The 4th China/UK Understanding And Friendship Essay Competition

The award ceremony of the fourth UK/ China friendship and understanding competition co-sponsored by SACU (Society for Anglo Chinese Understanding) and China Center for Edgar Snow Studies was held online with attendance of seven UK high schools. The theme for essay competition 2019-2020 was “Overcoming the Cultural Gap between the UK and China”.

After half-year selection and assessment of the entries from seven secondary schools, the award ceremony of UK/China friendship and understanding competition 2019-2020, entitled overcoming the cultural Gap between the UK and China, was held online at 3:00 p.m. (BST) on June 17, 2020. Zoe Reed, Chair of SACU, and Dr. Wang Fang cohosted the award ceremony. Frances Wood, Vice President of SACU, former director of the Chinese Department of the British Library and alumnus of Peking University, commented on the students' essays and announced the winners of the nine prize winners. Sun Hua, director of the China Center for Edgar Snow Studies of Peking University, and Michael Wood, President of SACU, made addresses on behalf of the organizers. Some members of SACU, teachers and students from Marlborough College, King's College school, Highgate School, Charthouse School, Cheltenham Ladies' College, the King's School, Canterbury and Oundle School, attended the award ceremony via Zoom.

The Society for Anglo-Chinese understanding (SACU) was founded by Dr. Joseph Needham, one of the famous Chinese people international friends, in London in May 1965. SACU aims to promote understanding and friendship between the British and Chinese people. China Center for Edgar Snow Studies of Peking University has established a long-term friendly and cooperative relationship with SACU. Zoe Reed, Chair of SACU, and Jenny Clegg, Vice President of SACU, visited Peking University several times. In May 2015, on the 50th anniversary of the founding of SACU, SACU and China Center for Edgar Snow Studies launched the first UK/China understanding and friendship essay competition at the Oundle school, Needham's alma mater. St. George School, George Hogg's alma mater, joined the essay competition in the second essay competition. Up to now, more than a dozen British high schools have joined the competition. In September 2016, SACU, Beijing Publishing Group and China Center for Edgar Snow Studies of Peking University jointly held a large-scale cultural exchange activity "A Taste of Beijing" in British Library in London, and launched four bilingual books, the Biography of Joseph Needham: A Man Who Loved China, and I See a New China by George Hogg, British journalist and Principle of Bailey School during the Second World War, Aid China by Arthur Clegg, founder of the British Aid China Campaign Committee, A Bridge Between Hearts: Anglo-Chinese Friendship and Understanding by Zoe Reed, Chair of SACU.

In order to further promote the cooperation in the research field, China Center for Edgar Snow Studies of Peking University will launch a cooperative research project with SACU in 2020, investigating and filing a large number of printed documents and audio-visual materials of China/UK people to people exchange accumulated in the 55 years since the establishment of SACU founded by Dr. Joseph Needham. The research project co-operated by Chinese and English scholars will be conducted for three years.

(Relative news in Chinese on PKU Homepage)

Online group photo of the jury and the students who won the first, second and third prizes

Frances wood commented on the students' essays

Zoe reed presided the award ceremony

address by Michael wood, President of SACU