The new curriculum guidelines in China's Taiwan island have been met with huge controversy recently as a local high school teacher slammed the textbooks' removal of large chunks of traditional Chinese literature as "shameless." Her remarks not only gained wide support from student groups across the island but was also recognized by former regional leader Ma Ying-jeou.
Experts said on Tuesday that the "natural independence" among young people in Taiwan is actually a result of the "de-Sinicization" education they have been exposed to under the scheme of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities. This politicization of education is fundamentally fragile and doomed to collapse because, regardless of the efforts made by the DPP, they cannot change the fact that their bloodline and cultural roots stem from China and will always be Chinese.
At a press conference on December 4, Ou Kui-chih, a Chinese literature teacher at Taipei First Girls' High School, blasted the current curriculum guidelines, introduced in 2019 as part of Taiwan's extension of its education program from nine to 12 years, as "shameless." Ou argued that students were no longer able to learn about important values, such as integrity and patriotism, from the classic writings of ancient literary masters, local media reported.
In an approximately 2,000-character statement, Ou criticized the education reform in Taiwan over the years, saying it has been guided by the ill principle of "de-Sinicization," leading schools, teachers and students into a dark educational abyss.
"While prestigious schools in Japan are asking students to learn Chinese literature and Koreans are claiming that Confucius is from their bloodline, we are ignorantly choosing to sever our cultural heritage," Ou said. "While the world has caught 'Chinese fever,' the Taiwan authorities are choosing to 'self-castrate' and let the whole generation be destroyed by ideology."
The video of Ou's speech soon went viral on social media in Taiwan, with many sharing the poem of Shame and Integrity written by philologist Gu Yanwu from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), which soon began trending on Facebook.
Local media reported that compared to the previous curriculum, the new one recommends 17 fewer traditional Chinese texts, meaning half of the original content has been deleted.
Former Taiwan regional leader Ma Ying-jeou on Friday said that he admired Ou for speaking out, while Kuomintang (KMT) Vice Chairman Sean Lien said that the DPP was using the guidelines to make Taiwan people "illiterate."
It has been pointed out by several local media outlets and Kuo Jeng-liang, a former Taiwan politician, that the current regional leader Tsai Ing-wen is "terrible and clumsy" at expressing herself in Chinese.
The core of the "de-Sinicization" movement in Taiwan is cultural secessionism, and the purpose is to serve political independence, Wang Jianmin, a senior cross-Straits expert at Minnan Normal University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
While opposition voices for "de-Sinicization" have always been loud but were suppressed in the past, the high school teacher's speech rekindled public attention this time, as the problem was raised by someone in the education system, not driven by factional struggles but purely from the perspective of educational integrity and respect for history. This indicates that the DPP's educational reform has caused serious dissatisfaction within the system itself, experts noted.
Despite the controversy, however, the DPP will continue its efforts to de-Sinicize Taiwan and uphold its so-called Cultural Fundamental Act, which essentially aims to reconstruct a Taiwan-centric culture and deconstruct traditional Chinese culture, Wang said.
However, while the DPP tries to push forward its secessionist scheme, the fact will always remain that Taiwan compatriots are ultimately descendants of the Chinese nation, with Chinese cultural heritage ingrained in their genes.
The National Taiwan University initiated a poll on the matter in recent days, in which a total of 1,814 students participated, with 38 percent expressing support for Ou, saying that classical Chinese is an important part of Chinese language education.
Looking at Xinjiang, and the unique cultural traditions of its various ethnic groups - such as Kazakh throat singing on the grasslands, the Kirgiz eagle hunting customs on the Pamir Plateau, and the Xinjiang songs sung at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains - one can see these diverse ethnic cultures are equally cherished and deeply rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese civilization.
GT reporters again travelled to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In this first installment of a series of articles, GT tells character stories based on ethnic cultural inheritance in Xinjiang, which powerfully refute the false information made up by some anti-China forces claiming that "Xinjiang adopts an assimilation policy towards ethnic minorities in an attempt to systematically eliminate Uygur culture."
"Sing it again, follow me..." Under the guidance of their teacher, a group of young students sing in unison with their faces showing seriousness and joy. They are students at Class IV in the ninth grade at the Middle School of Hezwey town in Wuqia county, and they are singing one of the three major epic poems of China's ethnic minorities - Manas.
