GDUFS Celebrated the 55th Birthday

Under the current epidemic control conditions, GDUFS has carried out a series of online and offline activities for the 55^th anniversary of the founding of GDUFS. On December 12^th, the university held its 55^th anniversary meeting at Yunshan Hall in the North Campus. Representatives of alumni councils; university leaders; retired teacher representatives; teacher and student representatives attended the event.

GDUFS held the 55^th anniversary meeting

Representatives of the school board attending the meeting include: Huang Hua, President and Chairman of Southern International Group; Zhong Naixiong, Chairman of the board of directors of Nengxing Holdings Group; Li Zhiyuan, Chairman of Zhentai Charity Foundation of Zhentai Group; Guo Zewei, Chairman of Guangdong Shangdong Investment Holding Group; Li Lingling, Party secretary of Time China and President of The Time Foundation; Yi Manyu, director of Guangzhou Champion Industrial Co. LTD; Lin Zengtao, Chairman of Guangdong Longtao Group;Yuan Zhizhong, Vice President of the Guangdong branch of the Bank of China; Chen Pengfei, Vice President of Kelly Capital Co. Ltd; and Lan An, Vice Chairman of Dongguan Yichun Group Co. LTD, etc.

Sui Guangjun presided over the meeting

Sui Guangjun, Secretary of the Party Committee of our school, presided over the meeting. On behalf of the school, he welcomed all the participants, paid tribute to people from all walks of life who have supported and cared for GDUFS for a long time, and extended sincere greetings to all the GDUFSers. Sui said that 55 years ago, with the care and approval of Premier Zhou Enlai and Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping, GDUFS was born in southern Guangdong with grand vision of moral education and development. Over the past 55 years, our university has always kept its original mission of educating people for the Party and the country in mind; highlighted the responsibility of GDUFS in the training of international talent; provided GDUFS’s experience in the educational reform and innovation; contributed GDUFS’s wisdom to the serving of national society; and showed GDUFS’s characteristics in open cooperation and communication. Over the past 55 years, along with the trend of progress of the times, the overall situation of national development and the pace of national growth, the university was determined to reform and innovate, continued pursuing excellence, then handed over a satisfactory answer worthy of the times and wrote a magnificent chapter of successful development. In the future, combined with the strong leadership of the provincial government as well as the care and support of alumni at home and abroad and people from all walks of life, we will continue to promote the university's various undertakings to move forward with the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Shi Youqi delivered a speech

Shi Youqi, President, delivered a speech with the title of “Forge ahead and create brilliance, Write a chapter of outstanding development”. Shi showed that over the past 55 years, we were always committed to cultivating people with moral integrity and taking root in China to develop the university. We always kept in mind our original intention and mission of cultivating talents for the Party and the country. Through practical action, we made a solemn answer to the fundamental question of what kind of people to cultivate, how to cultivate people and for whom to cultivate people. Shi stressed that since the third Party Congress, GDUFS has taken steps towards deepening comprehensive reform, strengthening its advantages, enhancing the vitality of social services, and building a high-level university with distinctive international characteristics. Looking to the future, Shi hopes that we will have the courage to move forward, the drive to innovate and the strength to work hard for a long time. He also hopes that we can inherit the tradition of GDUFS and carry forward the spirit of GDUFS. In the face of the new era, we should firmly seize major strategic opportunities and proactively respond to the needs of the Party and the country to strive for first-class higher education and improve the quality of personnel training in the new era. We should actively respond to the Belt and Road, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen Demonstration Zone and other major national development strategies, and contribute more targeted, feasible, forward-looking high-level scientific research results. In the face of the new international situation, we should strengthen the genes of GDUFS in the process of promoting a higher and deeper level of education, while opening up to the outside world.

Video messages by representatives of cooperative universities

Wang Dinghua, Party Secretary of Beijing Foreign Studies University, delivered a video message on behalf of domestic partner universities. He said GDUFS will always follow the pace of national development, keeping pace with the times. BFSU is willing to work side by side and cooperate with our university, and work together to build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and beautiful modern country. Deborah Terry AO, President of the University of Queensland, delivered a video message on behalf of the University of Queensland. Recalling the fruitful results of the cooperation between the two universities in recent years, she said that the University of Queensland sincerely welcomes the arrival of more outstanding foreign students and looks forward to building a stronger partnership with the university.

Gong Guoxiang, alumni representative, delivered a speech

Gong Guoxiang, alumni representative of the 1965 class, named one of “40 outstanding figures of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone over the past 40 years”, and the founder of Shenzhen Foreign Languages School, shared his personal experience as one of the first class of students after the establishment of our university in the difficult start-up process of his alma mater. He said that it was because he witnessed GDUFSers’ spirit of unity and self-improvement displayed in the difficult environment that he had the strength to start his business and overcome difficulties, and he hoped to pass on the stories of GDUFS, the spirit and character of GDUFSers through himself.

Zhang Yujun, alumni representative, delivered a speech

Zhang Yujun, alumni representative, alumni of 1999 class, national model prosecutor, said that thanks to the cultivation of her teachers, she has become a person who pursues truth and sticks to justice. Influenced by GDUFS, she has consciously integrated her personals ideals into the development of the times and done her best to contribute to the rule of law. She hoped that GDUFSers will join hands with our beloved Alma mater, forge ahead, be realistic and pragmatic, work hard and contribute their own strength in the new journey of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Presenting flowers to teacher representatives

Presenting flowers to alumni representatives

At the memorial meeting, students presented flowers to teacher representatives and alumni representatives. Sui Guangjun and Shi Youqi presented souvenirs to them. The meeting began with GDUFS’s original songs "Meet the Sky" and "Dream to the future", and ended with the songs "Stay true to the mission" and "Feng Ming Ling Nan".

Poetry recitation "Reunion, Pursuit of Dreams, Voyage"

Artistic Performance "Teng"

A Performance of the Song "Stay true to the mission"

After the meeting, members of the school board and alumni were organized to visit the newly built No.1 teaching building, and a series of activities such as the Global Alumni meeting were held.

Alumni representatives visited the newly built No.1 teaching building

“I love GDUFS!”

Saved a big smile for GDUFS

Written by: Lin Jamie

Photo by: the GDUFS News Website

Edited by: Kyle Muntz, Wang Mengyu