驻利比里亚大使付吉军在2018年利赴华留学人员送行招待会暨中国大使奖学金发放仪式上的讲话
Remarks at the Farewell Reception for Liberian Students Studying in China & Chinese Ambassador Scholarship Award Ceremony
多功能厅，2018年8月23日
Multifunctional Hall, on August 23, 2018
尊敬的教育部代理部长杜松阁下，
尊敬的外交部部长助理格雷阁下，
尊敬的利比里亚各高校校领导，
各位即将赴华留学的同学们，
各位获得中国大使奖学金的同学们，
女士们、先生们，
Your Honorable Latim Du-Thong, Acting Minister of Education,
Your Honorable Naomie Gray, Assitant Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Officials of Liberian Universities,
The winners of the Chinese government Scholarship,
The winners of the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship,
Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen!
Good evening!
晚上好。感谢大家来到这里，今天我们为即将赴华留学的利比里亚学生送行，同时为获得中国大使奖学金的同学们发放奖学金。2018年共有近100名利比里亚学生即将踏上赴华留学之旅，另有100余名学生获得了中国大使奖学金，这是你们勤奋努力的成果。在此，我向各位同学以及你们的家人表示热烈祝贺！同时，我也要借此机会对利比里亚教育部、外交部等相关单位长期以来在遴选留华学生和大使奖学金候选人工作中给予的大力支持和协助表示诚挚感谢！
Tonight, I am very happy to host a reception at the Chinese Embassy to see off the Liberian students who are going to study in China and to present the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship to three Liberian universities. This is indeed a moment of joy as I can already see the excitement in the faces of the winners before me. In the next two weeks, nearly 100 Liberian students are expected to embark on a study trip to China, while another 100 students from the University of Liberia, Cuttington University and Tubman University will be benefiting from the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship. This is the outcome of your hard work. Congratulations to all of you and your family! At the same time, I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the Liberian Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant government agencies for their long-term support and assistance in the selection of qualified winners for the various scholarships and training programs!
中利两国都素有兴学重教的传统。中国有句俗话“十年树木，百年树人”，因为我们深知，只有青年拥有更多的教育机会，国家才会有更多的发展希望。中国的成功发展经验之一就是“优先发展教育事业”。中国国家主席习近平在中国共产党十九大报告中提出：“建设教育强国是中华民族伟大复兴的基础工程，必须把教育事业放在优先位置，深化教育改革，加快教育现代化，办好人民满意的教育。”中国改革开放40年来，建成了世界上最大规模的教育体系，教育实现了大发展、大变革、大跨越，成为提升国家竞争力和促进先进文化建设的重要支柱，为国家现代化建设作出了不可替代的重要贡献。同时，中国已形成全方位、多层次、宽领域的教育对外开放格局，2017年205个国家和地区的近50万人次来华留学，中国已成为亚洲最大、全球第三的留学目的国。2017年共有来自180个国家的5.86万名中国政府奖学金生在华学习。中外合作办学项目、孔子学院建设顺利开展，中国同不同国家及国际组织的教育合作交流关系也不断巩固。
Both China and Liberia have a tradition of attaching importance to education. There is an old saying in China that “It takes ten years to nurture a tree, but a hundred years to train a man”. A good education program takes a long time to develop. Because we know that only when young people have more educational opportunities will the country have more hope for development. One of China’s achievements in development is to prioritize the development of education. The President of the People’s Republic of China H.E. Xi Jinping on the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stated that “Building a powerful country in education is the fundamental project for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We must give priority to the cause of education, deepening the reform of education, speeding up the modernization of education, and running an educational system that is satisfactory to the people.” In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China has built the world’s largest education system. Education has achieved great development, great changes, and great leap. Education has become an important pillar for enhancing national competitiveness and promoting the construction of advanced culture, and has made an irreplaceable and important contribution to China’s modernization. Up to now, China has formed an all directional, multi-level and wide-ranging educational opening up pattern. In 2017, nearly 500,000 students from 205 countries and regions went to study in China. China has become the largest destination in Asia and the third largest in the world. In 2017, a total of 58,600 Chinese government scholarship students from 180 countries studied in China. The Sino-foreign cooperative education projects and the Confucius Institute projects have been carried out smoothly. The educational cooperation and exchanges between China and other countries (regions) and international organizations have been further consolidated.
