In 2019, on the eve of the two schools celebrating the 120th anniversary of the two schools, Suzhou University specially held a campus marathon with the theme of "Same roots, same origins, and same runs". School leaders, students, alumni of Soochow University in Taiwan also participated. The picture shows the event site. Photo provided by Suzhou University
"Although the 'Soviet University' on both sides of the Taiwan Strait face each other across the sea, the cultural context is the same. I sincerely hope that the teachers and students of the 'Soviet Wu' on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will review the spirit of the Soyuz through on-site visits and face-to-face exchanges, and contribute the Soyuz wisdom to deepen the cultural identity and spiritual harmony of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait." At the 2nd Cultural Salon of Soyuz University and Soyuz University in Taiwan held recently, Suzhou University President Zhang Xiaohong said in his speech.
This year's salon is held in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province with the theme of "Same Roots, One Origin and One Dream". Representatives of teachers and students of Soochow University and Soochow University in Taiwan, alumni, heads of relevant departments of Suzhou University and Taiwan, and representatives of Taiwanese compatriots and Taiwanese youth attended the event. The guests gave keynote speeches on content such as the same roots and origins of cross-strait cultures and had interactive exchanges. At the event, 6 school-enterprise cooperation units signed contracts.
Soviet University was founded in Suzhou in 1900 and is one of the earliest universities in China to run a school with a modern university discipline system. After the founding of New China, Soochow University changed several times and was named "Suzhou University" in 1982. In Taiwan, Soochow University, planned by Soochow University in Taiwan, was founded in the 1950s and is the first private university in Taiwan.
Gao Weiwei, deputy director of the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Office of Soochow University, said that the signing of a cooperation agreement between Soochow University and Soochow University in Taiwan in 1993 is the earliest batch of friendly institutions on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to sign a cooperation agreement, and has opened a precedent for cross-strait higher education exchanges. In the past 30 years, the two schools have cooperated closely in teaching and mutual visits, student exchanges, higher education forums, and book sharing. In 2019, on the eve of the 120th anniversary of the two schools, Suzhou University also held a campus marathon with the theme of "Same Root, One Origin, Running Together", and the leaders, students, alumni of Soochow University in Taiwan also participated.
"Carrying in-depth interactive exchanges between the two schools can give deeper cultural identity and interactive empathy between the "Soviet people" on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and also help the intergenerational inheritance and cross-strait symbiosis of Chinese culture." Huang Jianhong, professor at the School of Politics and Public Administration of Soochow University, who has participated in academic exchanges with Soochow University in Taiwan, said that even at present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has not blocked the friendship between the two schools. For example, Taiwanese Soochow students overcame difficulties and went to Suzhou University for exchange study. The cross-strait finance and business seminar jointly initiated by the two schools was also held as scheduled through the Internet.
"My alma mater is Soochow University in Taiwan, but its roots are in mainland China and in Suzhou. On the school emblems of the two schools, the English name, motto, and even the patterns and background colors are exactly the same." Lin Yuanda, president of the Mainland Alumni Association of Soochow University in Taiwan, recalled that she first stepped onto the campus of Suzhou University in the summer of 2015, but when she saw it, she felt very familiar and intimate.
In March 2021, the Mainland Alumni Association of Soochow University in Taiwan was listed in Suzhou and returned to its "ancestoric place". After listing, the alumni association and Suzhou University cooperated many times to organize various activities such as visiting campuses, alumni return day, campus marathons, etc., and also mobilized the forces of Taiwanese compatriots to promote school-enterprise cooperation between well-known Taiwanese enterprises and Suzhou University. Since the beginning of this year, the Mainland Alumni Association of Soochow University and the Suzhou University Alumni Association have mobilized the alumni companies to arrange 2,000 recruitment positions to provide employment opportunities for graduates of Suzhou University.
Today, Suzhou, which gave birth to Soochow University, is one of the regions with the most active investment of Taiwanese businessmen in mainland China, the most densely invested in Taiwanese enterprises, and the most frequent cross-strait economic, trade and cultural exchanges. Up to now, the city has approved a total of 12,958 Taiwanese-funded enterprises with a registered capital of US$88.34 billion and the actual use of Taiwanese capital of US$35.367 billion. More than 100,000 Taiwanese compatriots live and work in Suzhou.
"Suzhou University and Soochow University in Taiwan have the same roots, deep friendship and close ties, and have carried out all-round and in-depth exchanges and cooperation, which is a vivid epitome of the deeper and more practical exchanges and cooperation of Jiangsu and Taiwan." Lian Yueqin, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of Jiangsu Province, said at the event that on September 1, the "Jiangsu Province Economic and Cultural Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Regulations on Economic and Cultural Exchange and Cooperation Promotion with Taiwan" officially came into effect.This is the first local regulations in mainland China to promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation with Taiwan. Jiangsu will next promote the implementation of the "Regulations" and implement the same treatment of Taiwanese compatriots in Jiangsu and various measures to benefit Taiwanese compatriots. (Chai Yifei)
Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