"How much has the earth changed, with valleys drying up and turning into wastelands, wastelands transforming into lakes, and lakes evolving into fertile fields... Everything is constantly changing, yet the stories of our ancestors have been passed down to this day." The students have deep and powerful voices, along with a passionate demeanor.
Children in Wuqia county in the southwestern part of Xinjiang have grown up almost always accompanied by the song of Manas.
Manas is the legendary hero of the Kirgiz ethnic group, and the epic poem Manas is named after him. It tells his story and the story of seven generations of descendants leading the Kirgiz people to defend their homeland and pursue a happy life. This epic poem, which spans 230,000 lines, can be called the "encyclopedia" of the Kirgiz ethnic group.
Yumtal Yetku, a 15-year-old Kirgiz boy, is one of the inheritors of the poem, studying under the tutorage of Janur Turgaby, a representative inheritor of the Manas intangible cultural heritage project at the autonomous regional level.
When he was 3 years old, influenced by his mother, Yumtal developed an interest in reciting the epic poem. Through years of practice, he honed his skill in reciting it, becoming a well-known "little Manas Qi" (young reciter of Manas) in the local area.
"Although we Manas Qis have an excellent memory, the teacher never lets us hold the text for rote memorization. Instead, he interprets it for us first, and we then recite and sing it after really understanding it," Yumtal told the Global Times. "If we do not understand the hero's emotions, how can we handle the movement and expression of singing, let alone making innovative expressions in our own language?"
When talking about Manas, Yumtal always has a smile on his face. It is not difficult to see that learning Manas brings him joy and a sense of accomplishment. The ability to sing more than 1,000 lines of Manas has allowed Yumtal to surpass his peers. Yumtal said that now he can memorize the content of some eight chapters and sing continuously for half an hour.
In addition to learning from Janur during summer and winter vacations, he also has the opportunity to practice at school. The school has established a club for students interested in Manas, and under the guidance of music teacher Tohtkul Kurbanali, more than 40 club members have the opportunity to learn the poem twice a week. Yumtal has become their tutor.
Zhang Yifan, a 15-year-old Han girl, is also a member of the club. When learning the lyrics of Manas, she writes down the pronunciation in pinyin and often asks her classmates for help. For these children who are about to face the high school entrance examination, singing together is also a great way to relieve stress.
In the local area, people can be seen singing and performing Manas everywhere. The inheritance and protection of the poem is not limited to this school club.
In 2006, Manas was included in the first list of national intangible cultural heritage, and in 2009, it was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In recent years, with the joint efforts of experts and scholars from various ethnic groups, the research and protection of Manas has achieved remarkable results, such as training of artists, organizing competitions and academic seminars, and publishing and translating the epic poem into multiple languages.
In 2009, the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture established the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection (Manas Protection and Research) Center, and has continuously held the Manas international cultural tourism festival and singing competition. At the same time, cultural inheritance training classes have been held in cultural centers, schools, and township comprehensive cultural stations, establishing a team of inheritors that combine the old, middle-aged, and young.
Yumtal told the Global Times that his favorite part of Manas is when the hero turns defeat into victory in a battle. Yumtal admires Manas' courage and determination. Now, this young inheritor of the epic poem also has the same courage. He has participated in the Manas international cultural tourism festival, and often performs with his predecessors on the stage, honing his skills.
China has become a major power in graduate education with graduate students on campus reaching 3.65 million in 2022, the second largest in the world, China's Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Tuesday, urging for a change in the attitude that prioritizes academic degrees over professional degrees in graduate education in order to build a strong power of education.
Educational experts called for a reform of the talent evaluation system, which is only based on academic qualifications, saying "blind" expansion of graduate student numbers instead of improving the quality of graduate education will lead to the devaluation of academic qualifications.
At present, the number of academic doctorate programs at Chinese universities has doubled from 10 years ago, while the number of professional doctorate programs has increased three-fold, according to the MOE's Tuesday press briefing, which introduced the ministry's advice on further promoting the differentiated development of graduate education for academic and professional degrees that the ministry previously issued.
However, Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute in Beijing, emphasized the importance of ensuring the quality of graduate student training. He told the Global Times on Tuesday that the expansion of graduate students should be kept within an appropriate range.
