Date: May 19, 2023

Source: The Publicity Department of the JNU Committee of the Communist Party of China, Liaison Office

Author: LI Weimiao, CHEN Lian

Translator: YANG Yuting, CHEN Shu, LIN Yanfei

The JNU trustees elected its ninth board and held its first meeting on May 19. The board heard and examined the work reports of JNU and its eighth board of trustees, as well as the draft revision to the board's Articles of Association. Trustees also discussed JNU's overall planning and development, its construction as a double first-class and high-level university, and the board's development.

(The meeting scene)

In attendance were Board Chairman Wan Gang, also chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology; Chen Xu, vice head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the State Council's Overseas Chinese Affairs Office; Wang Weizhong, governor of Guangdong; Chui Sai-on, former chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) – all vice chairs of the ninth JNU board – as along with other trustees, 80 in total. Also attending were JNU leaders; representatives of various departments and offices; and comrades from the CPC Central Committee’s United Front Work Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Health Commission, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR., and relevant departments of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Government.

In an opening speech, Wan said the JNU board had done its utmost to facilitate the university's development and played an irreplaceable role in school construction. He said he hoped all trustees could carry forward the noble style passed down from their forerunners in promoting patriotism and education; assist overseas Chinese in their higher education; and offer wisdom and support for the construction and development of JNU.

Chen pointed out that the JNU board had united many people from all walks of life in China and abroad who are enthusiastic about overseas Chinese education; gathered the strength of alumni from all over the world; promoted the school’s leap-forward development; and enhanced the school's operational level and international reputation. She expressed three hopes for the school's future development: that it would fully implement the party's education policy and the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education; deepen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and better promote the globalization of Chinese culture; and give full play to its unique advantages to serve China's major strategies and local economic and social development.

On behalf of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and the provincial government, Wang thanked the leaders of national ministries and JNU board members who have long supported the modernization of Guangdong and the reform and development of JNU. He said he hoped that, under the leadership of the new board, JNU would serve China's major strategies and Guangdong's reform and development needs, building itself into a top-ranking university in China and a famous world-class university as soon as possible.

As the leading university for overseas Chinese, JNU established its first board in 1921, one of the earliest in China. JNU Party Secretary Lin Rupeng noted that in its 102-year history, prior trustees had made great efforts to rebuild and restore the university, leaving behind many moving stories. JNU will accelerate the construction of the double first-class and high-level university, build a first-class faculty; promote the collaborative development of its five campuses in three and cultivate more patriotic talents from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas, he said.

Xu Yuming, director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the ninth JNU board, read out the list of the 80 current trustees. 

Wan presented certificates of appreciation to the retired trustees, and Chen and Wang presented letters of appointment to the members of the ninth board.