(Bandar Seri Begawan, 22nd) Yesterday, Chung Hwa Middle School (WenZhong) in Brunei and the Chinese Guangzhou Chinese Culture Institute signed a friendship school agreement in the VIP room of the school. This cooperation marks a new stage in educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries and will inject new vitality into Chinese education in Brunei.
WenZhong Principal Xu Yuelan, along with Guangzhou Chinese Culture Institute Vice President Wang Zhenzhen and others, attended the signing ceremony. This collaboration is based on both parties' active exploration and contributions in the field of Chinese language education. The cooperation echoes the people-to-people exchange initiative under the "Belt and Road" framework. In recent years, with the deepening implementation of the "Belt and Road" initiative, China-Brunei economic and cultural exchanges have continued to deepen, creating favorable conditions for such educational cooperation.
According to the agreement, the two parties will establish a mechanism for friendly exchanges, regularly carry out educational and teaching exchanges and interactions between teachers and students, become each other's windows and bridges for understanding their respective regional cultures, promote mutual advancement, and develop together. They will study and experience each other's national characteristics, traditional cultures, science and technology education, environmental education, sports traditions, and other projects. WenZhong will introduce more teaching resources and models from China to improve the quality of Chinese language education.
The successful signing of this cooperation will inject new impetus into the cultural exchanges between China and Brunei, allowing the two peoples to fill the “Silk Road” of dreams and friendship with cheerful songs.
At 9 a.m. on the same day (the 20th), the delegation from the Guangzhou Chinese Culture Institute arrived at WenZhong for a visit, accompanied by Gu Gonglai, Honorary Advisor of the Kwong Wai Siew Association in Bandar Seri Begawan. The delegation was led by Vice President Wang Zhenzhen, with members including Director Zhou Bing, Associate Professor Wang Hao, and Associate Professor Zhang Haixia. WenZhong’s Principal Xu Yuelan, Assistant Principals Chen Meidian and Zheng Xiuying, and Teacher Zhang Qingfu warmly welcomed the arrival of the delegation.
At the beginning of the meeting, both hosts and guests gathered at the WenZhong Zhaoying Room and conducted fruitful exchanges in a cordial and friendly atmosphere. The delegation gained an in-depth understanding of WenZhong's development and educational achievements by watching an introductory film and visiting facilities such as the Chen Tianzhen Library. In the afternoon, the two parties formally signed the friendly school cooperation agreement.
After a brief exchange of commemorative gifts and group photos, Principal Xu Yuelan first delivered a welcoming speech. She said that the Guangzhou Chinese Culture Institute, as an important institution for Chinese cultural research and education, is committed to carrying forward Chinese civilization, enjoys a strong reputation for its achievements in the inheritance, innovation, and international exchange of outstanding traditional Chinese culture. It is a great honor for her that Vice President Wang personally led the group to visit WenZhong for exchanges.
Xu Yuelan revealed that the Guangzhou Chinese Culture Institute’s profound heritage in cultural education, its valuable wisdom, and rich experience are bound to bring new inspiration to WenZhong’s educational practice. She firmly believes that this visit will build an important platform for deepening cooperation between Guangzhou and Brunei in the field of education and culture, and create more opportunities for young people of both countries to communicate and learn from each other, jointly promoting the prosperity and development of Chinese culture overseas.
Principal Xu introduced that WenZhong is a century-old Chinese school that has always adhered to the ethos of "emphasizing three languages, fostering five aspects of education,” and is committed to cultivating outstanding talents with both Eastern values and an international perspective. In recent years, as the “Belt and Road” initiative has deepened, educational and cultural exchanges between China and Brunei have continued to deepen. The school has also organized multiple visits for teachers and students to China for educational exchange and study, and these experiences have further broadened horizons and deepened education and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Xu Yuelan stated that their meeting that day was a testimony to the friendship between the two schools and also an important step in jointly promoting Chinese language education and Chinese cultural inheritance. She looks forward to frank and in-depth exchanges to jointly explore new paths for educational innovation and cultural dissemination, and to open up broader prospects for cooperation between the two schools.
During the talks, Vice President Wang Zhenzhen first highly praised WenZhong’s outstanding achievements in its 103-year history in inheriting Chinese culture, promoting academic education, and cultivating excellent talents. She then systematically explained the nature, positioning, development history, school scale, distinctive characteristics of teaching and research, as well as the main functions and achievements of the Guangzhou Chinese Culture Institute as the main front for united front education. Based on a deep understanding of each other's strengths, the two parties then discussed specific cooperation matters, such as teacher and student exchanges, joint curriculum development, and academic exchanges, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent implementation of the agreement.
It is reported that the Guangzhou Chinese Culture Institute is a central-level educational institution located in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. Its predecessor is the Guangzhou Socialist Institute. In 1997, with the approval of relevant central departments, it added the name "Guangzhou Chinese Culture Institute,” becoming the only central-level educational institution in China named after “Chinese culture.”
The main responsibility of the institute is to inherit and promote excellent traditional Chinese culture, and to promote cultural exchanges and cooperation with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas regions. It enhances the understanding of Chinese culture and national conditions among people at home and abroad through lectures, seminars, training courses, and other means.