Dear Professor Alec Ekeroma, Vice Chancellor and President of NUS
Dear teachers, parents and awardees,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Talofa lava
It is a great pleasure to come to the NUS again for the celebration of the second “Chinese Ambassador Scholarship” award ceremony. First of all, let me express my warmest congratulations to all the 20 recipients who become the second round of scholarship winners after intense competition and strict assessment. Meanwhile, I would like to sincerely thank you Prof. Alec Ekeroma and your excellent team of NUS for the strong support on the implementation of the “Chinese Ambassador Scholarship” program.
In June this year, we successfully held the first “Chinese Ambassador Scholarship” Award Ceremony. The scholarship provided by the Chinese side creates opportunities for awardees to continue their academy or extracurricular activities and develop their strengths in different research fields. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said, “Youth gives rise to infinite hope, and young people are the creators of a bright future”. All the students here are the future of Samoa, with your dedication and hard works, you will be the pioneers to shoulder the important mission of realizing national development and prosperity.
With long-standing tradition of people-to-people interactions, China has always attached great importance to strengthening cooperation with Samoa in the field of culture and education. The Chinese government has provided Samoa with a large number of government scholarships every year since 1982, and has cultivated many outstanding students in various fields for Samoa. 21 government scholarship students went to study in China this year. For 2023/2024 academic year, we will offer 26 government scholarships to Samoa. The NUS Confucius Institute has trained more than 600 graduates and brought Chinese to Samoan community.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As you know, the much-anticipated 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has successfully concluded last weekend. The National Congress elected the new Central Committee of CPC, mapped out the blueprint for China’s future development, established direction for the next five years and beyond towards the achievement of the Second Centennial Goal of building a great modern country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful. Under the strong leadership of the CPC with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we firmly believe that the Chinese people will make new achievements and greater success through a Chinese path to modernization. At the same time, China will stay committed to building an even closer community with a shared future for mankind.
Having reached a new historical starting point, the 20th CPC National Congress will embark a new journey of achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. At the same time, it will also bring new opportunities for the development of the world. China’s open and inclusive development has been the world’s impetus to survive pandemic and promote economic recovery. Since 2020, China has become the largest foreign capital recipient, providing a vast range of employment opportunities. The world’s young generations will further benefit from the diverse market of China, chasing their dreams in sectors ranging from high-tech to creative industries, from research to business. I do believe that in the years ahead we’ll see even more students realize their dreams in China, and I’m looking forward to your benefiting from China’s development and strengthening China-Samoa cooperation and exchanges.
Thank you !