Teachers and students from the School of Foreign Languages attended a speech delivered by Ms. Shi Shuyun at 19:00pm on December 10th, 2013. Ms. Shi studied abroad in her early years and was appointed as the Minister Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Canada, and an Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the People's Republic of China to UNESCO. She is rich in experience as regards both diplomatic activities and cross-cultural communications.

In her two-hour speech, Ms. Shi shared her valuable experiences of cross-cultural exchanges in bilateral and multi-lateral diplomatic work with the teachers and students.

According to Ms. Shi, China has enjoyed sustained economic growth during the past 30 years since the opening up and reform of the late 1970s. Western countries, under their own pressures, and ignorant of China, have created their own fears and invented the irrational fallacy of a “China threat”. As young students of foreign languages, our lofty and sacred mission should be to prepare ourselves as qualified cultural messengers who will introduce an objective and correct view of China to the western world.

Finally, as a successful woman in her own right, Ms. Shi also expressed her expectations of her female peers at the School of Foreign Languages. We do not yet enjoy real equality in our careers, and so we females should a have a clear understanding of ourselves and of our status quo. As the saying goes, “Everyone alive has a duty to his country”, and so, we, as contemporary female intellectuals who have received a higher education, should hold high the great banner of being independent and dignified professionals and exercise  entrepreneurship and responsibility.

Many teachers and students attended the speech, and showed great interest and enthusiasm for the topic. Ms. Shi's humor and intelligence made the audience burst into laughter from time to time. At the end of the speech, Ms. Shi answered questions raised by the teachers and students.