教育对利比里亚的发展进步同样至关重要。维阿总统将教育列为“亲贫计划”重要内容之一，并大力推行为利民众提供优质教育的十年战略计划。中方对此高度赞赏。作为最大的发展中国家，中国始终致力于加强中利教育和人力资源合作，通过各种形式同利分享中国的发展经验和知识技术。近年来，中国政府先后在利援建利比里亚大学芬德尔校区、利比里亚职业技术培训学校扩建项目，利大孔子学院广泛开展汉语教学，深受利民众欢迎。目前已有千余名利比里亚学生获得各类奖学金赴华深造。中方还向利政府部门及社会各界人士提供了大量短期赴华培训机会。仅今年1月至7月，已有100多名政府各部门官员、学者、医生、记者、农业技术人员等赴华参加有关教育、新闻、医学、农业技术等方面的专业培训。这些学成归国人员不但为改变利比里亚国家面貌发挥重要作用，更成为传播中利友谊的使者。中方愿进一步同利方在中非合作论坛和“亲贫计划”框架下加强合作，支持利实现国家发展与繁荣。
Education is also playing a key role in the development of Liberia. President Weah mentioned many times that quality education will be prioritized during his administration. After he assumed the office, he put education as one of the important elements of the “Pro-Poor Agenda” and proposed to implement a strategic plan for a ten-year period of providing quality education for the benefit of the Liberian people. China highly appreciates this policy. As the biggest developing country, China has always been dedicated to strengthening the cooperation between China and Liberia in terms of education and human resource by sharing its development experiences, knowledge and technology with Liberia in various means. Over the recent years, China has helped Liberia build the Fendell Campus of the University of Liberia and the Monrovia Vocational Training Center. The Confucius Institute in the University of Liberia has implemented popular Chinese language learning programs. Since 2003, more than one thousand Liberian students have received various kinds of scholarships to study in China. In addition, the Chinese government has provided a large number of short-term opportunities for professional training for the Liberian government agencies and private institutions. From January to July this year alone, more than 100 government officials, scholars, doctors, journalists, and agricultural technicians have gone to China to participate in professional trainings in education, journalism, medicine, and agricultural technology. These students returning home not only play an important role in changing the face of Liberia, but also become messengers for the spreading of friendship between China and Liberia. China is willing to further strengthen cooperation with Liberia under the framework of China-Africa Cooperation Forum and the Pro-Poor Agenda, to help Liberia achieve development and prosperity.
中国有句古话：“国之交在于民相亲，民相亲在于心相通。”近些年来，中利友谊蓬勃发展，各领域人员交流和务实合作不断发展，为两国人民带来实实在在的好处。我衷心希望各位即将赴华留学和获得大使奖学金的同学们珍惜宝贵的学习机会，勤奋学习，学有所成，充分利用自己所学知识和技能，为利比里亚经济社会发展作出积极贡献。同时，我还希望你们为增进中利两国人民的 相互理解和友谊发挥积极作用，把你们所看到的中国告诉家人、朋友、同事，也让他们真正了解中国。
As an old saying in China goes, “The friendship between nations depends on the people’s affinity, and the affinity lies in the hearts of mutual love.” China-Liberia friendship has flourished in the past decade, and personal exchanges and pragmatic cooperation in various fields have been increasing, thus bringing concrete benefits to the two peoples. I sincerely hope that all the students who are going to study in China and who receive the ambassador scholarship will cherish these valuable learning opportunities, study diligently, learn and make full use of their knowledge and skills, and make active contributions to the economic and social development of Liberia in all walks of life. What’s more, I also hope that you will play an active role in enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. Please tell your family, friends and colleagues, about what you see in China when you come back and help them understand a true China.
最后，祝愿各位同学学习生活一切顺利！谢谢大家！
Finally, I sincerely hope that all of you learn and live well! Thank you all!