The visiting Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong held a forum with Chinese professionals from all over the US on April 20th in San Francisco, hearing opinions on formulating a “Planning Outline on the Mid Long Term National Educational Reform and Development”. Among them there were two ECNU alumni. One is Dr. Jin Kang Gong, Associate University Dean and Graduate School Dean of Pacific States University, who is also a major founder and current vice president of Council of Chinese American Deans and Presidents, the other is Dr. Shuming Lu, deputy director of the Department of Speech Communication Arts and Sciences and director of Chinese Programs at Brooklyn College, CUNY.
Liu Yandong pointed out in the forum, that Chinese government thinks highly of education, putting it on the strategic position in developmental priority. It is currently working on a “Planning Outline on the Mid Long Term National Educational Reform and Development”, an overall planning and arrangement for the national educational reform and development by 2020, to fit in with the needs of building a well-to-do society, and the developmental trend at home and abroad. This visit was mainly purposed at investigating America’s development and its experience in education and sciences, and hearing on the Chinese educational reform and development from overseas Chinese and people of all walks of life in the US, concerning formulating of this outline.
Liu Yandong pointed out emphatically that the outline is going to define the goal, tasks and planning of Chinese educational reform and development in future systematically, from the aspects of clarifying purpose of education, carrying out educational reform in depth, facilitating equal educational opportunity, raising educational quality, improving and perfecting educational system and increasing educational guarantee, etc. It is a complex system engineer to work out a planning outline of top level, conforming to the situation in China and needs of advancement of the era and winning maximum social acceptance. Overseas Chinese is the tie between China and the rest of the world, hope all could participate actively with their own experiences and understanding, for the sake of the outline formulating as well as Sino America educational exchange and cooperation.
The participating professionals all felt this is of vital importance to Chinese educational reform and development, which shows the government’s great attention to education. They were willing to devote their specialties to it and the Sino-America friendship as well.
