23 January 2015 – The Philippine Embassy in Beijing donated award-winning books from the Philippines to two premier university libraries in Beijing on 11 and 12 December 2014 as part of the Years of Friendly Exchanges with China.

Last December 11, the Philippine Embassy donated books for use in the Department for Asian and African library of the Beijing Foreign Studies University, the alma mater of many of China’s diplomats.

The university was founded in 1941, and it has 64 foreign language programs.  Its new, gleaming national library was constructed in 2013, and will now house a new Philippines reading area.

The donation on December 11 to the Beijing Foreign Studies University was received by Professor Peng Long, President of the University.  In attendance at the ceremony were University Vice President Professor Yan Guohua, Dean of the School of Asian and African Studies Professor Sun Xiaomeng and representatives of the library. 

On the following day, the Embassy donated books for use in the Central library of China’s prestigious Peking University, which Philippine Ambassador to China Erlinda Basilio refers to as the cradle of China’s leaders, and to the newly refurbished School of Foreign Languages library of Peking University. The School of Foreign Languages hosts the first and, to date, only Filipino language teaching Department in all of China. Peking University library is 120 years old, with a collection of eight million publications. It has 33 branch libraries, and among all the university’s library branches, the biggest collection belongs to the School of Foreign Languages Library. According to university officials, the university’s ASEAN collection ranks first among China’s university libraries.

The donation on December 12, 2014 to the prestigious Peking University, a long-time partner of the Philippine Embassy, was received by University Vice President Professor Li Yansong. In attendance were Professor Gong Mei, Director of the Conservation and Branch Libraries office of the Peking University Library; Professor Zhang Meiping, Director of the Collection Development Office of the Peking University Library; Professor Zheng Qingwen, Vice Dean of the School of Foreign Languages; Ms. Zhang XIaoyan, Director of the Branch Library of School of Foreign Languages; Dr. Wu Jiewei, Dean of the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, himself a fluent Filipino language speaker; and Dr. Shi Yang, Director of the Philippine Studies Section.  China Radio International Tagalog broadcast section, which counts among its personnel several alumnae of Peking University, covered the donation.

In her remarks to the officials and students of both universities, Ambassador Basilio shared that she is an avid reader of books.  She exhorted young students to read more, so that they can learn about new thoughts and ideas that motivate their dreams and aspirations, and which provide them with the tools and information they need to make their dreams come true.  She shared that, early on, her parents instilled in her the belief that “A person who reads more achieves more.” The students witnessing the ceremony at Peking University reciprocated by singing the well-beloved song “Bayan Ko,” while the students of Beijing Foreign Studies University rendered a school song for the Embassy officials.

After the donation ceremony at Peking University School of Foreign Languages Library, Peking University Philippine Studies Section invited Ambassador Basilio and Embassy personnel to view a short film written in Tagalog and performed by students of the Tagalog studies program for their 2014 final project, entitled “Love and Other Disasters,” a light-hearted film about love and growing up.

The Philippine Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, purchased the books from major Philippine publishing houses in order to provide partner institutions overseas with the best publications from the Philippines, to diffuse knowledge about Philippine values, history and current events, as well as Philippine artistic and literary heritage, to demonstrate the sharpness and creativity of the Filipino mind and pen.  The books range from design and art, to anthologies of poetry and stories written by Philippine National Artists and award-winning literary giants. The donated publications also include scholarly studies of the Chinese in the Philippines, presenting evidence of the centuries of exchange and friendship between the two countries. END