According to Xiong, now that higher education has entered the popularization era, China has to form a reasonable talent training system that doesn't solely focus on educational background but also values talents' core capabilities and performance quality.
At present, the homogeneous development of academic and professional degrees in graduate education still exists and a further reverse of the attitude that prioritizes academic degrees over professional degrees in graduate education is needed, Ren Youqun, head of the MOE's Department of Teacher Education, noted during the Tuesday briefing.
According to the MOE, the basic paradigm of differentiated development of graduate education for academic and professional degrees has basically taken shape in China with both academic and professional degrees equally valued.
The proportion of professional degrees increased from 32.29 percent in 2012 to 56.4 percent in 2022, and the current proportion of graduate students on campus for professional degrees accounted for 61.6 percent, more precisely meeting the economic and social needs for the high-quality development of these industries.
According to Ren, the number of fresh doctoral graduates reached 75,200 in 2023. Their employment data as of the end of August shows that fewer than 40 percent were recruited by colleges and scientific research institutes.
Besides this, more than one-fifth of the fresh PhD holders were hired by enterprises, a proportion which has been increasing for three years in a row. Ren said that the proportion is still not as high as those in some advanced countries and the demand for doctoral talents in society will continue to increase in the future, while the requirements on the quality and capabilities of high-level talents will also be more diversified.
According to Ren, the MOE's advice clarifies that both academic degrees and professional degrees are crucial for the country to cultivate high-level innovative talents, and they should be equally valued by educational institutions.
The two types of degrees have different goals in cultivating talents, but both emphasize theoretical knowledge, systematic specialized knowledge, and innovative spirit and capabilities. Additionally, professional degrees cannot solely focus on the training of professional skills.
According to Xiong, dividing graduate education into academic degrees and professional degrees is a fundamental adjustment to the structure of talent cultivation, rather than a simple change in terminology.
China's domestically developed passenger jets - the C919 and the ARJ21 - get ready to fly to Hong Kong from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on December 12, 2023. They arrive at the Hong Kong International Airport on the same day. This is the first time for the C919 to leave the Chinese mainland. Photo: VCG
The ice hockey competitions at the National Winter Games, though rarely held in the summer, concluded in early August in Hulun Buir, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, as the spotlight surprisingly fell on teams from southern China.
Debutants Guangdong Province, whose women's ice hockey lineup included several players affiliated with international teams such as national team captain Yu Baiwei, claimed their maiden national championship title as they won the seven-team competition.
"It allows more people to witness the charm of ice and snow in the summer. It's our first experience participating in such an event during [the summer] season," Yu told the Global Times. "I hope more people will watch our games, fall in love with ice hockey and even engage in the sport."
Yu, who joined Shenzhen-based club Shenzhen Red Star in South China's Guangdong Province in 2017, said Guangdong has been very supportive in developing winter sports, though the province is known for its warm climate.
"Guangdong has provided strong support for ice and snow sports, and these efforts have shown results in recent years," Yu said. "I believe winning the National Winter Games will inspire more cities in southern China to develop ice and snow sports."
In the men's tournament, debutants Chongqing Municipality rounded off their maiden National Winter Games foray with a fourth-place finish in a nine-team race.
"They have demonstrated tenacity as the team even without winning a medal for Chongqing," said Zhang Ge, deputy director of the Chongqing Winter Sports Administration. "The emergence of several outstanding young players is the greatest positive from our participation in this event."
Zhang mentioned that the team still requires more competitions to gain match fitness, saying, "We believe that with an increase in tournament participation, the team will see greater improvement."
Olympic legacy
For many people from northern China, ice sports like skating are familiar, with locals having participated in them since childhood. Artificial ice technology spread in China thanks to Beijing winning the 2022 Winter Olympic bid, and has helped introduce children and teenagers winter sports in southern China.
The aforementioned two teams are just examples of ice hockey's spread in southern China, as teams representing Sichuan and Anhui provinces, as well as Shanghai Municipality, areas in southern China where ice and snow is rarely seen, also qualified for the National Winter Games.
The southwestern province of Sichuan founded its ice hockey team in 2019, as the province aims to establish a squad that might widen the talent pool of the national team, said Duan Yuchuan, chief of Sichuan's winter sports authority.
