Speech by Chen Xiaohong, HUTB President and CAE Academician at 2020 Graduation Ceremony

2020-06-22

Brilliantly Move Ahead for a Meaningful Life

- Speech at 2020 Graduation Ceremony

Chen Xiaohong, HUTB President and CAE Academician

(June 22, 2020)

Dear class:

Good morning!

Having gone through wind and snow, we finally embraced the beautiful spring with hard-won success achieved. Today, we’re here to freeze and share your glorious moment in a special way. Seeing your faces, I feel very delighted in my heart! On behalf of the University, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations on your smooth graduation and best wishes for a bright future!

The year 2020 is destined to be extraordinary. Since the beginning of the year, we have witnessed the spread and rage of COVID-19 and the global social unrest and human crisis this pandemic triggered. As students, you have also experienced the “Cloud Classroom”, “Cloud Examinations”, “Cloud Recruitment” and today's “Cloud Graduation Ceremony”. At this very moment, I suppose you must be filled with complicated feelings, joy and sadness, longing for the future and nostalgia for the past. We are about to be physically apart and scatter to different parts of the world, but will we care about each other psychologically?

Right now, some lines flashed into my mind:

“Fear not the want of armor, for mine is also yours to wear”.

“Though separated by a mountain, we’ll share the same clouds and rain. The bright moon belongs not to a single town.”...

Class, do you still remember these powerful lines?

In addition, we must also remember that tens of thousands of medical staff acted promptly upon orders, racing to the anti-epidemic frontline and risking their lives to rescue the critical patients in the most dangerous places; that scientific and technological workers made concerted efforts to closely cooperate with relevant enterprises and universities, racing against time to advance the R&D of drugs and vaccines as well as virus traceability; that many police officers, disease control staff, and community workers stuck to their posts and kept on duty day and night; that large numbers of journalists bravely went deep into the frontline to report news; that numerous volunteers and deliverymen worked sincerely, dedicatedly and tirelessly; and that countless CPC members courageously rushed forward to where the epidemic was the most severe and where they were most needed...

I’m very delighted that many of you have engaged in the national war against the epidemic in your own hometowns and shone brightly in the epidemic prevention and control. Yuan Bin even won the title of the “National Excellent Member of Communist Youth League”.I feel so proud of all of you!

Just because of the valiant dedication from the whole nation and the extraordinary endeavors from countless ordinary people, the Chinese spirit hasshone brilliantly in the fight against the epidemic. This is a noble spirit of courage and responsibility and a professional spirit of tenacity, preciseness and pragmatism. It is about the patriotism that drives us to work together to help each other; it is about the heroism that drives us to share weal and woe and to fight to the end. It is a great spirit of creativity, struggle, unity and dreams!

Class, the Chinese spirit echoes in the words of Academician Zhong Nanshan, namely,“When people are determined, they can solve lots of problems.” The Chinese spirit is engraved in the marks of masks on the faces of medical staff. The Chinese spirit shines on the dark circles under their goggles and freezes in the racing wheels of the couriers.... The more majestic Chinese spirit spreads in the footsteps of numerous countermarching heroes, the countless sums of caring donations and cartfuls of contributed vegetables, and each person’s act of dedication and perseverance!

It is just the great spirit and the superior socialsystem that enable us to win one victory after another!

Class, where does this spirit come from? It comes from the unique character and endowment of solidarity, from our sincere concern for the destiny of the nation, and from our ardent expectations for the prosperity of the country. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people unite as one and form the greatest cohesion!

The Chinese nation constantly encountered various difficulties and risks in its magnificent development history. However, we never flinched or showed scare but always kept fighting and advancing through the rapids with hope. The Chinese spirit has grown from hardships. We dare to overcome all difficulties, without being overwhelmed by them!

As General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, “A spirit is the essence upon which a people depend for their long-term survival. Only with such a spirit can a people stand firm and move boldly forward amidst the torrent of history.” The Chinese spirit is the soul of a powerful and invigorated country which joins minds and gathers strength. It was, is, and will remain the inexhaustible force that drivesthe Chinese nation to overcome all difficulties and move forward bravely.

