Speech by President Chen Xiaohong atOpening Ceremony for Freshmen Enrolled in2020
2020-09-20
Light up the Youth, and Build High Quality
—— A speech atthe Opening Ceremony for Freshmen Enrolled in 2020
By President Chen Xiao (an academician of the Chinese Academy Engineering (CAE))
(September 20, 2020)
Dear students,
Good morning!
Today we are here to hold the opening ceremony for the freshmen enrolled in2020, and I, on behalf of HUTB, extend my warm welcome to 5,299 freshmen, and congratulations to you on your new life chapter!
Once-in-a-century great changes are accelerating when COVID-19 is raging in the world in 2020. Despite efforts in the past nine months, the world is still facingdanger and many countries are overwhelmed by the pandemic. It is our happiness to gather here in the beautiful campus and see so manysmiling faces!
What is happiness? We are happy becausewe are living in a great country with remarkable system superiority andcourageous people indomitable willpower. Significant strategic achievements inepidemic prevention and control are making the Chinese people more united and China more powerful!
In the thrilling battle against COVID-19, the Party and the State has always insisted on people first and life first, and protected people’s life safety at all costs; “Angel white”, “olive green”, “guard blue”, “volunteer red” gather rapidly and the whole country is of one heart and one mind; the heroes in harm’s way are fearless or danger or death, accomplish their missions with life, and protected the public with great love; the scientific spirit has been sufficiently worshipped and upheld in decision-making and commanding, patient treatment, technological breakthrough making, social governance, etc.
Thanks to courage,fearlessness andpersistanceof 1.4 billion Chinese people, and their belief in the supremacy of lifeand in solidarity, China has gained victory and happiness, and built and demonstrated the great Chinese spirit,strength and courageto shoulderresponsibilities! Let’s be proud of and cheer for all!
Dear students, facing difficulties, you are firm and indomitable in will and continue pursuing dreams, and I’d like to cheer for your grwoth! It goes online that “you were born in the year of SARS and took the National Entrance Exam in the year of COVID-19”, and it is believed that it has been difficult for you, and also you are destined to be extraordinary. Anyhow, I would like to remind you that you should not forget disasters and pains, meditation and reflection, hopes and tempering.
Please do remember: at the national level, we are currently at the historical strategic pass where we are about to achieve the great victory of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and stepping on the new journey of realizing the second centennial goal! The dream of the Chinese nation's great rejuvenation is on implementations gradually!
At the level of HUTB, we are advancing courageously to build it into a domestic first-class university which “can make outstanding contributions”, and we are much closer to realization of the dream than any other historical periods!
We are all dream chasers on the way of striving!
Dear students, during the future three or four years, HUTB will absolutely enter into your heart, and you will love and take pride in it. Today, I’d like to tell you that 130 thousand alumni of the 70-year-old HUBT are upholding the spirit of HUTB, making efforts and achievements in all walks of life, winning honor for our country and adding glory to HUTB!
Tens of thousands of current students are runningfor their dreams independently and bravely!
Therefore, today’s opening ceremony, in a sense, is also an inheritance of HUTB’s traditions. We should vigorously gather people withthe vision of governingand benefiting others, the spiritof improvingthemselvesand carrying forward stamina, the faith in seeking truth and developing innovations, and ideals of pursuing excellence, and shouldspare no efforts to build HUTB into an ideal destination of exploring truth and boosting youth, and fertile soil for top-notch innovative, entrepreneurial and application-oriented talents!
Dear students, I invite you to pursue scientific truth and improveliterary accomplishment,and tobe concerned about people in the whole world.I invite you to cultivate loftysentiment, thoughts, horizon, knowledge and proficiency with us, foster “energy package”, “diamond” and “database” required for the future life, and start the journey of chasing dreams.
Dear students, the university life is a brand-new life phase, full of uncertainty and challenges, and we must be fearless; time fliesand I hope you can firmly say “I have no regret” loud when you look back! How can we “be fearless and have no regret”? I’d like to believe in: light up the youth and build high quality.
Firstly, we should light up the youth and build the quality of supreme good with profound great love.
Archimedessaid,“Give me a pivot, I can prize up the earth.” What is the pivot? It can be understood differently from different perspectives and on different grounds. As far as I am concerned, I think the pivot is a person’s great love and conscience.
