Former President Gu Binglin Visits Hokkaido
--Addressing the Hokkaido-Tsinghua University Beautiful Village and People’s Livelihood Forum
From July 24 to 26, Gu Binglin, the former President of Tsinghua University, on behalf of Qiu Yong, the President of Tsinghua University, led a delegation to Hokkaido, with the main purpose of further promoting exchange and cooperation in academia and the economy between Tsinghua University and Hokkaido. Former President Gu attended the exchange meeting between Hokkaido and Tsinghua University and addressed the Hokkaido-Tsinghua University Beautiful Village and People’s Livelihood Forum.
On July 24, invited by the Governor of Hokkaido Harumi Takahashi, the former President of Tsinghua University Gu Binglin, the Consul General to Sapporo Sun Zhenyong, the Chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Association in Hokkaido Aoki Athens, the Vice President of Hokkaido University Masanori Kasahara, and other distinguished guests attended the exchange meeting.
Harumi Takahashi, the Governor of Hokkaido, reviewed the friendly exchanges between Hokkaido and Tsinghua University and said that she will continue to promote the positive development of cooperation between Hokkaido and Tsinghua University in education and scientific research, and make contributions to the further development of Chinese-Japanese relations.
Qiu Yong, the President of Tsinghua University, sent a congratulatory letter. Li Jinliang, the Dean of the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, Tsinghua University, on behalf of President Qiu, read the congratulatory letter. In the letter, President Qiu noted that the lasting friendship between China and Japan is the wish of both the Chinese and Japanese peoples and also a guarantee for world peace. “Tsinghua University is willing to make new contributions to lasting and friendly relations between China and Japan. I sincerely hope that the exchanges between Tsinghua University and Hokkaido will continue to develop and welcome the Hokkaido delegation to visit Tsinghua University again”, said President Qiu.
Sun Zhenyong, the Consul General to Sapporo, said at the exchange meeting that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. He hoped that the two sides would continue to deepen exchange and cooperation in education and scientific research in various forms and contribute to the development of friendly relations between China and Japan.
Gu Binglin, the former President of Tsinghua University, said that Tsinghua University and Hokkaido had a good foundation for communication and hoped that both sides would take this opportunity to deepen their cooperation and exert their respective advantages to make a joint effort to encourage friendly exchanges between China and Japan, especially among young people.
At the exchange meeting, students from Tsinghua University and Hokkaido performed a variety of cultural performances with ethnic characteristics and had active communication after the performance.
On July 26, the "Hokkaido-Tsinghua University Beautiful Villages and People's Livelihood Forum", co-organized by the Hokkaido Government, Hokkaido University and Tsinghua University, opened at Hokkaido University, covering topics such as rural revitalization, education, infrastructure construction, and barrier-free cities.
Yasuhiro Tsuji, the Vice Governor of Hokkaido, said that Hokkaido and Tsinghua University had signed an exchange agreement last year and had great expectations for further expansion of exchanges in academia and between young people “I am very glad to hold this forum in this memorable year and I also hope that this will be an opportunity to strengthen the cooperation between Tsinghua University and Hokkaido University.”
In his speech, Gu Binglin, the former President of Tsinghua University, said that Tsinghua University established the China Institute for Rural Studies in 2011 to undertake research focusing on the issues of China's rural areas. “I believe that the sparks of thought between the two sides can inspire each other at the meeting and contribute to the construction of our beautiful countryside. In May this year, Premier Li Keqiang visited Tokyo and Hokkaido to inject new impetus into the improvement of Chinese-Japanese relations. I believe that this forum will write a new chapter for cooperation between Tsinghua University and Hokkaido University”, said former President Gu.
Toyoharu Nawa, the President of Hokkaido University, said that Tsinghua University and Hokkaido University had signed an agreement ten years ago to build a close cooperative relationship. “In this forum, we will discuss and share experiences on important issues such as food and population reduction in agricultural activities.”
In the following part, Wang Yahua, the Deputy Dean of the China Institute for Rural Studies, Tsinghua University, delivered a keynote speech focusing on China's implementation of their rural revitalization strategy.
Hokkaido University was founded in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College by William S. Clark with the help of five faculty members and an initial class size of 24 students. In September 1907, Tohoku Imperial University set up the faculty of Agriculture in Sapporo. Tohoku Imperial University ceded the Faculty of Agriculture to Hokkaido Imperial University on April 1, 1918. It was one of nine Imperial Universities in Japan.
Writer: Guo Lili
