Share Goodwill through Languages Though Miles Apart

The Party branch secretary’s workshop of the first batch of “double-director” teachers held an online meeting for students from USTB and Hosei University

On June 1, 2020, from 17:00 p.m. to 18:30 p.m., organized by the Party branch secretary’s workshop of the first batch of “Party building leader + academic leader” teachers, theSFS held an online meeting between USTB and Hosei University.

Participants included Japanese teachers, Toshiki Arai, Kiyoshi Kondo, and Haruji Nomura, and Chinese teachers, Wang Shuwei, secretary of the Party branch of School of Japanese and head of the Undergraduate Program in Japanese, and Bian Jing, and Li Zhengzheng of the program. Four student representatives from Hosei University and six from USTB took part in this meeting.
The topic was “study and life under  COVID-19”. The student representatives carefully prepared their self-introductions and speeches around the topic, and students of USTB’s Undergraduate Program in Japanese  prepared a slideshow on “USTB’s Fight against Covid-19” in advance.
At the beginning of the meeting, the faculty members and students on both sides extended cordial and friendly greetings to each other, and Mr. Arai of Hosei University introduced the agenda of the meeting in detail. Supported by Zoom, the online meeting included five sections, one-to-one communication between students, group interaction, representatives’ presentations, students’ comments, and teachers’ summaries on both sides.

Based on the principle of promoting friendly exchanges between students  and broadening students horizons, the students first briefly exchanged personal information (name, major, hobbies, etc.), and then engaged in pleasant conversation in one-on-one exchanges. After that, they formed two groups to discuss how the  COVID-19 had changed their study and life. Students expressed their views and opinions on the epidemic, their study and life during this period, and the responsibility of the younger generation to improve China–Japan relations.

The two groups then elected a Chinese student and a Japanese student to make concluding remarks  and there was a full exchange of views. Students said that their  two countries had seen the epidemic develop  differently and their responses to it had therefore been different, but they have great empathy in experiencing with similar problems in study and living. Lu Liwei, a sophomore majoring in Japanese, said that she found that people in different countries have different points of view and different methods when dealing with particular subjects. She was amazed at how fascinating intercultural exchange is, and she exchanged with Japanese students on topics that struck a chord with them, such as staying at home and having online courses during the epidemic.

Students of both countries expressed their worry and anxiety about the pandemic, and felt encouraged when China and Japan worked together to help each other to fight COVID-19. They looked forward to expanding cooperation and deepening friendship between the two countries in the future.

Liu Zichen, a sophomore from USTB, said that the meeting showed the ability and commitment of the students  and promoted mutual understanding. Both sides  learned to see things from the other’s perspective in the pandemic. As the old saying goes, the friendship between the two countries is based on mutual affection between the people.

The two sides in the meeting expressed a strong willingness to enhance mutual understanding and trust between young peoples.  They hoped tostrengthen the friendships between China and Japan through the continuous improvement of their professional competence and a broader global perspective Finally, the teachers of thetwo sides took turns to  commentby summing up students’ views and expressing their opinions. Prof. Wang Shuwei conveyed greetings and messages from the Dean and the Secretary of the Party Committee of the SFS and thanked Hosei University for their participation. Bian Jing expressed her gratitude for the holding of the meeting, praised the positive communication and careful preparation of the students on both sides, and looked forward to the next meeting This online meeting was more than an opportunity for students to  practice their oral Japanese, discuss current affairs and exchange views; it was  a bridge for Chinese and Japanese students to develop intercultural communication. The meeting broadened their horizons and enabled each to have a more intuitive understanding of the basic conditions of the two countries and the study and life of  university students. We hope that we will continue to hold student meetings with Hosei University and other Japanese universities to cultivate foreign language talents with international vision and lofty ideals in the future. We will make greater contributions toward the development of China-Japan relations and the building of a community of shared future for mankind.