In the future, we must find new opportunities in crisis and open up new prospects amid changes. We must pass down the baton in the relay race of national rejuvenation. Meanwhile, we must shoulder the responsibility to carry forward the great Chinese spirit. Every responsible person will unite together to gather Chinese strength; the passionate nation will finally win the victory. Each of us forms part of the Chinese Spirit. The era requires that we be firm defenders and loyal guardians of the Chinese spirit. Are you ready?

At such a special moment, I hope that HUTB graduates can carry forward the Chinese spirit and brilliantly move ahead, anytime and anywhere, for a meaningful life!

For this point, I also hope that you can stick to the following things:

First, forever loving and serving the country.

What contributed to the Chinese nation’s tremendous transformation from standing up, growing rich to becoming strong? Hundreds of millions of people’s patriotic dedication. Patriotism is a sincere, plain and spontaneous feeling that comes from withinour heartand guides our actions. You may have different life goals, either big or small, long-term or short-term. Nevertheless, the first thing you should do is to find the right general direction, the direction where you are most needed for the advancement of our nation. Only by sincerely loving and serving the country can you become the best self that you can be.

Whoare the excellent models of loving and serving the country? In my views, they are the scientists who passionately struggled to pursue their ideals to invent the“Two Bombs and One Satellite” for China; they are the people like Wang Jicai who dedicated his life to watching over China's east coast, Kaishan Island for 32 years since 26; they are the people like Huang Wenxiu, a major secretary who was stationed in a village in Guangxi and devoted her life to the local poverty alleviation work; they are the people like Prof. Wu Anhua, a doctor from Xiangya Hospital who risked his life to fight at the frontline of the epidemic;they are the people like Zhang Fuqing, an old hero who had devoted his life to the poverty alleviation of a remote village for 60 years while keeping his previous meritorious services in the War of Liberation a secret and staying true to his original heart; they are the people like Luo Yang, general director of J-15 carrier-based fighter jet project who kept working hard and making technical breakthroughs for 30 years till the last moment of his life.

“We’re so proud to be a Chinese” I hope that, as one of the 1.4 billion flag bearers, each of you can keep upholding the banner of patriotism and sticking to the most profound and influential spiritual quality of the Chinese nation. We must believe that the epidemic cannot defeat China, and that any other country’s disruption cannot stop China from growing better!

Dear class, I hope you can be more determined, more intelligent in distinguishing right from wrong, and more powerful in acting. I hope you can present good wines to our friends and target at enemies with shotguns.

I hope you always keep the nation and the people in your mind and always shine brilliantly. Your bright light gathering together will be an overwhelming historical power!

Second, keeping struggling.

“Youth shines through hardships and life is elevated through hard work” No pains, no gains; no effort, no result; no harm, no foul; no cross, no crown. Without the continuous and arduous struggle by generations of young people, our nation would not see such great achievements today and would not usher in its great rejuvenation in the future. Similarly, we individuals must have some wishes and dreams, none of which can be realized without struggle.

No one will confer us with a bright China or a comfortable future. “Que sera sera”, “NEET” and hygge cannot help you pursue the life you desire, and a beautiful future must come from persevering struggle.

Class, time leaves the diligent wisdom and strength and the lazy emptiness and regret. As the book, How the Steel was Tempered, says, “The main tragedy of life is to stop fighting.”

In the face of ubiquitous temptations and inevitable difficulties, please keep urging and regulating yourself and do not waste time in indulging in entertainment; please maintain your courage and self-confidence and do not bow your head or surrender to difficulties. You should keep fighting for your goals till the end of your lives, making permanent endeavor the brightest undertone of your lives.

Class, today you are the rising generation, and tomorrow you will rise to brilliance. Anyway, please keep running and struggling, as struggling is the only reason for strugglers. “Happiness, is to create a new life”

“No effort is ever in vain, and success only comes through hard work” I believe that, with the tough characters of tenacity and struggling, the belief that “No roads are longer than the feet and no mountains are higher than human beings” and the spirits of regretless perseverance and consistent prudence, you will certainly become the conquerors of your life.