"Our short-term goal when establishing the team in 2019 was to participate in the National Winter Games and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. This goal has since been achieved," Duan told the Global Times.
"The mid-term goal is to win medals at national multi-sport events, contributing more talent to the national teams. Now we have seen several talent being summoned to the national team training camp," Duan said, before noting that their long-term goal is to have Sichuan-born athletes win gold medals for China at the Winter Olympics in the future.
"Athletes from Sichuan often possess advantages in flexibility, skill, endurance, and performance. These strengths can be fully harnessed in specialized development across segments such as ice and snow sports skills," he added.
Sichuan's hopes of being summoned to the national team are firmly pinned to Sichuan's women's goalie Wei Xueqin. Wei, now 22, made it to the national team training camp for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics but had to skip the quadrennial tournament due to a squad limit.
Despite not making it to the national team, Wei continues to relentlessly strive for greatness.
National team captain Yu, 35, said witnessing many young ice hockey players at the National Games assures her that the sport has a brighter future.
"I have seen emerging forces in ice hockey like the Sichuan team, represented by athletes crossing disciplines and fields. While they might lack some technical skills and experience, I can feel their youthful enthusiasm when competing against them," Yu told the Global Times.
"As long as they keep pushing forward and maintain the momentum, there's significant potential for the future development of women's ice hockey in China."
The competition for younger ice hockey players will be held in February 2024, when Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region hosts the full-scale National Winter Games. It is considered an event in which China's ice hockey younger squad depth will be tested before the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Preparing for championship
As Shenzhen, a metropolis in South China's Guangdong Province, will host the Division I Group A women's ice hockey world championship tournament from August 20 to 26, China has a chance to further expand ice hockey's influence in the country.
Team China will host Denmark, Norway, Slovakia, Austria, and the Netherlands in the tournament, all aiming for gold and a chance for advancement in the sport's international ranking.
Yu also underlines that actualizing quality performances is also vital to boost the sport's popularity.
"It's not just about achieving results, but also about playing the game well," Yu said.
"Showing the younger generations what kind of teamwork and technical moves can be displayed in ice hockey is vital for the sport. I hope we can deliver better performances and become an example for young players to learn from."
The torch relay for the 19th Asian Games kicked off near the iconic West Lake in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province on Friday.
Swimming great Luo Xuejuan, the women's 100 meters breaststroke winner at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, was the first of the 106 torchbearers during the opening-day relay.
Back in 2008, Luo was also the first Chinese bearer to carry the Olympic torch for the Beijing Games during the flame-lighting ceremony in Greece.
"I was very excited," the Hangzhou local recalled about her feelings when Hangzhou won the bid for the Asian Games eight years ago. "We just wanted to invite guests from all over the world to come and see, and today it finally came true."
"Actually, I only found out a few days ago that I would be the first torchbearer for the Asian Games, and I was very pleasantly surprised," she told reporters on Friday.
"I just feel honored. In fact, when I stood on the starting point, I was not just representing myself, I was representing the athletes, and the more than 12 million Hangzhou people."
Other high-profile bearers on the first day included Olympic champion volleyball star Hui Ruoqi, Olympic champion shooter Yang Qian, etc.
According to organizers, a total of 2,022 torchbearers will participate in the 13-day relay, ranging in age from 14 to 84. Among them, there are 732 women, 1,219 grassroots front-line representatives, 1,069 advanced role model representatives, and 275 sports worker representatives. In addition, there are a certain number of representatives of ethnic minorities, representatives of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots, and representatives of the disabled.
The torch will journey through 11 cities across Zhejiang, including Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Zhoushan, Taizhou, Wenzhou, Lishui, Jinhua, and Quzhou, before returning to host city Hangzhou on September 20 to complete its final leg. The opening ceremony of the Asian Games will be held on September 23.
The torch relay also incorporates online and offline elements. The online relay activity of the "Digital Torchbearer" was launched after the Asian Games flame collection ceremony on June 15. So far, more than 84 million people have participated in the Asian Games online torch relay.
The torch of the Hangzhou Asian Games is named "Eternal Flame," whose design was inspired by the Liangzhu Culture that is testament to the 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization. The Hangzhou Asian Games flame was lit at the Liangzhu ancient city in Zhejiang on June 15 - 100 days before the opening of the Games. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019, the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu is a sacred place that has born witness to over 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
In a grueling battle on Saturday that lasted nearly two hours, China's Zhang Zhizhen,top seed of the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, emerged victorious with a score of 6-4, 7-6(7) against Japanese Yosuke Watanuki, capturing China's first men's singles gold medal in nearly three decades.
