among the 2010 laureates was Professor Xia Ningshao, of the National Institute of Diag-nostics and Vaccine Develop-ment in Infectious Diseases at Xiamen University, represent-ing his team, who received a second-class award for their discovery of an effective con-formational antigenic determi-nant for the Hepatitis E virus and its applicability in diag-nosis. The presentation fills a gap in Xiamen’s record in this national award. The research results were published in the prestig-ious medical journal, The Lancet, and received high praise from Dr. Scott D. Holmberg, the Chief of Epidemiology for the Centres for Disease Control and Preventions Division of Hepatitis Pre-vention. Such international recognition puts China among the global leaders in research into Hepatitis E vaccines.

Hepatitis E is the principal form of acute hepatitis resulting in death

among the middle-aged and elderly and

pregnant women. The Institute’s dis-covery of this antigenic determinant has led to the development of a geneti-cally engineered antigen, which is now in large scale production. The Institute has developed three types of reagent kit for

the diagnosis of three varieties of infec-tion: hepatitis E acute infection, previous infection and animal infection, which they have successfully industrialised and launched internationally. The institute has been awarded Good Manufacturing Practice and Certificate of Pharmaceuti-cal Product certificates, and have been granted three domestic or international patents for their kits. The products have received two certificates of licensing as new drugs or treatments and have been approved for the CE mark of the EU.

They have an 80% share of the Chinese market, and are available in 23 other countries and regions, including the US, the UK and France, with total sales of over 9 million units. Prof. Xia and his team have developed a strong shield

to protect human’s hea lth through their extraordinary research achievements.

Xia Ningshao is a professor in the Biology Depart-

ment of Xiamen University where he supervises doctoral candidates, and is concurrently Director of the National Insti-tute of Diagnostic and Vaccine Development in Infectious Dis-eases at Xiamen University. He started research career in 1990,

and joined Xiamen University in 1995 as an Associate Researcher at the School of Life Sciences, and went on to become a full professor and doctoral supervisor. He was appointed Director of the Fujian Provincial Research Centre on Medical Molecular Virology at Xiamen Univer-sity in 2003, and has been Director of the National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Dis-eases at Xiamen University since 2005.

Academic achievements

Prof. Xia is a major researcher in molecular virology and genetic en-

gineering, with his principal interests lying in the development of genetically engineered antigens, vaccines, diagnos-tic antigen kits and studies on molecular virology and immune system.

Prof. Xia was the first to identify two neutralising epitopes of the Hepati-

tis E virus, and to express the HEV parti-cle using e-coli. He has applied for three international patents in respect of his de-velopments, and his Hepatitis E recombi-nant vaccine, has already passed stages I

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The National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infec-

tious Diseases at Xiamen University has

been granted many first-class honorary titles for its many outstanding scientific achievements; these include Fujian Prov-ince Vanguard Team for the New March, Fujian Provincial and Xiamen Munici-pal Pioneering Workers Team, Fujian Province May 1st Pioneering Team, and Xiamen University Nanqiang Outstand-ing Research Team. Prof. Xia therefore has received extensive media and public coverage. However, whenever he is in-

terviewed by the media, the first thing he says is, “Research is a team effort; if you want to write this, write it about our team.”

Over recent years, Prof. Xia has re-ceived two Fujian Province Scien-

tific Progress Second-class Awards, one Xiamen Municipal Scientific Progress Major Contribution Award. Of the over 60 papers, of which Prof. Xia was lead author or co-author, published in do-mestic and international journals, over 30 were in prestigious, Science Citation Index-listed journals. He was awarded a special government allowance by the State Council in 1993, and an Outstand-ing Individual award by the Ministry of Science and Technology on the 15th An-niversary of the 863 Project. In 2004, he was selected for the National Talent Pro-ject for the 21st Century, and awarded the Fujian Provincial May 1st Movement Medal and the title of Top Ten Outstand-ing Young Workers. In 2005, he was honoured as a National Model Worker. He has received a total of ten licences for new drugs he has developed and one

approval certificate for the third-stage clinical trial for a new national class-one drug. He has applied for 26 patents, ei-ther national or international, of which he has been granted seven to date.

On January 14th, 2010, Prof. Xia was one of 15 national model workers

given an opportunity to meet President Hu Jintao. He was dubbed the luckiest person by the press, as he was always to be seen standing next to the President during the reception, the photography session and even during the firework dis-play. He also had the longest discussion with President Hu, for nearly 20 minutes.

and II of the clinical trials to be licensed as a national class-one new drug.

A recombinant HIV antigen and the third-generation diagnostic rea-

gent kit developed by Prof. Xia match the standards of the best kits currently avail-able internationally. The kit has had a market share of 20% for two consecutive years, putting it in first place domesti-cally. In 2002, the kit was listed among the National Key New Products by six ministerial level institutes, including the Ministry of Science and Technology, and in 2003, the research project behind it was given the Model Industrialisation Project award by the National Develop-ment and Reform Commission.

Prof. Xia developed the world’s first test kit for the rapid diagnosis of

Highly Pathogenic Avian Inf luenza in co-operation with researchers at Univer-sity of Hong Kong and Shantou Univer-sity, launched on November 11th, 2004. It was awarded funding from the Special HPAI Prevention and Treatment Pro-gramme under the National Scientific Key Project in 2005.

In 2009, Prof. Xia and his research team succeeded in developing a test

kit for the rapid diagnosis of the Influ-enza A virus. The kit can be used in the detection of currently known Influenza A viral strains responsible for infections among humans, including the currently rampant H1N1 virus. It is 10,000 times

more sensitive than other available test kits.

Professional reputation

Like many other diligent teachers in the Xiamen University School of

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Professor Zheng arrives in his office in the Lujiaxi Building early in the morn-ing and only leaves very late in the even-ing. He spends his days searching for latest research results from both China and overseas on multi-functional nano-materials, and in teaching students, both undergraduates and graduates, devoting his time and energy to working with his

colleagues for the development and pros-perity of chemistry in China.

Prof. Zheng was born in April 1977. He graduated with a BSc in Chemis-

try from Xiamen University in 1998, and left for the US in August 2000 to study for his PhD in Chemistry at UC River-side, graduating in June 2005. He went on to post-doctoral research at UC Santa Barbara and then, in August 2007, hav-ing turned down an offer of an Assistant

Professorship at UC Davis, Prof. Zheng returned to Xiamen University as a Spe-cially Appointed Professor.

a rising star in chemistryProfessor Zheng Nanfeng

Higly accomplished scholar

Careful experimenter

Prof. Zheng’s research areas cover large chalcogen nano-structures and

their assembly and structurally control-lable nano-catalysts and bio-materials. His achievements are highly respected

by fellow researchers worldwide. To date, he has had some 40 papers published in first-rank journals, including a cover paper in Nature, sixteen in Journal of the American Chemical Society, six in

Angewandte Chemie International Edi-tion, four in Chemical Communications, two in Chemistry of Materials, and oth-ers in journals of equal renown, such as Science.

Prof. Zheng declined the job offer from UC-Davis in order to join Xia-

men University as he felt his research would contribute the development of the College of Chemistry and Chemical En-gineering and its chemistry programme.

