The significance of developing public diplomacy

Source: Party & Administration Joint Office, Zhuhai Campus

Written by: Party & Administration Joint Office, Zhuhai Campus

Translated by: Tan Shan

Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On March 28th, a special session of Zhuhai Campus Weekend Forum – “The Significance of Developing Public Diplomacy” was held on Zhuhai Campus. The keynote speaker was Zhao Qizheng, former Director of the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China and current Dean of School of Journalism and Communication, Renmin University of China. Yan Guangmei, Vice President of Sun Yat-sen University, Hao Dengfeng, Secretary of Zhuhai Campus Party Committee, and students and teachers on Zhuhai Campus, a total of more than 300 people attended the lecture.

Dean Zhao Qizheng started with the theme “What is public diplomacy?”, cited interpretations of “public diplomacy” from the United States and Japan, compared them with the definition given by China, and stressed that the fundamental task of public diplomacy in China is “to tell the world about China, help the foreign public get to know and understand the real China”. He also compared the data of the number of Chinese going abroad every year before and after the reform and opening-up, and pointed out that today’s China is more concerned about the world and more citizens begin to go abroad to communicate with the world. Based on this, he proposed that “practice is the key to public diplomacy”, and believed that the new type of public diplomacy participants dominated by the general public, social organizations and groups need to enhance their own cultural identity and self-confidence, have a better understanding of China’s national conditions and policies, answer foreigners’ questions about China, and let the world know China.

When it came to “cross cultural communication”, Dean Zhao Qizheng clarified the distinction between culture and civilization through vivid examples, talked about the famous “riverside dialogue” between himself and the American theologian Dr. Palo, and emphasized the significance of cross-language, cross-ideology and cross-religious exchanges. Meanwhile, he also talked about his insights into China’s cultural core “harmony” and many other issues.

At the end of the lecture, Vice President Yan Guangmei presented commemorative gifts to Dean Zhao Qizheng and took pictures with him. In the lecture, with his abundant experience as a news spokesman, Dean Zhao Qizheng widened the students’ horizons, and impressed the teachers and students with the wit of a press officer.

As a former news spokesman, Dean Zhao Qizheng once shared his reflections on life concerning “to tell the world about China” with Chinese youth in the TV open course “Voice” in September 2012. This time he brought a wonderful lecture to teachers and students at SYSU, and fully demonstrated the art of humorous public speaking of a press officer.