There are many kinds of love, and great love is the most praiseworthy one. Patriotism is the deepest and most enduring sentiment in the world, and a feeling of belonging. Ai Qing wrote in the poet, “Why are my eyes always brimming with tears? Because I love this land so deeply.” This deep love is infected with every Chinese.
Eighty-fiveyears ago, the educationist Zhang Boling raised the thought-provoking “three questions of patriotism”. Today, still, I’d like to ask you these questions and hope you could answer me loudly:
Are you Chinese?
Do you love China?
Do you expect a better China?
Dear students, patriotism is a lighthouse to calibrate dream directions, our duty and responsibility. What most matters for a man is to know how to love his/her country
General Secretary Xi Jinping, in the NewYear Message of 2020, pointed out,“We cheered for the glorious achievements the People’s Republic has made over the past 70 years, and were overwhelmed by the sheer force of patriotism.” The “sheer force” manifests the strongconfidence, firm will and keenfeeling ofpatriotism. Dear students, you and I are all an indispensable part of the sheer force of patriotism in the course of revitalization
The formations during the military parade were powerful, and the mass pageant thrilling. Tiananmen Square was turned into a sea of happiness. All of China was arrayed in red with proud smiles on all faces as the song "My Motherland and I" played throughout the streets and alleys. Patriotic feelings brought tears to our eyes, and patriotic spirit forms the backbone of the Chinese nation. All these merge into a surging current that sings an ode to New China and inspires us to work harder in the new era, filling us with boundless energy.
“MyMotherland and I, no one can break us apart….” A dropof water can be part of thevast ocean only when it flows into the sea, and a person can witnessprosperityand progress only when he/she fits into his/her country. Weshould foster character and civic virtue,practice conscience, beconcerned about bothour family but also our motherland, lovethe people, havethe attachment to our motherland, and conductourselves in society with morality. The innate great love and the inmostgoodness will absolutely shine!
Dear students, when we light up the youth with deep great love, we should be brave innovation-driven trendsetter, and make huge contributions to the construction of powerful nation of science and technology facingthe world’s advanced science and technology, the main economic battlefield, the major national demands, and also people’s life health; be brave pioneerof advanced culture inheritance and innovation,express advanced thoughts, and provide powerful spiritual motivation for socioeconomic development. All of these are your duties and missions!
You should remember the country and people who have protected you; once a disaster approaches in the future, you should have the sense of responsibility that “I shall dedicate myself to the interests of the country in life and death irrespective of personal will and world”, and be capable of protecting our motherland!
I hope you could remember the history and carry forward the great Chinese spirit to ordain conscience for Heaven and Earth, to secure life and fortune for the people, and to establish peace for all future generations!
Secondly, we should light up the youth and build the quality of supreme perfection with profound deep learning.
The world calls on us to pursue objective truth, and to keep true internally; deep learning based on investment, concentration, understanding, reflection, criticism and transformation is an inevitable way. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed outthatstudents should learn and improve temperament through reading and learning.
It is difficult for a place which doesn’t advocate learning to accumulate profound strength foundation, and a man who doesn’t uphold learning cannot keep internal sincerity and serenity. Regardless of what essential capabilities mentioned in the era, I believe the “chip” is the ability of learning and seeking truth. Externally, learning helps us form dynamic, three-dimensional and vast new horizon, and allows us to look at the world which is taken for granted from brand-new perspectives. Internally, learning is a propeller and helps us promote cognition, broaden horizon, know ourselves, perfect personalities, and approach internal genuineness.
I hope that you can study hard with the questions of the era. By virtue of cultural confidence, and in consideration of the COVID-19 development situation, the national situations and the world situations, I hope you can keep eyes on the “ever-changing situations”, grasp the pulse of times, witness reforms, spare no efforts to reduce poverty, ameliorate the ecology and learn from other civilizations….I hope that you can keep abreast with the times in your study which highlights cross integration and practice.
I hope that you can engage yourselves in innovation and creation through learning. I hope that you can be based on the era topic of “innovation · change” and usher in innovations and changes by reading and learning. It is known that Huawei, as a private enterprise, is blockaded and suppressed by America, seeks survival and development in adversity, and always regards innovation as its core competitiveness. Ren Zhengfei said, “An egg becomes an omelette when it is broken from outside, but a peacock from within.” Exactly because of this, we should be more supportive of Huawei, by the side of Huawei, and make unremitting efforts to tackle “stranglehold” key and core technologies. So, when you have the courage to innovate and good at innovation, national rejuvenation is much more hopeful, cultural development is with greater energy, and young talents have greater power!