Prof. Zheng made the progression from being a student to becoming

a teacher within a brief period of time. The project of one of the doctoral stu-dents under his supervision was chosen as an “Outstanding Doctoral Candidate Project”, and many of his Master’s stu-dents have had papers published in well-known journals and magazines both Chinese and international.

He is a devoted and careful scientist who has inf luenced many of his

students through his attitude to research,

and whose approach to teaching imbues his students with new ideas and the abil-ity to think independently. During his weekly teacher-student meetings, Prof. Zheng does not merely ask general ques-tions on his students’ research goals, pro-

gress, current data and research results; rather he asks thought-provoking ques-tions concerning their various research areas, and checks the validity of their experimental data. His seriousness and

dedication to research makes him a role model for his students not only in terms of the exploration of science, but more importantly, also in terms of responsibil-ity and commitment.

Further to this, Prof. Zheng follows American practice in teaching his

undergraduate courses. Some 100 stu-dents are attracted by the great quantity of the latest information and research results to join his courses in solid-state chemistry. However, only 20 or survive the intense pressure of his strict regime of evaluation based on attendance, and performance in class quizzes, writing pa-pers and examinations and stick it out to the end. His classes are often occasions of heated discussion and the sharing and exchange of ideas.

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On July 5th, 2010, for the first time, an event was held in a lecture hall

on Zhangzhou Campus at which distin-guished teachers of the School of Chem-istry and Chemical Engineering were in-terviewed. Prof. Zheng was the first to be interviewed. The audience of nearly 200 students were deeply impressed by his easy-going attitude, wise but humorous language, and rich experience of life.

Prof. Zheng first spoke on the im-portance of the chemical sciences,

which are of immense value to mankind, and encouraged the students to appreci-ate the real beauty of chemistry. He gave the audience a taste of the delights of sci-entific research, creating a glamourous word-picture of an enthusiastic scientist; he impressed them with his abilities in independent research, his serious atti-tude to science, and his constant pursuit of perfection. While retailing anecdotes of his life, he raised a gale of laughter

with a video of his college roommate.

Prof. Zheng believes that people should choose to pursue what they

are capable of accomplishing, since no one can be a master of everything, that the key to scientific success is genuine in-terest and that the way to manage social

relations is an essential that can only be learnt from society. Speaking from his experience of studying overseas, he told students that leaving China was merely the start of struggles and hard work to come; they should not think of going abroad to study as a chance to relax. The educational environment overseas was

tougher, but the very competitive envi-ronment provided the impetus needed to achieve success. Finally, Prof. Zheng re-assured the students about the strength of Xiamen University in research, and encouraged the undergraduates to pur-sue further development domestically, encouraging them to maintain their aca-demic ambitions, enthusiasm and hope in confronting their future challenges.

Prof. Zheng’s wisdom and humour won rousing applause. In the Q&A

session which followed, he answered each question with patience. He pointed out that essentially chemistry was an ex-ploration of the unknown, and that the ultimate secret to success was dedication. He ended by encouraging the undergrad-uate students to be co-operative team players, to be independent thinkers, to be hard-workers and to become able scien-tific researchers. XiaMen

universityOver recent years, the main thrust of Xiamen University’s development has been building the University into a high-level

university well-known both at home and abroad. To this end, the University has attached great importance to develop-ing talents and has put considerable effort behind a plan to build up its academic strength through a strategy of attracting academics of the highest level of talent and creativity. It has implemented a range of measures aimed at encouraging them to join the University, including creating beneficial conditions for their development and encouraging a favourable climate for their work. Over the period of the 11th Five-year Plan, the University estimates that over 740 high-level talents in various fields were attracted. These included more than 110 professors:• 16 through the “Recruitment Programme of Global Experts”;• 6 Chief Scientists under the National Basic Research Programme — also known as the 973 Programme;• 7 Distinguished Professors under the Chang Jiang Scholars Programme;• 4 winners of National Science Fund awards for Distinguished Young Scholars;• 6 listed in the National Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talent Project;• 59 under the “New Century Excellent University Talents” programme of the Ministry of Education;• 34 Distinguished Professors under the Minjiang Scholarship scheme.

The accession of these renowned scholars has enabled Xiamen University to make considerable progress in the develop-ment of disciplines, the training of experts and in teaching and research and has made Xiamen University a place for

gathering expertise, and become an incentive for attracting more top scholars.

Gathering outstanding talents and Building academic strength

A scholar with a sense of humour

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• Measures to attract talents

At the age of 30, Professor Li Ning was appointed a Life Fellow of the

Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US, and went on to become the first Nu-clear Industry Fellow at Los Alamos and principal researcher of the civilian nu-clear programme. He was concurrently the Asian Director of the Terra Energy Corporation, founded and funded by Bill Gates. Professor Li, now 46, is one of the globally-recognised, leading experts on heavy liquid metal cooling technology and in materials science, having been re-sponsible for a number of breakthroughs in the industry. He has been awarded the US National Laboratory Achievement Award and was the recipient of the 2006 Asian American Engineer of the Year Award.

In 2008, Professor Li Ning was on holi-day in China and took the opportunity

to visit Xiamen University, where he re-ceived a warm welcome. The University’s leaders asked him for his advice on the development of energy studies as a dis-cipline at the University. During the dis-cussions, Professor Li Ning came to un-derstand the plans for the development of nuclear energy in Fujian Province and the University’s plans for an academic discipline in Energy Studies. The Uni-versity leaders maintained their contact with Professor Li and finally offered him an “olive branch”. In February 2009, Professor Li had the courage to quit his job in the world’s top laboratory and re-turn to China to become a Distinguished Professor and the Dean of the School of Energy Research. He said he wanted to “think, undertake, and achieve some-

thing great” in the field of energy devel-opment. The exciting prospect of nuclear energy developments in Fujian Province was a major reason for choosing Xiamen University, while the University’s want-ing to make energy research a new area of growth exactly met his requirements.

Before Professor Li joined Xiamen University, energy research at the

University was limited to basic research and applied basic research, with a gap in nuclear energy research. After only one year under the leadership of Professor Li, research into clean energy technol-ogy had come into full blossom. The School of Energy Research had achieved much in attracting and building a tal-ented team, together with developing the discipline and the teaching. The School also meets the planning and technology needs of enterprises, local government, and Fujian Province, and has established a model of development and approach to engineering technology.

While Professor Li’s main reason for joining Xiamen University

may have been his career, the University also has other attractions for talented scholars, including personal relations, the working environment, and finan-cial reward. Professor Zhu Zhiwen, the Chairman of the Xiamen University Council, and Professor Zhu Chongshi, the President, are well known for their appreciation of talents. The professors in the various schools and colleges fre-quently recommend outstanding schol-ars in their fields to the two leaders, who remember their names and seize the op-

portunity to talk with them when they visit Xiamen University, exchanging ideas and trying to help find solutions to their difficulties and problems. Many Xi-amen University teachers have stories to tell concerning two leaders’ sincerity and enthusiasm towards talented scholars.

In this way, Xiamen University has made itself more attractive to out-

standing talents. The figures show that of the top scholars who have joined Xia-men University over the past five years, 179, representing a quarter of the total number, came from well-known univer-sities and research institutions. The list includes Professor Han Jiahuai, a win-ner of the Chang Jiang Scholar Award, Professor Yuan Li, the Chief Scientist of the National Basic Research Programme, Professor Zhang Xiaokun and Professor Xu Huaxi, from the Burnham Institute in California, Professor Lin Boqiang, the eminent energy economist, and Profes-sor Liu Qinghuo from Duke University.