"My goal remains unchanged ̶ to get move my ranking and make it to the top 50... Nonetheless, with this gold, my mind-set is surely a little different now," Zhang said while answering a question from the Global Times during Saturday's post-match news conference.
Zhang also became the second Chinese player to win the men's singles event at the Asian Games, following in the footsteps of Pan Bing who won the men's title for China at the 1990 and 1994 Asian Games. And with his victory, Zhang also secured a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics, marking the return of the Chinese men's tennis players to the Olympic stage after 16 years since China participated in the men's singles event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the host nation.
Zhang said that he was very glad to win the final, noting that Saturday's competition was really intense, as his opponent created lots of challenges for him during the game.
"In the beginning, I felt a little bit anxious and I didn't adjust well, but I felt I could play better. I kept calm and then I adjusted to the situation," Zhang said.
In the final, Zhang took the lead in serving but had a difficult start, falling behind 1-4. However, Zhang quickly adjusted his state and won five consecutive games, reversing the situation to win the first set 6-4. In the second set, both players engaged in a fierce battle, with the score tightly contested. In the subsequent seventh game, both sides were locked in a long-drawn-out struggle. And in the tiebreaker, Zhang, despite initially falling behind, tenaciously fought back and ultimately clinched the championship on the third match point.
On Saturday, the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre witnessed the highest attendance since the start of the tennis at the Games. With China's National Day approaching on October 1, multiple Five-Star Red Flags were hang throughout the venue by willing fans.
After winning the title, Zhang wore the national flag to celebrate.
After Zheng Qinwen won the gold medal in women's singles on Friday, Zhang's win also means that Chinese players have bagged two gold medals in singles tennis at the Hangzhou Asian Games, claiming a ticket to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics men's and women's singles events.
"I think we can only strive for better. There are many excellent players in Asia who haven't played at the Games this time. I hope China can become better and better and the next generation [of Chinese male tennis players] will outperform us," Zhang said when asked by the media about the recent rise of Chinese tennis.
On his future plans, Zhang said he will continue to fight on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. After Shanghai, Zhang will play Tokyo, Basel and Paris and then end his season.
Currently, they are more young Chinese male players making it onto the ATP circuit. For example, Wu Yibing, another rising tennis star, became the first Chinese mainland player to lift an ATP Tour trophy in Dallas, the US,in February 2023.
"I think it's good to have so many young players joining us, but I don't know how many of them will make it to the top of the game," Zhang said. "I hope more children and teenagers embark on this road. It's difficult but worth a shot."
All issues related to replacing foreign instruments for Russia's Spektr-UV space telescope, which is similar to NASA's Hubble, have been successfully resolved, and it will be launched into orbit in 2029, the director of the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Mikhail Sachkov, said on Tuesday.
"There are no technological or organizational problems in the scientific equipment package of Spektr-UV. All issues related to import substitution and independence have been resolved," Sachkov said during a conference at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
The Russian space telescope will be launched into orbit by the end of 2029, the scientist added.
The launch was previously expected to be carried out by the end of 2028. Japanese and Spanish scientific equipment was also expected to be used. However, in December 2022, the project's chief designer, Sergey Shostak, said that the participation of Japan and Spain in developing Spektr-UV remained an open question. Therefore, the Russian scientists had to work out how to replace these instruments with domestic ones.
In terms of its characteristics, Spektr-UV is similar to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and could be deorbited in the mid-2030s.
Spektr-UV will study galaxies, new stars and extrasolar planets, as well as processes in the atmospheres of planets, comets and other bodies in the solar system. It will also search for signs of life on already discovered extrasolar planets.
Chinese President Xi Jinping highly values culture and has a profound understanding of human civilization.
For President Xi, culture plays a unique and irreplaceable role in the rejuvenation of China and the building of a global community of shared future. He speaks from Chinese wisdom, which has been passed down for millennia, advocating for the mutual prosperity of global civilizations, welcoming the flourishing of popular cultural products, and encouraging the youth to join the path to inheriting and reinventing their proud traditions.
