On the evening of 20 December 2015, hosted by ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), the 4th ASEAN Students New Year’s Gala was held at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ACC, H.E. Mme. Erlinda F. Basilio, Ambassador of the Philippines to China, Prof. Li Yuming, Chancellor of BLCU, Mr. Fang Jun, Deputy Director-General of Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, Ministry of Education of China, Dr. Mohd Rozi Ismail, Education Counsellor of Malaysian Embassy in Beijing participated in the Gala and delivered speeches. The representatives from all ASEAN Embassies in Beijing also attended the event.
The Gala was organized by Beijing Myanmar Student Association, supported by BLCU, attended by almost 350 ASEAN students from over 30 universities in Beijing, as well as Chinese students who were invited to join for the first time. Students from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam entertained the audience with various traditional and classic music, dance and Magic performances of their respective countries. The students were also captivated with the lucky draws in which the prizes were provided by ACC, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner.
Secretary-General Yang Xiuping, in her remarks, reviewed the development of ASEAN-China relationship in 2015, as well as ACC’s efforts in the area of education, particularly in promoting student exchanges to implement the “Double 100,000 Students Mobility Plan” reached by leaders of ASEAN and China. She encouraged more young people from ASEAN and China to study in each other’s countries, and hoped all related parties join hands to deepen exchanges and cooperation, thus, to contribute to 2016, Year of ASEAN-China Educational Exchange. Mr. Fang Jun, Dr. Moha Rozi Ismail and Professor Li Yuming in their remarks praised ACC’s role and great efforts, and hoped young students could become envoys of ASEAN-China people-to-people exchanges through mutual understanding of the languages and cultures of each other’s countries. The ASEAN student representative thanked ACC for hosting the Gala, which provided them with a good chance to communicate with and learn from each other, and regarded ACC as the strong backing of ASEAN students studying in China. Secretary-General Yang presented the Certificates of Appreciation to the students for organizing the Gala. ACC also presented a token of appreciation to the Association of Malaysian Students in Beijing for their hard work in editing the Handbook for ASEAN Students Studying in China.
ASEAN Students New Year’s Gala is an annual event of ACC, which has been hosted four times ever since 2012, and become an important platform for ASEAN students to network among each other, showcase their talents, as well as to enhance ASEAN identity.
Secretary-General Yang met with BLCU Chancellor Li Yuming before the Gala and exchanged ideas about the coming Year of Educational Exchange of 2016.