• Creating beneficial conditions for development

On midsummer afternoons, Profes-sor Hong Yongmiao, the Dean of

the Wang Ya’nan Institute for Studies in Economics of Xiamen University, can be

seen sitting and talking with a couple of dozen doctoral candidates. However, not

Professor Li Ning

Professor Hong Yongmiao

so long ago, Prof. Hong was a professor at Cornell University. For Xiamen Uni-versity, he was an alumnus and a Visit-ing Professor. However, in 2005 Prof. Hong was invited to Xiamen University to become the Dean of the Wang Ya’nan Institute for Studies in Eco-nomics. Since then, he has built the Institute up into the best modern economics teaching and research institute, not only in China but in the whole Asia-Pacific region.

In 2008, the Quarterly Jour-nal of Economics showed

that Xiamen University ranked the third after Hong Kong Uni-versity of Science and Tech-nology and Wuhan Univer-sity reported that of the papers listed on SSCI cited economics journals in English published between 1998 and 2007, the majority had been produced by the Wang Ya’nan Institute which was only established in 2005. In December 2009, the establishment of the Ministry of Education Xiamen University Econo-metrics Key Laboratory was approved, the first key laboratory in economics to combine both the sciences and the arts, opening new channels of exchange and communication with foreign counter-parts and raising the strength and global reputation of Xiamen University in tra-ditional economic research.

Xiamen University has made a point of giving the green light in teaching

and research to such scholars and set up a special policy area in economics. When

the Wang Ya’nan Institute for Stud-ies in Economics was founded in 2005, Prof. Hong recognised that, to achieve sustainable development, the Institute needed to step up the training of young scholars: “At the time of its foundation,

it was essential to send young teachers to study abroad.” Although the University has regulations covering length of ser-vice before a young teacher can be sent abroad, to Prof. Hong’s surprise, he was able to persuade the relevant leaders and departments to support his needs. In mid-2005, the first group of new teachers were selected for studies overseas, and set off. In the Institute’s first three years, 15 young teachers were sent to study in foreign universities. In due course they returned to Xiamen University and have become the backbone of teaching and re-search in economics.

Looking back, Professor Hong says, “Over these years, Xiamen Univer-

sity has given to the Wang Ya’nan Insti-tute many special rights and consider-

able support in terms of policy, funding, and its environment, without which the Institute would not have been able to achieve so much.”

One of the principles applied by Xia-men University in this is that it is

not sufficient to attract such talents, but it is essential to retain them and help them de-velop. In any new discipline or Institute, you will find a well-known name: Professor Li Ning, the Dean of School of En-ergy Research; Professor Hong Yongmiao, the Dean of the Wang Ya’nan Institute for Stud-ies in Economics; Professor Lin Boqiang, the Director of China Centre for Energy Econom-ics Research; Professor Zhang Xiaokun, the Dean of Institute

for Biomedical Research — these are all experts and leaders in filed. The new aca-demic disciplines and Institutes at Xia-men University have been designed and established specifically as a platform for them.

President Zhu Chongshi says, “They come to Xiamen University because

they want to achieve something great. So, in order to keep these talents, Xiamen University needs to establish a career platform for them on the basis of their disciplinary and other requirements. Xiamen University has abandoned the traditional approach, that of attracting scholars and assigning them to existing teams, like filling in blanks.”

• Encouraging a favourable climate for research

Professor Chen Xiaodong graduated from Tsinghua University and re-

ceived his PhD in chemical engineering

from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. He is Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and of the Aus-

tralian Academy of Technological Sci-ences and Engineering. At the beginning of 2010, Professor Chen Xiaodong was

Professor Chen Xiaodong

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SPECIAL EDITIONSPECIAL EDITION

one of the second group to return to Chi-na under the “Recruitment Programme of Global Experts” to become Dean of the Xiamen University Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. He often says with deep emotion, “Xia-men is the home of my grandparents and Xiamen University is their Alma Mater. Even though many years have passed since the 1930s, I have a special affection for this place. I chose Xiamen and hope to be able to contribute to its construc-tion and development.”

Prof. Chen has injected fresh vitality into the Xiamen University College

of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, not merely in the light and elegant offices and laboratories, which he designed, but in the field of Bio-mimetic Chemistry he instituted. Bio-mimetic Chemistry is an emerging, inter-disciplinary field with great potential for application. As-sociate Professor Xiao Zongyuan, Prof. Chen’s assistant, insists, “Prof. Chen has brought us the most advanced knowl-

edge of Bio-mimetic Chemistry, which has broadened our horizons and greatly raised the overall level of chemistry re-search at Xiamen University.”

Prof. Chen wanted to bring his teach-ing experience, academic guidance

and research achievements to China, with the aim of fostering more excellent scholars for China’s universities and to contribute to the reform and develop-ment of higher education in China. He also wanted to make use of his strengths in industrialisation, teaching, and re-search for the benefit of China’s enter-prises to improve their competitiveness around the world. Prof. Chen says that in returning to China, it was important to him not only to bring his personal abilities and expertise in innovation and starting a business, but also to bring a team of scholars with him to Xiamen University and to attract other outstand-ing scholars from both home and abroad. He has invited experts from around the world to Xiamen University as visiting scholars and has recommended Xiamen University scholars for visits abroad. Such exchanges enrich the scholars’ experience, while, at the same time, Xiamen University can benefit from the learning, research and teaching experi-ence of other countries.

Xiamen University has taken the ini-tiative to innovate in both systems

and mechanisms, and to explore new approaches to organising and manag-ing such talents, with the aim of estab-lishing a long-term, effective, guarantee mechanism to meet the development

needs of the talents. Xiamen University has formulated, on the basis of current national policies, a series of plans for the recruitment of top experts with the rel-evant regulations to accelerate reform to its systems and to improve the evaluation

system. The Director of the University Personnel Division, Mr. Lin Peisan says that, through these practices, Xiamen University is providing outstanding tal-ents with more extensive room for devel-opment.

Xiamen University Chairman, Pro-fessor Zhu Zhiwen says, “The com-

ing decade will be an important period for Xiamen University’s development. We will devote an exceptional amount of enthusiasm, effort, and measures to-wards attracting top scholars to the Uni-versity. In this, we will be able to move forward in the process of making Xia-men University a high-level university well-known both at home and abroad. We will be able to provide the intellec-tual support and the surety of expertise needed for the economic development of Fujian Province and China as a whole.”

the second executive Workshop for confucius institute directors 2010Learning from each other and making progress together

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SPECIAL EDITION

On 9th August 2010, the Second Ex-ecutive Workshop for Confucius

Institute Directors 2010 was held at Xia-men University, attracting some 70 Local Directors from Confucius Institutes in 25 countries and regions including the US, Britain, Germany, Russia, France, Japan, Korea, Argentina, and the Hong Kong SAR. They came together to learn more about Chinese culture, to exchange ideas on running Confucius Institutes, to discuss making development plans, and, in sum, how to achieve the sustainable development of the Confucius Institutes.