This episode focuses on how Xi's actions have promoted friendly people-to-people exchanges between China and the US, which is a perfect example of facilitating coexistence and mutual learning among civilizations.
The lush cedar trees, the ancient wells, Western-style villas… Kuliang is a pleasant place in the mountains where both young and old Fuzhou residents, natives and foreigners, never want to miss.
But their appreciation for Kuliang goes beyond these elements.
Kuliang, a resort area in the suburbs of Fuzhou, capital city of East China's Fujian Province, is also a place which was once full of endless flavor of the carefree play between Chinese and American children, witnessing their friendship transcend the limits of time and space. This place has also witnessed generations of insightful people striving to promote friendly exchanges and carry on the most sincere friendship between these two countries.
At the end of June, a group of former Fuzhou residents crossed mountains and oceans to return to this beloved place.
The group "Kuliang Friends" formed by the descendants of American families who once lived in Kuliang as early as a century ago gathered together to participate in the "Bond with Kuliang: 2023 China-US People-to-People Friendship Forum."
When they arrived in Kuliang, as they got out of the car, a few of them shouted out in fluent Fuzhou dialect, "We're home!"
At the China-US people-to-people friendship forum, another special former Fuzhou resident sent his blessings and encouragement to these American friends. "I hope that you will continue to write the Kuliang story and carry forward the special bonds, so that the friendship between our two peoples can stay forever strong and robust like the thousand-year-old cedar trees in Kuliang," Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a congratulatory letter sent to the forum.
Their stories have shown once again that the Chinese and American peoples can transcend differences in system, culture and language, and build profound friendship, said Xi.
How should the two civilizations of China and the US coexist to bring prosperity and stability to their people?
The Chinese leader has always advocated people to people exchanges between countries and civilizations. "The foundation of China-US relations lies in the people. We have always placed our hope on the American people and wish all the best for the friendship between the two peoples," Xi said, while meeting with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in Beijing on June 16, 2023.
With the care and reconnection of treasured old friends, there is a sequel to the Kuliang story written by the people of China and the US. They share the firm belief that the relationship between the two countries is full of new opportunities.
Beautiful views remain
No matter how many times they visit Kuliang, the "king of cedar trees" is always a must-visit spot for these foreign friends, where two trees embrace each other and have stood for over 1,000 years.
The origin of the Kuliang story comes from this cool shade. In the mid-19th century, a large number of foreigners came to Fuzhou to work and live, many of whom were businessmen, missionaries, and also consular officials. During the summer, many foreigners chose to escape the heat in Kuliang.
At its peak, Kuliang had over 300 Western-style villas, one of which was home to Milton Gardner.
Gardner was born in the US in 1901. As a child, he came to live in Fuzhou with his parents.
Foreigners liked to plant cedar trees in front of their villas, Gardner and some Chinese children living close used to spend their childhood playing together under the trees.
After returning to the US with his family in 1911, Gardner's greatest wish was to return to his childhood home in China. However, unfortunately, he was never able to fulfill his wish.
In 1992, with the help from Chinese students in the US, Gardner's wife Elizabeth Gardner finally found out that the place her husband had been dreaming of for his whole life was Kuliang in Fuzhou.
That same year, Xi, secretary of the Communist Party of China Fuzhou Committee at the time, after learning about the story of Gardner, invited Elizabeth Gardner to visit Kuliang and helped her fulfill her husband's wish.
In 2012, when visiting the US as China's vice president, Xi shared the Kuliang story with the audience at a welcome luncheon held by American friendly groups. This received a warm response from all sectors from both countries.
On June 26, 2023, a grand donation ceremony was held in Kuliang. Lee Gardner, grandnephew of Milton Gardner, donated a complete family chronicle and related documents from his several visits to Fuzhou.
Elyn MacInnis, 72, a cultural expert from the US, brought three suitcases of her collection from the US to donate to the museum, along with members of three other Kuliang families who also made donations.
MacInnis and her husband Peter's bond with China date back to her father-in-law Donald MacInnis, who was a member of the Flying Tigers, a group of US volunteer fighter pilots who helped China fight the Japanese troops during World War II. After Donald MacInnis died, Elyn MacInnis and her husband scattered some of his ashes into the Minjiang River, Fuzhou's "mother river," as he had requested.
