Speech delivered by President Zhu at the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 Summer Program & Tenth Anniversary of the Academy
Distinguished guests, dear friends, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning!
Today, we gather in this beautiful Science and Arts Centre to celebrate the opening of the 2015 Xiamen Academy of International Law summer program and the tenth anniversary of the Academy. First and foremost, on behalf of Xiamen University, I would like to extend the warmest congratulations on the opening ceremony of the 2015 summer program and the 10th anniversary of the Xiamen Academy of International Law, and the warmest welcome and gratitude to all the guests and participants of the opening ceremony and programme!
Ten years ago, at the proposal of Prof. Cheng Chia-Jui and with tremendous support from Judge Shi Jiuyong, Xiamen University pushed ahead with the proposal and established the Xiamen Academy of International Law. As an academic institute of international law, the Xiamen Academy of International Law has been committed to the promotion of academic research, scholarly exchange and has acted as a platform for international cooperation in the field of international law. It also seeks to educate experts from across the globe, especially from the Asia-Pacific region. Last but not least, the Academy aspires to enhance the role of international law in regulating inter-state relations and establishing a new international order. We are pleased to note that over the past ten years, the Academy has been firm in its pursuit of the goals it set out to achieve when founded, and has been a remarkable success. Such achievements are widely recognized and highly thought of by scholars and practitioners from within and outside of China. In retrospect, the past nine programs have offered high-quality courses to about 1000 students, who came from nearly 50 states or regions. These courses were taught by 70 world-class professors and distinguished judges from the ICJ, high-ranking officials, and authoritative experts in the field of international law. At this year’s program, we have in total 129 participants from 29 states and regions. I believe that all of the participants are excellent and have keen interests in the study of international law. I am also delighted to note that the lecturers teaching courses this year have made a dream team of world-renowned experts of international law, which include Professor Petersmann, Judge Owada, Judge Crawford, Judge Xue Hanqin, Professor Pazartzis, and more. I understand that they are all extremely busy with their work, however, they have accepted our invitation and agree to teach courses despite their busy schedule. I propose that we give a big round of applause to all of them.
Distinguished guests, my dear friends, the Xiamen Academy has undergone a decade of remarkable development. The outstanding achievements made by this Academy during the past decade could not have been possible without the concerted efforts of staff from the School of Law, the support of the academic community from within and outside of China, as well as the love and care from all sectors of society. I would like to take this opportunity to share an exciting piece of news with all of you. With the help of President Zhong Xinguo, one of our outstanding alumni, we were put in contact with Mr. Su Qingchan, president of the Huaxia Ophthalmologic Group, and another outstanding alumni of our University. President Su Qingchan has offered to donate five million yuan to the Xiamen Academy to support its academic programs. I believe that support and help like this, which come from a wide range of sectors of society, is one of the reasons why this Academy was able to achieve so much in the first ten years of its existence. Therefore, I would like to sincerely thank those who care about and have given their support to the Academy. I hope that all of you will continue to support and contribute to the further development of the Xiamen Academy.
In conclusion, I would like to once more send my warmest congratulations on the tenth anniversary of the Xiamen Academy of International Law! I wish the summer program a huge success, and every guest and participant a pleasant and fruitful stay in Xiamen!
Thank you very much!