This workshop was co-organised by the Hanban — the Confucius

Institute Headquarters — and the Xia-men University Southern Base of the Confucius Institute Headquarters. It of-fered an opportunity for the Directors of Confucius Institutes around the world to share their insights and opinions from the perspective of international co-oper-ation, and was designed to promote the future development of Confucius Insti-tutes. During the one-week workshop, the participants took part in extensive discussions on the history of Chinese civilisation, Sino-foreign cultural ex-changes, Sino-foreign foreign policies, economic policies, laws and regulations,

co-operation in education and market-ing strategies for Confucius Institutes. Most of the Directors were experts in both their native language and Chinese, and had great interest in and knowledge of Chinese culture.

The welcoming address at the open-ing ceremony was given by Xiamen

University Vice-President Wu Daguang. He extended his welcome and gratitude to the Directors and guest speakers at the workshop, and gave a brief introduction to the history, current status, and future goals of Xiamen University. He hoped that the workshop would contribute further to cultural exchanges between China and other countries. Papers on various themes were given by experts in different fields, including: Distinguished Professor Ge Jianxiong, Librarian of Fudan University; Director of China In-ternational Publishing Group, Associate Professor Zhou Mingwei; Writer-in-Res-idence at the Central Research Institute of Culture and History, Professor Shu Yi; well-known expert in strategic man-agement, Professor Mo Shaokun; Vice President of the Foreign Affairs Univer-sity, Professor Zheng Qirong; Director of Xiamen National Accounting Institute, Professor Deng Liping; Dean of the Xia-

men University School of Law, Professor Xu Chongli; Deputy Director-General of the National Centre for Education Devel-opment Research of the Ministry of Edu-cation, Dr. Zhou Mansheng; and Dean of the Peking University Enterprise Busi-ness College Research Centre, Professor Lai Weimin.

The workshop focussed on prelimi-nary investigations and developing

features of Confucius Institutes, and, in addition to the theme papers, included case studies, discussions and the shar-ing of ideas, cultural experience events, and site visits. The discussions covered the managerial situation, long-time de-velopment, operating model and policy direction of Confucius Institutes, fur-thering the Director’s understanding of the construction of the Confucius Institute Headquarters and related poli-cies. The workshop also shed light on the problems faced in operating Confucius Institutes, and put forward solutions to help the Directors in policy-making and leadership. It laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of Confu-cius Institutes by improvements to their quality and standards.

“ ”Opening ceremony:

Directors of Confucius Institutes get together at Xiamen University

“”

Professor Deng Liping:China’s economy - yesterday, today, and tomorrow

On August 10th, Professor Deng Li-ping delivered a paper entitled

A Note on the Chinese Economy as part of the discussion of China’s reform and opening up and economic policy at the workshop. His paper was divided into four parts: an overview of China’s econo-my; the fundamental economic elements of contemporary China; the adjustment and further reform of China’ economic structure after the financial crisis; and facing the new world economic order from the perspective of China.

Prof. Deng gave a brief introduction to the development of China’s econ-

omy since the founding of the PRC and evolution of its economic reform after the launching of the Reform and Open-ing-up policy. Prof. Deng explained the

concept and connotations of the social-ist market economy with Chinese char-acteristics on the basis of an analysis of the socialist system, market mecha-nisms, opening to the outside world and phases of development. In his discussion of the fundamental economic elements of contemporary China, he explained that China’s urban-rural structure and unbalanced regional development were economic issues resulting from condi-tions specific to the country. He said only by understanding China’s economy in the past was it possible to have a better understanding of its economy today and look to its future in a composed, optimis-tic, reasonable and clear manner. During the financial crisis of the previous year, China had taken effective measures to reform its economic structure. This was a

clear example of the advantage of macro-economic control in tackling the finan-cial crisis.

Prof. Deng finished by saying that China maintained a relaxed attitude

towards the open world. It had made every effort to promote global govern-ance and win-win co-operation, one fruit of which was the Confucius Insti-tutes. Economic globalisation was mak-ing our world ever smaller. We lived in a “global village” with different cultures and values. This was the purpose behind the existence of the Confucius Institutes; they promoted communication and un-derstanding between different cultures, with the ultimate aim of contributing further to world peace.

“ ”

Professor Xu Chongli:

A legal system with Chinese characteristics

On Aug ust 10 t h, Professor Xu Chongli gave a paper entitled The

Comparison of Laws between China and Foreign Countries during the session of the workshop of China’s laws. He began by discussing the basic types of legal system, saying that China’s system was a combination of a common law system and a civil legal system. Laws were en-acted in respect of two values or goals, formal justice and positive justice, and

substantial justice and procedural jus-tice. China’s legal system emphasised both of these.

He said that western legal culture was characterised by individual-

ism while that of China was based on collectivism, national interests and social interests. In legislation, western coun-tries emphasised public choice, whereas China’s laws placed great importance

on the collective interests of the country and society. Professor Xu illustrated the differences between the laws of China and those of other countries by looking at mandatory punishment, administra-tive law, and civil and commercial law. On the basis of this detailed comparison of the legal systems of China and other countries, Professor Xu concluded that China’s legal system was a modern sys-tem with its own characteristics.

38 3938 39


”

“”

Professor Lai Weimin:

Creating new values – the distinctive development of

Confucius Institutes

On August 11th, Professor Lai We-imin spoke on The Marketing

Strategy, competitive advantage, and sustainable development at the session on marketing and financing of the work-shop, on the basis of a comprehensive SWOT analysis of the development of the Confucius Institutes.

Professor Lai began by briefing the audience on SWOT analysis, ex-

tensively used in strategic research and competitive analysis. He said that the de-velopment of a Confucius Institute could be compared to that of an enterprise, and be analysed in the same way in terms of internal advantages and disadvantages, and external opportunities and threats. He said that the most important thing in successful marketing was to know

the needs of “consumers”, and suggested that the Directors should investigate the reasons and needs which led their students to study at their Confucius In-stitute. At the same time, the Directors should also conduct a sample-survey of those who did not study at the Confucius Institute to find out their unmet needs. He stressed that the development of the Confucius Institutes should be based on catering to the needs and unmet needs of “consumers” in order to create new val-ues.

Professor Lai finished by proposing that the Confucius Institutes should

take full advantage of China’s strengths, its traditional culture, the attraction of its language and its fast developing econ-omy, to further their development. He

said that co-operation among Confucius Institutes should also be strengthened, through such means as collaboration in publicity, regional exchanges, and the sharing of experiences among Con-fucius Institutes working in the same language and region. Communication and co-operation among Confucius In-stitutes should not only be about find-ing out about each other’s management experiences, but should also result in the benefit of saving resources and improv-ing efficiency to create new values. Given that Confucius Institutes were dotted all around the world, Professor Lai rec-ommended that Confucius Institutes of different regions should build their own characteristics based on the local condi-tions.

The discussion session on sharing experiences at the Second Executive

Workshop for Confucius Institute Direc-tors 2010 was held on August 12th. The Directors were divided into two groups: an Asian group and a non-Asian group. They exchanged ideas on their experi-ences of co-operation and discussed fully the problems their Institutes faced.

