This year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, as well as the 25th anniversary of twinning relationship between Fujian Province and Okinawa Prefecture. From the 17th to the 18th, the 2022 Online Exchange between Fujian-Okinawa College Students and the 8th Fujian College Taiko Championship, jointly planned by Fujian Provincial Foreign Affairs Office and Okinawa Prefectural Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports, and co-sponsored by the Japan-China Friendship Association, FNU College of Foreign Languages, and Okinawa Industry Promotion Public Corporation Fuzhou Office, were held both online and offline.
At the 2022 online exchange conference for Fujian-Okinawa college students, both teachers and students introduced the long history and fruitful results of exchanges between Fujian and Okinawa. The teachers and students from College of Foreign Languages of FNU shared the Changting Experience in soil erosion control in Fujian Province. The teachers and students from Ryukyu University introduced the specific practices of Okinawa Prefecture in forest protection, and the two sides discussed environmental issues. Afterwards, university students from both sides showed and introduced the production process of traditional dim sum in groups.
At the 8th Fujian University Taiko Championship, Ge Guilu, Dean of FNU College of Foreign Languages, delivered a welcoming speech. Chen Jialin, Director of the Asia Division of Fujian Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, Ueji Satoshi, Chief of the Exchange Promotion Section of Okinawa Prefecture, and Yukyu Kagyu, Director of the Affairs Bureau of Okinawa Industry Promotion Public Corporation, made speeches respectively.
In the competition, the style of the music selected by the Minliu taiko team of FNU, with a combination of pipa, drum and flute, is majestic and magnificent, full of Chinese characteristics, making listeners feel like wandering in the 5,000-year-old Chinese culture. Innovative adaptations were incorporated into dance and scenario design, integrating many traditional Chinese elements. In the end, our school taiko team won out.
It is learned that College of Foreign Languages takes this activity as a good opportunity to better tell China’s stories and make China’s voice heard, and guide students to cultivate their love for family and our country and show cultural responsibility. During the event, Associate Professor Wei Liqin and Associate Professor Cai Yan of the Department of the Japanese Language guided more than 20 students to participate in the event. In order to better share the Changting experience in soil erosion control in Fujian, they consulted Associate Professor Lin Huihua of the School of Geographical Sciences and received careful guidance. In the taiko championship, the College of Foreign Languages creatively integrated the elements of Fujian fine traditional culture into the taiko, displaying the Taijiquan performance of Huang Yingqi, a martial arts teacher and an international-level athlete of the School of Physical Education and Sports Science of FNU. Professor Lai Zhengwei of the Research Institute of China-Ryu Relations of the School of Sociology and History of our university was invited to exchange his research on China-Ryu culture during the event, and proposed that Fujian and Okinawa uphold their original aspiration of forging twinning relationships and continue their traditional friendship.
(Translated by Liu Wenjin/ Reviewed by Xie Xiujuan)