Dear students, please keep it in mind: you will experience greater internal fear if you learn or think less! Rather than complaining that the society offers you no platform in the future, it’s better to get down to learn. I hope that you can be used to reading and read over 50 classical books every year. There are cozy and elegant reading rooms, and the door to wisdom is open, waiting for you to “show up” and “upgrade yourselves”!
Dear students, “One who is filled with knowledge always behaves with elegance”. I hope you could always keep learning, and be well-versed in the learning of both ancient and modern times and both the Chinese and western cultures; I hope you could make reading and learning “fountainhead” to obtain access to a broader and vaster world and more abundant and fulfilling life!
Thirdly, we should light up the youth and build the quality of supreme behaviors with profound deep and wide integration.
Youth is with infinite wonderfulness, but time passes and never ceases. The German philosopher Nietzsche said “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least ones.” How should we dance? It is to actively, deeply and widely integrate in life. We should be passionate and down-to-earth in life and manifest the glory of life with the best actions.
As we are fitting in the life, the world is closer to us. Sports exercises make us feel passion and vitality; fitting in teams and groups enlightens thinking and enhances strength; rich social activities broadens our horizon; while fitting in the striving for the Chinese dream and giving impetus to the construction of community with a shared future for mankind, we can constantly go beyond ourselves….Integration makes the world of difference!
Dear students, fear of difficulties makes genuine integration impossible, and negativity or evasion might make a person come to beggary or passer-by. In the process of growth, everyone should carry forward the spirit of “never setting low-hanging goals or shying away from difficult decisions”, but should meet pressure of life with firm determination, be accustomed to the normal state of adversity, firm the mind to advance in all weathers, and march forward regardless of hardship. You will be strong in life to tackle difficulties ahead!
Dear students, when you are attempting to fit into life in a better manner, you will discover that there exist more and more uncertainties in the current and future world. You must be more firm and self-disciplined, get rid of the life attitudes that “let it be” and “follow your heart”, but set goals and make plans, keep away from boring or mediocre things which hinder us, and make every possible effort to live a vivid, interesting and meaningful life!
When you are attempting to fit into life in a better manner, you will be much more grateful to your parents, your teachers, your social communities, and all the other people who have directed the way and borne burdens for us! Follow the examples of Zhong Nanshan, Zhang Boli, Zhang Dingyu, Chen Wei and other heroes in harm’s way, and light up the world with ordinary sparkles！
When you are attempting to fit into life in a better manner, you will be awe of the life, the nature and rules, and co-exist with everything in the world. You will learn to cherish time and lengthen one day to two day by doing more; cherish life, grain, health, and all the wonderfulness in the world!
Dear students, the precious university time has started, and you are in the new era when you “must strive” and the best years when you “should strive”, HUTB is exactly the stage where you “can strive”. Please keep it in mind that it’s not a place for you to skip classes or fail exams, play games or follow TV series, or pass days in indolence, but a palace for you to struggle, strive, accumulate knowledge and experience, grow up, pursue excellence and become stronger!
The era calls on university students to lead the pack and stand firm in the forefront of the times. I hope that you could remain true to your original aspirations; just like still water runs deep, I hope you could blend the school spirit of “Virtue; Erudition; Practice; Self-enhancement” into your blood, make distinction, diligence and civilization customary, cultivate the youth with unremitting efforts, generate success with diligence, and create infinite possibilities with persistent struggles!
We expect to record and witness your most beautiful youth and will go all out cultivating you who will serve for reality, be honest and have courage to shoulder responsibilities, and pursue supreme excellence in more than one thousand days to come. I believe that you can become better here!
HUTB expects you to be in aleadingposition in the future!
We will be proud of you by your passion for our country!
We will be proud of you by your diligent and innovative endeavors!
We will be proud of you by your striving for lighting up the youth!
Wish all of you would live up to your glorious youth and make achievements in the new era in HUTB on the way of chasing your own dreams and the Chinese dream!
Thanks very much!