The Asian group discussion focussed on three questions: firstly, that Con-

fucius Institutes needed to be positioned in terms of teaching the Chinese lan-guage and academic activities; secondly, how to attract more students; and thirdly, the development of textbooks in Chinese, English and the local language. Professor Koh Hockkia of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore shared his experi-ence in running Confucius Institute. Its activities came under three headings: ac-ademic research; lectures, performances, and exhibitions; and language teaching in primary and middle schools. Profes-sor Zhang Weixiong of Sapporo Univer-

sity in Japan spoke on three matters: co-operation between Chinese Director and Local Director; collaboration between the Chinese university and the local uni-versity; and the sustainable development of the Confucius Institutes. He suggested that, in the coming years, much more attention should be paid to the brand-ing and trademarking of the Confucius Institutes, to connections between Con-fucius Institutes of different regions, and textbooks in minority languages.

The non-Asian group discussion in-cluded three main sections: firstly,

communication between different par-

“Group discussion:

Open communication to shape a better future

ties; secondly, the different responsibili-ties of the Chinese Director and Local Director; and the financial concerns of Confucius Institutes. Professor Wacho-wicz Stuart, Director of the Confucius Institute at Edmonton in Canada said that Confucius Institutes should play to their own strengths and try to gain the support of the local schools and commu-nity in their areas. Ms. Nora Yao of the University of Auckland in New Zealand summed up the discussions. Four points in the experience of running Confu-cius Institutes were brought out: firstly,

strengthening Chinese Directors’ ad-ministrative abilities; secondly, training Local Directors in policies of the Hanban before their taking up the post; thirdly,

the promotion of good interpersonal re-lations; fourthly, clarifying job respon-

sibilities. Ms. Yao also put forward two suggestions. The first was that each Con-fucius Institute should start by formulat-ing clearly its own rules and regulations and that the funding for the project fund should cover all the expenses involved; the second was that the Hanban could set up mechanisms in each country or region to pass on the experience of estab-lished Confucius Institutes, and that lo-cal conferences should be held on a regu-lar basis to reinforce the relationships between the Hanban, the Confucius In-stitutes and the local Chinese embassy.

”The Second Executive Workshop for

Confucius Institute Directors 2010 came to a successful close on August 13th. The Deputy Director-General of the Hanban Professor Wang Yongli and former Executive Vice-President of Xia-men University, Professor Pan Shimo, spoke at the closing ceremony, which was chaired by the Dean of Xiamen Universi-ty Overseas Education College, Professor Zheng Tongtao.

In his address, Professor Pan Shimo expressed his great appreciation of

the workshop, commenting that it was a high-level event, with the participants including experts in different fields and Directors from the five continents. He also expressed his gratitude to the Han-ban, the Directors, the experts and the staff and volunteers. In his address, Pro-fessor Wang Yongli said “The Confucius

Institutes are our common concern, and that in their future development, we will be taking co-operation to a global level.” In speaking of the textbooks used, he said that the Hanban had done every-thing it could to resolve the questions concerning textbooks, but that, at the same time, the Confucius Institutes were encouraged to develop their own text-books to reflect their own needs. On the question of teaching staff, he said that there were to be major changes in the training to reflect the differences in envi-ronments, educational approaches, and countries. In addition, he said that the Confucius Institutes would shift their focus to primary and middle schools and that the individual Confucius Institutes should take the lead in building strong relations with their local primary and middle schools.

Confucius Institutes are examples of Sino-foreign co-operation in educa-

tion. Each Confucius Institute has two Directors, one being the Local Director appointed by the local university, the other the Chinese Director designated by the Chinese university. This impor-tant workshop was held for the Local Directors. Since 2004, the Hanban has established over 310 Confucius Institutes and 340 Confucius Classrooms around the world. In the years since, the Confu-cius Institutes have become a centre for citizens of those countries to learn the Chinese language and about Chinese culture. They provide a platform for the cross-exchanges of Chinese and foreign cultures, and a bridge for friendly co-operation between Chinese and foreign peoples, and the Confucius Institutes have been welcomed warmly by the peo-ple in their respective countries.

“Closing ceremony:

Learning from each other and making progress together

40 4140 41


teatime symposiaSipping Tea and Savouring Life

The “Teatime Symposia” are a series of events set up by the Xiamen University Youth League and Graduate School, as a way of es-tablishing an efficacious environment in which teaching staff can exchange ideas and share their experiences both as academics and

in life with students. To date, nine members of the academic staff have been invited to take part in the symposia. They are Professor Zhou Changle, Professor Zhu Shuiyong, Professor Jian Jinyi, Professor Zheng Xiaoying, Academician Tian Zhaowu, Professor Pan Maoyuan, Dr. Bill Brown, Professor Deng Ziji and Academician Zhang Qian’er. They were warmly welcomed from the audience of students and other teachers, who greatly appreciated their contributions, which helped foster a more invigorating atmosphere in academic research at Xiamen University.

• Symposium one:Professor Zhou Changle on the Dao of life and doing research

On 14th March 2009, Professor Zhou Changle of the Xiamen University

School of Information Science and Tech-nology was the guest at the first Teatime Symposium. He has dedicated his exten-sive learning and academic abilities.

During his two-hour Teatime Sym-posium Prof. Zhou took the con-

cept of the “Dao” and applied it to aca-demic life and research. He quoted the Confucian classic the Great Learning “The Dao of the Great Learning is in il-lustrating illustrious virtue” to expound the importance for universities of pay-ing greater attention to fostering the

personalities, morals and ethics of the students. He said that improving the thinking and inner qualities of the stu-dents was not merely dependent on the efforts and teaching of the institution, but was also inevitably linked to the hard work and diligence of the students them-selves. This was reflected in the motto of Xiamen University: “Pursue Excellence, Strive for Perfection”. When it came to the Dao of life and doing research, Prof. Zhou insisted that one should follow one’s truly heartfelt interest, rather than merely going with the flow. “If everyone sacrificed their dreams merely to earn a living, then there is no hope for universi-

ties.” He hoped that the students in the audience would stick to their principles and pursue their dreams. Prof. Zhou also entered into deep discussions with the students on his research into artificial intelligence, and on poetry and Zen phi-losophy.

• Symposium two:Professor Zhu Shuiyong on the story of Xiamen University

On 18th April 2009, Professor Zhu Shuiyong of the Xiamen University

College of the Humanities took part in the second Teatime Symposium, tracing the glorious and unforgettable story of Xiamen University. His work principally involves teaching and research into mod-ern and contemporary Chinese literature and comparative literature, especially theories of modern and contemporary Chinese literature, and the comparative study of Chinese and western novels.

“I’m here to tell stories. The spirit of humanities in a university can

be ref lected, I think, in a short story”, Prof. Zhu Shuiyong said with a smile. He wound the clock back to tell the story of Tan Kah-Kee’s founding of Xiamen Uni-versity. “He was a leader of the Overseas Chinese and a true man of South Fujian, whose dream it was to establish a ‘king-dom of education’ in southern China.” Tan Kah-Kee stood firm against great pressure to found Xiamen University.

Prof. Zhu expressed enormous appre-ciation for the courage and vision of Tan Kah-Kee, as seen is his obtaining the

• Symposium three:Professor Jian Jinyi on the historic dialogue between Laozi and Confucius

Yanwu Playing Field, over 130-hectares in area, from the government of the time. Prof. Zhu pointed out that Xiamen Uni-versity was the only one of China’s long-established universities which had never changed its name. He told the story of how Tan Kah-Kee argued with govern-ment and insisted on it being called Xiamen University. Prof. Zhu said that,

thanks to his determination and insist-ence, “Our motherland weighs more in the heart of her overseas children.” He was convinced that this Tan Kah-Kee Spirit was bound to be maintained for the future. The Symposium was relaxed and comfortable, giving the students a good opportunity to chat with an emi-nent teacher. Prof. Zhu answered ques-

tions from the students about the con-tributions of the well-known writer Lu Xun to Xiamen University, the research in sinology, and the sense of identity of Xiamen University alumni. He ended his Symposium by reciting an ancient Chi-nese poem, leaving yet more for the stu-dents to savour and think about.

