(July 16th, 2012)
Your Excellency, Mr. Dinanath Sharma, Minister for Education of Nepal,
Prof. Dr. Suresh Raj Sharma, Vice Chancellor of Kathmandu University,
Prof. Chen Liang, Vice-President of Hebei University of Economics & Business,
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
Good afternoon!
I am very glad to attend the 5th anniversary celebration of Confucius Institute. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, I would like to extend warm congratulations to Confucius Institute at KU and sincere gratitude to the leaders and people contributing to the development of Confucius Institute in two countries, as well as the Chinese teachers and volunteers working here.
Thanks to the consistent effort of the four groups of Chinese teachers and volunteers, Confucius Institute, established in 2007, has formed the school-running mode of "one institute with multiple teaching centers", is being involved in Chinese language teaching and the Chinese culture transmission and making remarkable contribution to the cross-culture communication between China and Nepal. Being the most important base on Chinese language teaching and Chinese culture transmission, CIKU has earned wide approval and acclaim in Nepal. Over the past five years, groups of Nepali students learning Chinese language are just like the seeds of the friendship between China and Nepal, rooting and spreading. Confucius Institute has also set up a bridge of language, culture and friendship between the peoples of our two countries.
Besides the popularity in Nepal, CIKU is well-known in India and Bhutan as well. As far as I know, there are some Indian students studying in Confucius Institute and willing to participate the HSK exam. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism of Bhutan also expressed their strong desire to start Chinese language training courses for their tour guides. Today, there are also friends from Russian Culture Center, France Alliance and British Council. CIKU has made new attempt to develop itself as the comprehensive platform for the exchanges between Chinese culture and foreign cultures.
As we all know, Chinese language not only represents the continuous Chinese civilization with a history of over five thousand years, but also has become a significant international culture product and communication tool. We could say that learning Chinese language is the most direct and effective way to know more about the modern China.
Confucius is acclaimed as a great thinker and statesman. As a great thinker, the profound Confucianism that he put forward had great impact on Chinese history of over two thousand years, and much of Chinese culture essence derived from it as well. Profiting from all outstanding civilized achievements in the world during the development, Chinese people are still imprinted deeply by Confucianism. As a great statesman, the political idea that he held is to build "a great harmonious world", which is inherited and developed by the modern China. China endeavors to follow the path of peaceful development and a win-win strategy of opening up in order to contribute to building a harmonious world. Thus, besides the language, Confucius Institute also spread the Chinese culture essence; besides the platform of language and culture, Confucius Institute is also a bridge of mutual communication and understanding. Besides Chinese language tutors, I hope, the teachers can also be the Chinese culture evangelists.
China and Nepal are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers. The culture exchanges are of long standing. In this January, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao paid a successful official visit to Nepal. The state leaders of both countries announced 2012 as China-Nepal Friendly Exchanges Year, which turned a new page for the mutual communication and cooperation between the two countries. The Grand Spring Festival Gala Nepal Tour Performance organized by Hebei University of Economics and Business, the cooperative university of Confucius Institute in China, has offered a good beginning. In April, Chen Zhili, the Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of NPCC, gave the full affirmation to their work when she visited Confucius Institute at Kathmandu University.
After five years' experience, Confucius Institute has grown from a seedling to a big tree full of flowers and fruits. I believe, with the joint effort of the friends in different fields, Confucius Institute will achieve a greater and more glorious success, will play a more vital role in the friendly communication, and will make a more solid foundation for the Comprehensive Partnership of Cooperation between China and Nepal.
Thank you!