"The place where our ancestors lived and left traces is home, and we are bringing old objects home this time," Elyn MacInnis told the Global Times.
"When I tell my family and friends about Kuliang, I tell them about the house we lived in on the side of the mountain and the whispering pines, the wide slippery rock beside it where we would play, and the green rice fields... They want to experience China also," Priscilla Brewster Gill, another Kuliang Friends, told the Global Times.
This time in Fuzhou, Gill, and her granddaughter Katy Barber fulfilled their dream of experiencing a new version of the charm of Kuliang. Gill was born in Fuzhou in 1936, and her father Harold Brewster was the last foreign president of the current Fuzhou Medical University Union Hospital.
As she came to Fuzhou once again, Gill said that she was amazed by the changes in the city: the beautiful parks in the city and along the river, the magnificent Naval History Museum, the cleanliness, the vast amount of greenery, the carefully restored old buildings, the wide roads and highways, the lovely gardens, "and the state of the art Union Hospital where many years ago my father was surgeon and Medical Superintendent. There is so much to admire!" She said.
In Kuliang, Barber walked with Gill to a well, where the words "Foreign and Local Public Well" were inscribed.
"At that time, public facilities such as hospitals, post offices and photo studios in Kuliang were funded and built by foreigners, and the local residents of Kuliang were also happy to share this important resource of well water to us," Gill said.
Barber had heard the story of the well countless times, in Kuliang, she imitated her grandmother's actions, drawing a bucket of clear water.
"The beautiful views remain," Gill said of Kuliang. Now, back at Rhode Island, she has a new and wonderful memory. "I am touched by my experience there last week with the welcoming people, and the great care with which I was treated. They are symbols and pictures showing great thought and effort and giving me a wonderful opportunity to display the spirit of friendship between our peoples."
Expanding friends circle
The ever-richer picture of life in Kuliang was made possible by generations of continued efforts.
In the past, Elizabeth Gardner traveled all over China looking for a place called Kuliang until she finally located the place in Fuzhou.
Our family is very grateful to President Xi for helping to fulfill the wishes of an elderly American he never even knew, whose actions have touched and inspired many people, said Lee Gardner.
In 2016, Elyn MacInnis and her like-minded partner Professor Lin Yinan, an expert in Kuliang culture at East China University of Science and Technology, formed a multinational research team. They conducted on-site surveys of old buildings in Kuliang, searched through archival materials at various universities, including the Yale and Harvard University libraries. Elyn MacInnis established a website so they could locate the descendants of foreign families who lived in Kuliang; Lin and his students built a platform which could use the AI technology to identify the people from historic photos.
"Reunions are always a chance to share memories and in the process, strengthen friendships and ancient ties," Gail Harris, granddaughter of Harry Russell Caldwell, a missionary known for managing and building schools in China, told the Global Times.
In Fuzhou, Harris met her "twin sister" Li Yiying again.
"In this photo, they were still babies," Lin said, as he showed an old photo to the Global Times reporters, in which he discovered this pair of "twins."
In 1941, Harris was born in Yangkou, Nanping and a friend of her parents' had a daughter who was born in the same day, which also happened to be the 60th anniversary of the founding of Anglo-Chinese (Ying-Hua) College of Fuzhou, the predecessor of Affiliated High School of Fujian Normal University, where they worked. In order to commemorate this special fate, the parents named their respective daughters "Li Yiying" and "Bi Lehua," splitting the school's Chinese name Ying-Hua.
On June 24, 2023, under Lin's arrangement, the two 82-year-olds were reunited in Fuzhou. Li didn't speak English and Harris could only speak a few words of Fuzhou dialect. However, once they met, they sat down together and held hands as if they never wanted to let go.
Currently, we have a team which consists of Americans and Chinese academics as well as local villagers that have come together in friendship, regardless of nationality, to study Kuliang culture and history, Elyn MacInnis noted.
With a lot of hard work, they brought together and reunited real people, like putting together the pieces of a puzzle.
Thanks to their joint efforts, they have collected more than 1,000 pieces of written and oral materials, pictures and objects related to the story of Kuliang.
Today, more young people have been involved in this drive. Lin noted that most of the members of Lin's research team are his students, who come from all over China. "They all have a passion for studying Kuliang culture and exploring China-US friendship. On June 28, when Harris left Fuzhou for the US, my students were in tears," Lin said.