On 17th June 2009, Professor Jian Jinyi of Taiwan Tunghai University

was invited as guest of honour at the Tea-time Symposium to talk about the histor-ic dialogue between Laozi and Confucius with an audience of over 30 students and teachers.

Prof. Jian began by considering the true essence of harmony between

nature and human beings, saying that, to him, Chinese culture was so extensive and profound. Research into sinology and understanding the teachings of the ancient sages was something we should

not put off, so he had set about encourag-ing people to think about the origin and growth of life, and reach a better under-standing of how to live and treasure life. To that end, the thinking of Laozi and Confucius were the best topic.

Prof. Jian expounded the nature of “Dao” and “De”, starting from a con-

sideration of natural phenomena in the universe. He spoke on the Tao Te Ching of Laozi and the Analects of Confucius using quotations and stories to show the relevance of their thinking to modern re-alities. Using incisive language and vivid

explanations, he gave a detailed analysis of the thinking of the two sages, leaving a strong impression on his audience. In doing so, Prof. Jian emphasised the im-portance of cognition. “Learning has its roots in comparison and cognition; only then can we become enlightened.”

• Symposium four:Zheng Xiaoying on a life in music

Prof. Zheng Xiaoying was the first woman orchestra conductor in the

People’s Republic of China and consid-ered one of the best women conductors in the world. As Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Xiamen Phil-harmonic Orchestra, she is still active as a conductor even though she is in her 80s. Prof. Zheng came to Xiamen Uni-

versity on 26th November 2009 to take part in the Teatime Symposium. White-haired, and yet full of energy, Prof. Zheng entertained an audience of more than 40 students of Xiamen University with the story of her career in music.

Prof. Zheng founded the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra in 1997

at the invitation of Xiamen University. The first few years were really difficult, as most people in Xiamen had little knowledge of orchestral music. However, she upheld the spirit of Tan Kah-Kee in the conviction that, sooner or later, the people would come to appreciate great music.” The Xiamen Philharmonic Or-

chestra, which has performed hundreds of concerts both at home and abroad, is one of the ten important distinguishing features of Xiamen.

Prof. Zheng told the students that she hoped that more and more of them

would go to concerts and enjoy the mu-sic. “Music can teach you the spirit and culture of a nation; it can inspire your imagination and enrich your life.” With great good humour and a smile, she said, “Our tickets are the most inexpensive in China.” When a student asked her whether her baton had been made spe-cially for her, Prof. Zheng said, “The ba-ton does not matter; it is the conductor

42 4342 43


who counts.” And continued “I love eve-ry work that I have conducted. It is only if I love a piece of music, that I can con-

duct it well.” Throughout the two-hour symposium, the audience showed their great appreciation for Professor Zheng’s

long career in music and rich experience.

• Symposium five:Academician Tian Zhaowu on life as a fraction

The 5th Teatime Symposium, on 8th April 2010, was the turn of Acade-

mician Tian Zhaowu to share his experi-ence of studies and life with his audience. Prof. Tian is an eminent chemist, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor at Xiamen Uni-versity College of Chemistry and Chemi-cal Engineering. In spite of the drizzly weather, a warm and comfortable atmos-phere reigned during Prof. Tian’s talk.

Prof. Tian told his audience that life is like a fraction: “The denominator

is what we get from society; the numera-tor is what we can contribute to it.” He said the reason he was still working in the front line of teaching and research was that he wished to repay his debt to society, adding that he had received so

much from other people and society. He hoped that the younger generation, who had better learning conditions than he had had, would also have a sense of duty to pay back society. Prof. Tian shared his motto for life with the audience: “Aspira-tion; Hard-work; Innovation; Practical-ity”, explaining that to be innovative re-quired being able to “abandon one’s own original ideas” and practicality had to be based on social reality.

Prof. Tian was asked about his view of the academic assessment system

and the relationship between the Social Sciences and the Natural Sciences. Prof. Tian’s answer that while the Natural Sci-ences made a tremendous contribution to life and society, the Social Sciences were fundamental, giving as examples,

the direct relationship between policy-making in finance and trade and na-tional development. Institutional reform and innovation also needed to be jump-started by the Social Sciences. And yet, he said that both the Social and Natural Sciences in China had a long way to go in order to reach international levels. Prof. Tian called on the students, saying that “Whatever major you have chosen, I hope you will work hard to contribute more to our country.”

• Symposium six:Professor Pan Maoyuan on exploring education and thinking about life

On the 16th April 2010, Professor Pan Maoyun was the sixth guest invit-

ed to share his understanding of life with students at the Teatime Symposia. Prof. Pan founded the discipline of Higher Ed-ucation Studies in China, and is Honor-ary Director and Honorary Dean of the Xiamen University Institute of Educa-tion Research Institute of Higher Educa-tion Science.

Professor Pan Maoyuan began his talk with an account of his first ex-

perience of teaching, covering for his elder brother, a primary school teacher. He was still only 15, but had no option but to take his place on the podium. His first class was a disaster with the pupils

out of control and making a lot of noise whenever his back was turned. This fail-ure set Prof Pan thinking about how to teach and the best way to pass on knowl-edge, thinking which led to his choosing education as his career.

Prof. Pan began his research into higher education and founded the

discipline of Higher Education Studies in China following from another perceived failure in teaching. He had been teach-ing education theories to Party cadres at Xiamen University. However, all the re-search into education that he was study-ing concerned nursery, primary and middle school education; there were no education theories on university-level

education. He concluded that it was es-sential to establish a discipline of Higher Education Studies, and in 1965, he put forward his first proposal. It was only 22 years later that the proposal received a favourable response. If it had not been for Prof. Pan’s perseverance, the current rapid development of higher education would not be possible. Prof. Pan also told

• Symposium seven:Prof. Bill Brown, an arrival from afar who is staying forever

Professor Bill Brown of the Xiamen University MBA Centre took part in

the seventh Teatime Symposium on the 5th May 2010. Prof. Brown said “I’m a Xi-amenese from far away. I’ve lived here for a very long time, and I have the deepest love for Xiamen.” and entertained his au-dience by accompanying himself on his guitar and singing a song he had written about his story with China and Xiamen.

Three days before, Prof. Brown had been at the Shanghai Expo as a guest

on the Xiamen promotion stand. He told everyone proudly that Xiamen was a rap-idly developing city, yet delightful to live in with a deep cultural heritage. This was not the first time he had promoted Xia-men. Prof. Brown was the first foreign permanent resident of Fujian Province, and has long been an “old China hand” and spokesman for Xiamen. In 1988, Dr Brown was a Vice-President of First Fi-nancial Securities of America, but when he heard that overseas students could learn Chinese at Xiamen University, he resigned and brought his wife and two

children to Xiamen. After four-months studying Chinese, he began his teaching career at the Xiamen University MBA Centre.

