'Overseas Chinese can build bridge between China and world' | #AsiaNewsNetwork

'Overseas Chinese can build bridge between China and world' | #AsiaNewsNetwork
Scholars from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Singapore gather for a symposium at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, March 2, 2019. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Scholars from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Singapore gather for a symposium at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, March 2, 2019. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Published 4 March 2019
By Shadow Li

HONG KONG — Overseas Chinese living along the Belt and Road can take advantage of its merits to build bridges between China and other parts of the world, says President of Lingnan University Leonard Cheng Kwok-hon.

Cheng made the remarks at an academic symposium and book launch on Saturday. The series of books recounts historical stories of overseas Chinese in countries that lies along the Belt and Road Initiative, which was proposed in 2013.

ALSO READ: B&R Initiative brings development, hope

The symposium and book launch, held at Lingnan University, drew elite scholars from the Chinese mainland, including Tsinghua and Peking Universities; along with academics from local universities.

“Overseas Chinese, with their distinctive advantages, can become the bridge between the country and the world,” Cheng said.

The book series, based on the academic research, tells the stories of overseas Chinese along Belt and Road countries through historic pictures. The series aims to help readers understand the relation between overseas Chinese and the Belt and Road, providing the social foothold for the building of the initiative.

 This March 2, 2019 photo shows presiding guests attending the book launch ceremony at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The book series is a key publication mandated under the nation’s 13th Five-Year Plan on books. It was granted the National Publication Foundation.

Yang Chunhua, director of the office in charge of culture at the Guangdong Province Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, said overseas Chinese are an important force in the development of the Belt and Road — a plan that needs to be developed jointly on the principle of shared growth through discussion and collaboration.

READ MORE: BRI driving world growth, connectivity, analysts say

The book launch and symposium were endorsed by the Guangdong Education Publishing House, a Belt and Road research center at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, the China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development, and the Guangdong Province Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.

Yang added it is the federation’s indispensable duty to strengthen its research of overseas Chinese.

https://www.chinadailyhk.com/articles/1/68/84/1551603218866.html