The Centenary Anniversary of Hebei University was Held

On the morning of October 18th, the centenary anniversary of Hebei University (HBU) was held in the gymnasium of HBU on Qiyi Road.

“The Centenary Anniversary Meeting of the Founding of Hebei University” was starkly written on the giant red screen in front of the conference venue. Participants were filled with zeal and fervor in the festive and warm atmosphere.

The meeting was held on site and via internet to celebrate the centenary anniversary of the founding of HBU.

Attendees present at the meeting include Lian Yimin, deputy secretary of Hebei Provincial Party Committee; Lin Huiqing, vice president of the China Association of Higher Education and former vice chairman of the Ministry of Education; Rao Zihe, chairman of Tianjin Association for Science and Technology, former president of Nankai University and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Luo Qingming, president of Hainan University and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Han Zhanwen, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Pang Guofang, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering; Song Zhiping, president of China Association for Public Companies and president of China Enterprise Reform and Development Society; Tian Fuyuan, deputy director of the Planning Department of the Ministry of Education and first-class inspector; Liu Haisheng, vice minister of Organization Department of Provincial Party Committee; Wang Liqian, deputy secretary of the Education Working Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and member of the Party Group of the Provincial Department of Education; Dang Xiaolong, secretary of Baoding Municipal Party Committee; Yan Jihong, deputy secretary and mayor of Baoding Municipal Party Committee; Shang Libing, deputy secretary of Baoding Municipal Party Committee; Li Shuangxi, director of Baoding Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, Li Junling, chairman of Baoding CPPCC; and Hua Xinmin, the granddaughter of Mr. Hua Nangui who was the first Chinese president of HBU.

At 9:00 a.m., the meeting was officially started with the solemn national anthem. Guo Jian, party committee secretary of HBU presided over the meeting.

The congratulatory letter for HBU’s 100th anniversary from Chen Zhu, an academician, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress, chairman of the Central Committee of the Agricultural Workers’ Party and president of the Red Cross Society of China was read out at the meeting. Chen hailed HBU as a university steeped in profound history and culture and glorious revolution traditions with distinctive running-school characteristics. Moreover, HBU played a prominent part in higher education layout. He pointed out that this year also marked the100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. We are striding with confidence towards the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects. “As HBU has reached a new starting point for the next 100 years, I hope HBU would hold high the banner of Xi Jinping’s socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, fully implement the Party’s policy on education, keep well in mind our original aspiration for morality education and the mission of cultivating people for the Party and the country”, Chen said. In addition, he hoped that HBU would focus on meeting the major strategic needs of the nation, firmly seize the great opportunity of “ministry-province co-sponsorship” so as to accomplish the goal of building HBU a first-class university, and make more contributions to realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

On October 10th, Wang Dongfeng, secretary of the provincial party committee and director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress, paid a visit to HBU’s faculties and students and expressed his great expectations for the university.

The Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China also sent a congratulatory letter to the meeting, extending special greetings and warm congratulations to HBU’s faculties, students and alumni. It’s said in the letter that HBU as a comprehensive university, inherited a great tradition of running a school. Over the past 100 years, HBU has always shared its destiny with the nation and kept pace with the times. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, HBU, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, has taken its root in Hebei Province and made impressive achievements in many fields from personnel training, discipline construction to scientific research innovation and research achievements commercialization, and made great contributions to the prosperous country, national rejuvenation and people’s happy life. It’s hoped that HBU would remain committed to fully implement the new development concepts, carry forward the motto of “seeking truth from facts” to promote its competence in personnel training, scientific research, public services, cultural transmission and innovation, and international exchanges and cooperation and elevate the quality of higher education in Hebei province to a higher level. With these efforts done, HBU would make greater contributions to making Hebei a beautiful province with robust economy and building China into a great socialist modernization country in all respects and realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Lian Yimin highly appreciated HBU’s achievements over the years and hoped that HBU would take active measures to meet the requirements of providing education with people’s satisfactory, serve in the economic and social development, and undertake the mission of strengthening the country through education. Furthermore, he hoped that HBU would base itself on the new development stage, implement the new development concepts and build a new development pattern to optimize the discipline structure and specialty setting, and construct synergic innovation system in the fields of industry, academy, research and practice. By doing so, HBU would take a more active part in major national strategies and events and take more effective measures to respond to decisions and arrangements made by the provincial party committee and the provincial government, and make greater contributions to Hebei’s innovation and development in sustainability and high quality.

Lin Huiqing pointed out that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as its core has attached great importance to education. In this August, the Ministry of Education, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued Opinions on Deepening the Ministries and Provinces Co-sponsorship and Promoting the High-quality Development of Universities Co-sponsored by Ministries and Provinces. She hoped that HBU would take the Opinions as an opportunity to carry out General Secretary Xi Jinping’s exposition on education, fully implement the Party’s policy on education and adhere to the socialist orientation for running schools. In this way, HBU would accomplish the fundamental task of cultivating people by virtue, assume its responsibility to enhance the intensive construction, pursue high-quality development and create a better future.