Prof. Brown said he was witness to the astonishing changes over the

past two decades to populous China. He had visited more than half of the cit-ies in China, but Xiamen still was the most beautiful in his eyes. “The citi-zens of Xiamen are friendly to foreign-ers and open-minded.” He has written many books, including Amoy Magic, The Fujian Adventure, Magic Siming, Magic Fujian, Discover Gulangyu, Mystic Quanzhou—City of Light, and Xiamen University—Strength of the Nation. These have become both essential reading for foreigners visiting China and a source for Chinese people on Fujian Province and Xiamen. “Chinese cities seem all the same to foreigners, but I dig out in-teresting historical and cultural features to show them what lies behind and be-neath.” He not only describes the scenery but tells traditional stories, giving visi-

tors an even more enjoyable sightseeing tour.

Prof. Brown added that language was the means to help more people learn

more about China. He hoped that all the students present would master a foreign

language. After two-hours of talk in Eng-lish, he said in fluent Chinese, “I love the wisdom of Confucius and Laozi. I also love The Art of War, which is so full of wisdom in just a few thousand charac-ters.” Perhaps it is his understanding and identification with Chinese culture that has helped his integration into Chinese society.

• Symposium eight:Professor Deng Ziji on being a teacher, not a guru

On 5th November 2010, Professor Deng Ziji was the guest at the Tea-

time Symposium sharing his life story with over a hundred students. He is a well-known economist, and an experi-enced educator in the Social Sciences, a finance guru within China, and a student of Professor Wang Ya’nan, the former President of Xiamen University.

However he said, “I’m not a guru but a teacher. I’m not a leading au-

thority but an ‘old learner’.” Prof. Deng Ziji was born into a poor family, and he lost his parents while he was a child. He maintained himself through mid-dle school and university. In 1950, Prof. Deng became a student of Wang Ya’nan. On graduation, he devoted his life to teaching and research. Prof. Deng claims two things have stayed with him since

the students present that the pursuit of happiness was a matter of perseverance; happiness brought by money or promo-

tion was ephemeral, while true happi-ness came from the lifelong pursuit of one’s career. He concluded that, “I’m glad

that I am a teacher. If I had a second life, I would choose to be a teacher again.”

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his years as a student: laying a solid foun-dation and studying to improve theories.

Prof. Deng said that he had preserved ten catch-phrases from Prof. Wang:

“Disseminate knowledge; Educate stu-dents; Create research results; Nurture useful talents.” With this in mind, Pro-

fessor Deng has trained thousands of finance experts, including over 100 doc-toral students. He is still teaching at the age of 88 and said, “Students are both something we shape and something we serve. Every one of my students is my child.” During the discussion that fol-lowed, the students talked about their

confusion in learning and reform of the post-graduate training system. Profes-sor Deng Ziji told them that they should maintain a down-to-earth attitude to-wards their studies, and hoped all the students would study well and be good people.

• Symposium nine:Academician Zhang Qian’er on perseverance in the pursuit of truth and living optimistically

Professor Zhang Qian’er was a favour-ite student of Prof. Lu Jiaxi, one of

the founders of Physical Chemistry and Structural Chemistry as a discipline in China. In spite of a life full of suffering, he is still involved in scientific research. He says, “I just like what I am doing now” Prof. Zhang Qian’er is a quantum chemist and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He took part in the Teatime Symposium on the 22nd Decem-ber 2010.

Professor Zhang says modestly, “I am not famous as a teacher; my three

teachers were.” He was admitted to Xia-men University in 1947 and studied un-der three famous chemists: Professors Lu Jiaxi, Tang Aoqing, and Cai Qirui. Under their influence, Professor Zhang learnt to be very strict when it comes to academic requirements, and stresses the impor-tance of honesty in academic research.

He said that post-graduate students were not employees and their teachers should help them to find their own way in re-search rather than merely making use of them. A spirit of criticism and innova-tion should be encouraged.

In 1954, Professor Zhang received his Master’s degree from the Xiamen Uni-

versity College of Chemistry and then devoted the next 40 years to research into quantum chemistry and structural chemistry. He made many research achievements which were well received both at home and abroad. He was asked about the choosing between applied

studies and theoretical studies, Profes-sor Zhang responded that some students would no doubt choose applied subjects in order to meet the reality of today’s job pressures, but he hoped that they did not bring personal interests into their aca-demic research; the progress of science and society was dependent on people of ability undertaking fundamental re-search.

Professor Zhang Qian’er had had a difficult life. As a child, he had had

to walk for three days to get to school. In his 80s, he was involved in a serious car accident. But he survived, thanks to his determination and optimism and to the help of the medical staff: Prof. Zhang through and through, a man who has never abandoned his pursuit of the truth and smiles even in the face of difficulties.

speaker: Professor Hao Zhifeng, Vice-President of Guangdong University of Technology and member of National Mathematic Modelling CommitteeOn July 2nd, Professor Hao Zhifeng gave a lecture entitled The Thoughts and Methods of Mathematic Modelling at the invitation of XMU School of Mathematical Sciences.Professor Hao used simple language and vivid examples to illustrate mathematics, building mathematical models of problems in daily life to find solutions. In this way he explained mathematical modelling in daily life from the setting of modelling indicators, to basic concepts and theorems, and the modelling process in clear and comprehensive terms.

speaker: Professor Ma Shengrong, Vice-President of Xinhua News Agency and Dean of the Chongqing University College of Literature and Journalism.On July 12th, Professor Ma Shengrong gave a talk on The Coverage of Major International Emergency Events to students on the XMU Zhangzhou campus.Professor Ma Shengrong began by explaining how Xinhua News Agency had covered the Iraq War and illustrating it with stories of the journalists covering war. He then discussed the importance of breadth of knowledge and professionalism in covering global emergencies.

speaker: Professor Lin Xiaodong, of the University of Toronto Department of Statistics and Member of the Education and Research Section of the Society of Actuaries in North America.On July 12th, Professor Lin Xiaodong, an alumnus of XMU, gave a talk on the Actuarial Profession and Actuarial Research at the invita-tion of XMU School of Mathematical Science.Prof. Lin gave an introduction to actuarial science, including the functions of actuaries and their work and different approaches to the work. He also spoke authoritatively on the methods of assessment and qualifications for becoming a member of the Society of Actuaries in North America, and put forward many constructive suggestions for the establishment of a major in actuarial science here in China.

speaker: Dr. Shih-Liang Tu, environmental expert at the Asian Development BankOn August 14th, Dr. Tu Shih-Liang visited XMU China Centre for Energy Economics Research at and gave a talk on Leading towards Climate Neutral Networking: Financing Clean Energy in Asia, an ADB/Private Sector Perspective.Dr. Tu gave an introduction the history and structure of the Asian Development Bank, which was set up to eradicate poverty in develop-ing countries and promote social and economic development in the Asia-Pacific region. He discussed the building of climate neutral networks from the perspective of the private sector.

speaker: Professor William C. Kirby, T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies and Spangler Family Profes-sor of Business Administration at Harvard University.On September 15th, Professor Kirby gave a talk on Chinese and American Universities in the 21st Century at the invitation of the XMU School of Management.Professor William C. Kirby said he believed that only through prioritising breadth of education and a humanitarian approach could universities produce the talents that met the needs of the times. He said that it had taken long history of development before Harvard University became one of the world’s prestigious institutions, and that China’s universities were now putting in place a range of reforms to lay the foundations for nurturing talents.

speaker: Professor Chen Wen-Tsuen, former President of Tsinghua University of TaiwanOn September 21st, Professor Chen Wen-Tsuen gave a lecture on the current situation and future of the communication of information in Taiwan.Prof. Chen began by reviewing the development of information communication in Taiwan and expressed confidence in the prospects of the industry. The coming focus for the information communication industry would be 4G broadband, combining radio, tele-communi-cations and the Internet. He hoped that there would be more academic exchanges across the Strait, which would lead in turn to a globally leading level of information communication on either side of the Strait.