The 39-year-old Barber, now living in San Francisco and working as a primary school teacher, introduces students to the geography and culture of China, such as the Chinese people's traditions and cuisines.
From the US, she told the Global Times that "everyone loves to see my pictures and hear about the people there [in Fuzhou]."
She believes while storytelling is important, there is nothing quite like experiencing something first hand. In the near future, she plans to invite more members of her family as well as friends to this land full of love and hope.
Amity between peoples the key
The story of Kuliang is a resemblance of how the two civilizations of China and the US should coexist to benefit their people. It is not just a Chinese story or an American story, but a story belonging to all of humanity, the American families said in unison.
Elyn MacInnis has eloquently described the "Spirit of Kuliang" as Love, Peace, Friendship, Sensitivity and Respect, which received the full approval of the "Kuliang Friends."
"I very much agree with her, because those qualities are my own memories of living in Kuliang since childhood. As an adult, I have come to understand that those qualities transcend politics," said Harris.
Lin believes that the "Spirit of Kuliang" proves that friendship between people on Earth can overcome all kinds of barriers such as language, culture and ideology. "This is because peace and friendship is what everyone needs. It doesn't deteriorate, it doesn't change, but it gets stronger over time. And it is universal, showing the Chinese people's hospitality. As always they embrace these, perhaps, unfamiliar faces, with open arms," he said.
Zhang Yiwu, a professor on Chinese language and literature at Peking University, told the Global Times that the beautiful Kuliang story about the China-US people's friendly relationship that has been passed down generations for over a century shows that the US government's current hostile attitude toward China has no benefit to the countries' shared future.
The Kuliang story has become a cultural symbol as well as a spiritual heritage between China and the US, and it conveys the values that only mutual respect and frequent friendly exchanges can lead to a better development, Zhang said.
In the face of the current cloud over the China-US relationship, the American people are also worried. "I am always sad that political differences often override the profound friendships among people," Harris told the Global Times.
However, unlike Western politicians' hyping of the differences between the two countries, "China and the US have had friendship for so many years, and that both countries want the same things for their people was something I learned at the Forum. We have such a deep bond with the people and the place that we want to keep it a part of our lives," said Gill.
"We couldn't agree more with President Xi's vision that amity between peoples holds the key to the relationship between countries and the people are the cornerstone of its growth," she said.
Meaningful people-to-people exchanges are essential and should not be interrupted by prejudice and arrogance, Zheng Changling, secretary general of the China Folk Culture Innovation and Development Center, told the Global Times.
The Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation, as proven by numerous historical records and archaeological facts. Countless developments in real life demonstrate our unwavering commitment to this principle, Zheng noted.
Zheng pointed out that President Xi's deep understanding of people-to-people interactions is very insightful and attaches great importance to exchanges between civilizations. "This not only provides a top-level blueprint for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation but also contributes Chinese wisdom and proposals to the future development of human society including the Global Civilization Initiative," he said.
Harris said that she prefers the vision of a shared future for mankind over politics before people.
"The fate of our planet really does depend on good-will and cooperation. I would like to see more Americans visit China and learn firsthand about the great generosity, warmth and friendliness of the Chinese people. And I look forward to extending my own hospitality to my Chinese friends," Harris said.
The 2023 Global Esports Conference was held on July 28 in Shanghai focusing on opportunities and challenges in the development of the global esports industry. Abdulla Alnoaimi, commercial counselor of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in China made an address at the event. Relevant government officials, companies, business people, and gaming enthusiasts were also in attendance at the conference.
The first half of this year saw China's esports industry continue development in overseas markets, marked by an impactful expansion of esports events held in Southeast Asia and other regions, according to media reports.
Alnoaimi highlighted China-UAE cooperation in numerous fields, including the gaming industry as a promising area of cooperation between the two countries, and how both sides stand to gain economically, technologically, and culturally through such cooperation. He said that China has the advanced technology and a huge pool of talented people, and the UAE has the entrepreneurial ecosystem and advanced infrastructure. Both sides should give full play to such strengths to expand areas of cooperation and enrich such exchanges, which will promote economic growth, enhance cultural understanding, and create opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue, resulting in a brighter future for the global esports industry.