Rao Zihe said that originated in Tianjin, HBU shared the same branches with universities in Tianjin. He hoped that HBU’s spiritual temperament and regional context could be passed down from generations to generations. At a new historical starting point, Tianjin Association for Science and Technology will further strengthen cooperation and exchanges with HBU to promote the “double first-class” initiative and “ministry-province co-sponsorship”, support HBU in making new breakthroughs in the fields of Yanzhao cultural protection and Baiyangdian watershed ecological management based on serving the national strategic needs, and play a greater role in promoting Hebei’s economic and social development.

Academician Kang Le, president of HBU, said that the centenary history of HBU witnessed our struggle against hardships and difficulties, registered our deep affection for HBU from generations to generations, and recorded our journey of sharing the same breath and common destiny with the nation and keeping pace with the times. From 1921 to 2021, HBU has changed its name six times and moved to two places to operate schools, but it has never been broken up and even forged a long-lasting tradition of “seeking truth from facts”. Generations of HBU graduates have always been forging ahead, inspired by the patriotic spirit of thriving the country through education, the scientific spirit of pursuing truth, openness and tolerance, the entrepreneurial spirit of perseverance and hard work as well as the dedication of caring for the people and serving the society. At a new historical starting point, we should remain committed to the fundamental task of cultivating people by virtue, enhance the core competitiveness of disciplines, promote the strategy of strengthening universities with talents, improve social services, to inaugurate a new chapter in construction of first-class universities. We have embarked on a new journey to an anticipated future. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s Thoughts on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will turn the demands for the quality of higher education into our confidence and resolution to build a first-class university, strive to make glorious achievements in the next 100 years and make greater contributions to building a socialist modern country in all respects and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!

Wang Dinghua, secretary of the Party Committee of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), said that BFSU had a close connection with HBU, since Zhang Bo, a former professor at HBU, was also the designer of BFSU’s main teaching building, which was regarded as the spiritual home of BFSU’s faculties, students and alumni. BFSU is willing to march forward with HBU and work together to make greater contributions to building a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful and realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Luo Qingming, president of Hainan University and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the two universities, as “universities sponsored by ministries and provinces”, were closely connected by the common goals and historical missions. He hoped that the two universities would accelerate their cooperation to accomplish the goals and tasks of “ministry-province co-sponsorship”. Thus, the universities would do better in supporting and serving local economic and social development, and make greater contributions to coordinating the regional development of national higher education and building China a strong country in higher education.

Dang Xiaolong said that education is the very foundation of a country’s development. In the final analysis, the competition in today’s world is the competition of talents, education and the development of first-class universities. HBU appertains to the Ministry of Education and Hebei province, but also closely relates to Baoding, thus HBU’s matter is within the duties of municipal government of Baoding and the municipal party committee of Baoding is sure to make every attempt to provide the whole-hearted support for HBU.

Song Zhiping is the representative of HBU’s alumni and serves as president of China Association of Public Companies and president of China Enterprise Reform and Development Research Association. Han Zhanwen, is an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences. They respectively expressed their gratitude to their alma mater for her cultivation, saying that they would “come back home often” and continue to care for and support the development of HBU in all areas, contributing their wisdom and strength to HBU. With the joint efforts of all the HBU’s faculties, students and alumni, HBU will surely ride the wind and waves in the next 100 years and score greater achievements.

Yang Baozhong is the representative of the faculties and serves as a professor of the College of Liberal Arts. He said on behalf of all the HBU’s faculties that standing at a new starting point, we would remain true to the original aspiration to foster people through morality education and keep in mind the mission of cultivating people for the Party and the country. We will work harder and make greater contributions to building HBU into a high-level comprehensive university that enjoys high reputation internationally with distinctive characteristics as soon as possible.

Hou Jiayi, the student representative, was enrolled as an undergraduate majoring in economics in 2020. She said that college students in the new era should keep in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping’s expectations of young people in the new era and align the small dream with the big mission to live a splendid life in the green years while turning the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation into reality.

Guo Jian pointed out that HBU always regards serving the country as its highest pursuit. Over the past 100 years, HBU has always been adhering to the spirit of “seeking truth from facts”, carrying forward the revolutionary spirit and inheriting the fine tradition of educating people. Nowadays, HBU has more than 400,000 alumni around the world exploiting their talents for the great cause of revolution, construction and reform led by the Party, which demonstrates their patriotism and sense of mission of the national rejuvenation. As China has entered a new era, for the next century, we should unite more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, remain committed to the “four consciousnesses”, the “four self-confidences” and the “two maintenances”, and fully implement the party’s educational policy, taking cultivating people by virtue as the fundamental task to seize opportunities and deepen reforms. Taking the centenary anniversary of the founding HBU as an opportunity, we will gather the majestic strength to build HBU a first-class university, make greater contributions to building Baoding a modern city of quality life and play a bigger role in making Hebei a strong and beautiful province in an all-round way. We will surely score excellent achievements in the journey of realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!

Comrades from relevant departments of the Ministry of Education and other state ministries and commissions, as well as comrades from relevant departments of the provincial party committee and provincial government, provincial units and cities, districts and counties, and comrades responsible for over 70 other universities and research institutes, attended the meeting.

In addition, more than 10 press media and friends from all walks of life, the elder leaders of HBU and all members of HBU’s leading groups, alumni and representatives of faculties and students also attended the meeting. All of the attendees gathered together at the grand meeting to seek common development and witnessed the historical moment.