The “Teatime Symposia” will continue to invite further highly regarded teachers to share their teaching and life with students in a relaxed atmosphere.

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speaker: Professor Li Xuesong, Researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social SciencesOn October 18th, Professor Li Xuesong gave a talk on China’s 12th Five-year Plan, its Economic Forecast and Strategic Choices for 2020.Prof. Li’s thesis was in three sections: the opportunities and challenges facing China; predicting China’s economic aggregate and struc-tural changes between 2011 to 2020; and the development strategy behind China’s 12th Five-year Plan. He analysed the direction of eco-nomic policies in developing countries in the post-crisis period, and explained problems in China’s economic structure and the nation’s growth potential over the next ten years.

speaker: Professor Curtis Suttle, Associate Dean of the University of British Columbia Faculty of ScienceOn October 14th, Prof. Suttle gave a lecture entitled Viruses – the Most Diverse Life Forms on Earth and the Drivers behind the Global Ecosystem.Professor Suttle illustrated the enormous influence of viruses on ecosystem, using various types of marine virus and their huge biomass as examples, to present the importance of research into viruses. Viruses, he said were the fundamental driving force behind the energy in matter on the Earth and were an indispensable part of the life-cycle. Viruses comprised a rich source of human genetic material and were essential to the survival of the human species.

speaker: Professor John Whalley, of the University of Western OntarioOn October 29th, Professor John Whalley visited XMU and gave a lecture entitled The Potential Global and Developing Country Impacts of Alternative Emission Cuts and Accompanying Mechanisms for the Post Copenhagen Process, at the invitation of the XMU Centre for Macroeconomic Research. Prof. Whalley first briefed the audience on the different methods and positions in research into climate policies from the perspective of macro-economics. He then explained the results of the Copenhagen Climate Conference held in December 2009, especially the roles played by China and the US in the fight against the global climate change.

speaker: Professor Wang Xingtian, General Manger and Chief Architect of the Shanghai Nikko Architec-tural Consultation Co., Ltd.On November 6th, Professor Wang Xingtian, a well-known architect, gave a talk on synthesising different architectural styles, for the students and staff of the XMU School of Architecture and Civil Engineering.Professor Wang said that architecture had its roots in the imaginations of people and the imitation of nature. It was consciously created to regulate the living environment. Architecture was not the same as buildings; architecture involved aesthetic meanings and characteristics which were the fusion of many patterns, such as those of thinking and culture.

speaker: Professor Cheng Enfu, Director of Marxism Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.On November 21st, Professor Cheng spoke on New Opening Theory and Policy - Western Financial and Economic Crisis and China’s Eco-nomic Development Mode Shift.Professor Cheng explained the theories of the Neo-liberal Economics, the New Keynesian Economics, and the Modern Marxian Econom-ics schools of thought on the reasons for the western financial and economic crisis. He proposed that China must change its mode of eco-nomic development in response to the international financial crisis in order to safeguard the sound development of the national economy.

speaker: Prof. Wei Xinghua, Honorary Professor at the Renmin University of China.On November 21st, Professor Wei Xinghua, an eminent economist a leader in research into the theory of capital in China, gave a lecture on The Theoretical and Practical Problems in Modes of Transforming Economic Development.Professor Wei discussed the problems facing China’s economic development as seen from the viewpoint of Marxist political economics. He said that in order to solve the problem of increasing social inequality, China should raise the overall percentage of state-owned assets within the economy, and regulate and improve the economic role played by foreign investment and private enterprises.

speaker: Professor Li Mingbin of the Peking University Russian DepartmentOn December 6th, Professor Li Mingbin gave a talk on contemporary Russian literature at the invitation of XMU School of Foreign Lan-guages and Culture.Prof. Li explained that literature can be understood in different ways on the basis of different literary theories, and that this was the reason for the diverse development of contemporary Russian literature. He said that literary output was a mirror of a country’s culture and conditions. Advances in information technology meant that reading its literature was still the best way to understand the society and culture of a country.

speaker: Professor Meng Jie of Peking University, Distinguished Professor under the Chang Jiang Scholars Programme.On November 26th, Professor Meng Jie gave a lecture on the Zhangzhou Campus entitled Nuclear Physics in the 21st Century – Particle Accelerators and the Physics of Strange Particles.Prof. Meng began by explaining in basic terms the relation between cosmogony, the structure of matter, and origin of life on the one hand, and nuclear and particle physics on the other. He explained the development process and working principles behind modern particle ac-celerators, and the research status of many countries, including China, in the field.

speaker: Professor Yang Deren, Director of the Zhejiang University Semiconductor Materials Institute and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials.On December 8th, Professor Yang Deren gave a talk on The Status and Development of Solar Photo-voltaic Cells.Prof. Yang asserted how important it was to promote solar energy, given major global and domestic issues. He described the state of devel-opment and associated research issues in the solar cell industry both in China and overseas, and concluded that the further development of the industry needed the appropriate government subsidies and support policies.

speaker: Professor Chad Mirkin of Northwestern University, and member of the US National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering.On December 13th, Professor Mirkin, a chemist and a renowned nanoscience expert, gave a lecture on Nanoenabled Energy Technologies: Nanogenerators, Nanopiezotronics and 3D Solar Cells.Professor Mirkin is known for his development of nanoparticle-based bio-detection schemes, the invention of Dip-Pen Nanolithography, and contributions to supramolecular chemistry, nanoelectronics, and nanooptics. Currently, he is the most cited chemist in the world of the last decade, with the second highest impact factor, and the most cited researcher in nanomedicine.

speaker: Professor Zhuang Guotu, Director of the China Southeast Asian Research Association and Direc-tor of the XMU Centre for Southeast Asian Studies.On December 22nd, Professor Zhuang Guotu presented the 35th XMU Dean Forum and gave a talk on East Asian Community and current Sino-Japanese relations.Professor Zhuang Guotu explained the importance of establishing an East Asian Community, which would bring about the biggest change in international relations of the last 500 years. He said he had great confidence in such a community, asserting, “In light of the accelerating globalisation and deepening of relations among East Asian countries, the East Asian Community is taking shape.”

speaker: Academician Zhang Ze, of Chinese Academy of SciencesOn December 27th, Academician Zhang Ze, an expert in materials science visited XMU and gave a lecture entitled The Cultural Quality and Base for Technological Innovation.Professor Zhang explained the role of technological innovation in changing national destinies and people’s lives, illustrating his talk with events in the histories of China and foreign countries and the life histories of famous scientists. He said that technological innovation required interest, exploration, perseverance and devotion. Only through maintaining an interest in science rather than appealing to au-thority, and through the unremitting pursuit of scientific theories and research methods was technological innovation possible.

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