Third, forever maintaining openness and innovation.

Facing all kinds of changes in the external environment,even the major ones unseen in a century, China has always adhered to reform and opening up and valorously innovated and transformed itself. In the process of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China has not only developed itself but also benefited the world.

You are about to enter the society to not only become the participants of and contributors to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, but also the promoters and builders of the community with a shared future for mankind. The era requires that you should carry forward the spirit of thinking for the sake of the world. That is a spirit that drives you to contribute youth and strength to solving the economic development and ecological environmental problems mankind commonly faces today; that is a spirit that drives you to contribute Chinese wisdom to promoting world peace and development, eliminating the threat of terrorism, and facing major disease challenges; that is a spirit that drives you to contribute Chinese solutions to and make great achievements in constructing the “Belt and Road” and learning from different civilizations.

In the meantime, big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain, Internet of Things, cloud computing, 5G, and the like, are greatly changing our life and work; in the next 40 years of reform and opening up, it is vital to establish a set of independent and controllable industrial innovation system oriented towards domestic demand and based on science and education, and that generates an unprecedented demand for innovative talents. In the future, besides moral quality, what matters is the ability to better transform knowledge into power and drive and support innovation with knowledge.

Class, to adapt to the changes of the times, you need to well handle the relationship between learning, work and life; you need to keep learning in your lifetime, always maintain independent thinking, and constantly improve your judgment, self-examination and innovation; you need to change your destiny with knowledge and define your future with innovation!

Please remember that“Knowledge makes a gentleman”. You should make excellence, diligence and literacy as a habit. You should read many excellent books for your spiritual cultivation, since the books you read will eventually foster your character and light up your way.

Please keep in mind that“No man is an island, entire of itself”. Helping others is helping yourself; only by warming others can we make the world more wonderful!

Fourth, being forever grateful.

The epidemic has repeatedly told us that an accident and tomorrow, you never know which will come first. If we lose the reverence for life, our arrogance and greed will become more terrifying than viruses, and a fluke mind is often an accomplice of disasters. The epidemic has also told us:“There’s no such thing as a peaceful world. We feel like so because someone take on the burdens.”

Therefore, we need to always maintain the reverence for the world and live in harmony with all things. We need to be more grateful to life, to those who hold umbrellas for us in the rain, and to each moment of warmth and tranquility.

Meanwhile, Lu Yao has written in his book, Life, “Life is always like this. We can't always be satisfied, but we still have to live enthusiastically.” With gratitude, you will feel life is full of sceneries; with hatred, you will feel life is full of haze. You should still believe in brightness even though suffering difficulties, because winter will eventually pass, and spring is sure to come.

Human lives are so small that they must be cherished, while they are so noble that they must shine brightly.

Please don't be deceived by profits, don't be overwhelmed by desires. You should always stick to the moral bottom line and say “no” to ill-gotten wealth!

Please cherish each ordinary moment, each irreversible day, and each person who loves you. Show love to you parents and spend time with your future children. Always love life, run with hope, and turn your life into the most beautiful scenery!

Please keep a regular lifestyle, don't squander your body. Regular eating, less staying up, and more exercise. Keep strong and healthy, and stay away from diseases!

Class, it's a long way ahead. Just set out to find your own life coordinates through boundless love and permanent endeavor in the limited life and the vast universe!

Please remember that you are the very source of light, where HUTB, and its motto of “Sincerity & Credibility; Pragmatism & Innovation” shines brightly like a star.

Please keep in mind this University that hadgone all out for you!

Today, you are about to depart for remote destinations, but unlike kites with broken strings, you will be always cared for, accompanied and missed by the University. We will be delighted to see you feel happy!

You are always in the central position of your alma mater!

Hunan University of Technology and Business pursuing excellence and perfection will always love you. We are forever family loving each other!

I wish everyone a brilliant and splendid life with health and safety.