On the morning of November 10th, the Sunshine Hall in the Yingjie Exchange Center of Peking University was packed for a seminar themed "The 19th National Congress of the CPC and a Great Modern Socialist Country". Thirteen distinguished scholars from Peking University analyzed the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the CPC in terms of their professional fields.
Yuan Ming, Professor of the School of International Studies of Peking University, Member of the Academic Committee of Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding and Dean of Yenching Academy, delivered aninspiring speech entitled “Jointly Shaping a Community of Shared Future for Mankind.” What is a community of shared future for mankind? What vision and tolerance are required for China to propose such a concept? What role can the youth play in shaping a community of shared future for mankind? How should young leaders be cultivated? Professor Yuan offered original insights in her speech.
The Speech Text
I've just returned at 8:00 p.m. from a small, informal and high-level UN event held in New York, and I feel exhausted because of the jet lag. I'd like to make a brief speech about what I saw and thought during my trip to New York to express my recent thoughts.
What is a community of shared future for mankind?
I unwittingly became the speaker of the report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC at the UN this time. I heard many people comment that the 19th National Congress of the CPC reassured the world and showed the world what leadership is. Besides, a more extreme question was raised - whether the headquarters of the UN will be moved from New York to China - which is not a joke, but a severe problem. Therefore, I started thinking more, especially about the concept of "a community of shared future for mankind" mentioned in the report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC. As a matter of fact, General Secretary Xi Jinping has mentioned this concept in many vital speeches this year.
What is a community of shared future for mankind? What vision and tolerance are required for China to propose such a concept? Numerous preparations have been made. The discovery of such preparations requires our cultural awareness. In terms of a community of shared future for mankind, knowledge, driven and supported by powerful technical force, has formed a community. What kinds of future landscapes and challenges have such a community brought and will it bring to mankind?
I brought a book to UN officials in New York and told them a story. Thirty-one years ago, there was an American youth, whose teacher (Mr. Douglas R. Hofstadter) is a renowned scientist in the US who wrote a book named Gödel, Escher, Bach, which was soon discovered by two mathematicians from Peking University: Ma Xiwen and Wu Yun. They decided to translate the book. Mathematics expedites original ideas, so its contributions cannot be overstated. When the American youth came to Peking University, he asked some young artists to translate his teacher's book. The 11th edition of this book was printed by the Commercial Press last year.
I brought this book to the UN officials and told them about the Chinese people's strong desire to learn and profound cultural attainments. The middle-aged teachers in the Department of Mathematics of Peking University led a group of young students in their early twenties from different departments to translate the book. What a great spirit. This is a community of knowledge for mankind.
We're studying artificial intelligence. This book is a preliminary version of artificial intelligence, which combines music, art and mathematics, and has an exquisite Chinese name, "集异璧之大成 (pronouncing Ji Yi Bi Zhi Da Cheng, meaning encyclopedia)." I feel that at Peking University, we never lack ideas and talents, and what we should do is consciously discover and organize them. The American youth, David Moser, is now grey-haired. He has been in China for more than 30 years and is a member of the Yenching Academy of Peking University.
Mr. David Moser
What role can the youth play in shaping a community of shared future for mankind?
I also think that the role of the youth should be emphasized in shaping a community of shared future for mankind. During my visit to the UN, I saw that the new UNSG is very insightful. He is quietly working on numerous reforms. For example, he appointed a 24-year-old Sri Lankan girl to be the "youth ambassador" and lead hundreds of people.
When I spoke with her, I was shocked by her ambition and energy. I asked her if she organized many Model United Nations. She said, "We need to break through traditional boundaries. The UN today follows the concepts of the 19th century and practices of the 20th century, but it's the 21st century now. We need to do more actual contemporary work." I thought she was very realistic because she comes from Sri Lanka and she knows what care and attention the world's young people need, especially young women.
How should young leaders be cultivated?
This time, I also met Queen Rania of Jordan, who visited Peking University 11 years ago and held a symposium with youth students. She is particularly concerned about refugees in the Middle East. I told her that there was an American girl named Alice who graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor's degree and had just graduated from the Yenching Academy of Peking University with a master's degree. When studying at Yenching Academy, she organized youth from Peking University to focus on refugees in the Middle East. She is now in the Middle East, stationed in Jordan, visiting refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya, and spending almost every day with refugees.
An American Girl Alice
She had her own unique insights into such a life. She said that she was accustomed to such words as "you are the leaders of the future" when she was educated in the U.S. When she suffered with the refugees in the Middle East, she understood that "she's not saving the refugees, but the refugees are comforting her and letting her know the meaning of life". Therefore, I told the Queen that these young people would make a difference and mature into real leaders in practice.
Queen Rania of Jordan
The three-day trip to New York profoundly inspired and stimulated my thought. I think the report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC we have discussed here has aroused the world's attention, so we need more speakers to expound upon it, which is our mission. A community of shared future for mankind is not a meaningless term. It contains many contents and remaining problems to be solved. Our real work has just begun and we are still in the exploratory stage. However, I believe it is a great practice, so we should remain true to our original aspirations in such a great era and spare no effort to build a community of shared future for mankind.
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