The symposium, held on November 16-17, was hosted by Fujian Normal University, co-hosted by the Embassy of Indonesia in China, the Consulate General of Indonesia in Guangzhou, the Indonesian Center for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS), and organized by the Department of Social Sciences, the Indonesian Studies Center, the College of Social Development and the College of Foreign Languages of FNU. More than 100 participants, including government officials, university scholars, think tank representatives, overseas Chinese leaders, media elites and international students, from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia attended the symposium. Among the special guests present at the event were H.E. Jose JR. de Venecia, former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines; H.E. Soegeng Rahardjo, Indonesian Ambassador to China; Madame Ratu Silvy Gayatri, Indonesian Consul General in Guangzhou; Mr. Julius Caesar A. Flores, Consul General of the Philippines in Xiamen; Mr. Chen Chuxin, Member of Party Leadership Group of the Foreign Affairs Office of Fujian Provincial People’s Government and vice president of Fujian People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; Yusman S. Djamal, former Minister of Transportation of Indonesia, president commissioner of PT Garuda Indonesia; Mr. Abdul Alek Soelystio, vice executive chairman of Indonesian Chinese Entrepreneur Association (PERPIT); Mr. Khor Ten Yan, Datuk and vice president of Malaysian Chinese Association; and Mr. Vidhyandika D. Perkasa, Director of the Politics and International Relations of CSIS. Professor Yang Yusheng, vice president of FNU, addressed the opening ceremony on behalf of the university.
The two-day event was focused on the following themes: the history and present of the Maritime Silk Road, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, and the people-to-people exchanges and bonds between China and Southeast Asia. Participants were engaged in enthusiastic discussions that produced fruitful results. Other issues such as the development and prospect of the Indonesia studies in China were also explored in depth at the meeting. In order to promote international cooperation and give prominence to the Chinese characteristics and academic innovation in Indonesian studies in China, “Fuzhou Initiative on the 21st-Century Indonesian Studies in China” was proposed and “the 21st Century Alliance for Indonesian Studies in China” was established at the closing ceremony, initiators including the Indonesian Embassy in China, CSIS, the Indonesian Studies Center of FNU, the Research School for Southeast Asian Studies of Xiamen University, the Indonesian Studies Center of Jinan University, the China-ASEAN Research Center of Guangxi University for Nationalities, and the Indonesian Studies Center of Hebei Normal University.
On the eve of the symposium, Mr. Lin Heping, secretary of FNU Party Committee, and Mr.Yang Yusheng, vice president of FNU, met with some of the distinguished guests to attend the symposium and awarded a donation certificate to Mr. Abdul Alek Soelystio in recognition of his generocity. Both hosts and guests also bore witness to the signing of memorandum of cooperation between the Indonesian Studies Center of FNU and CSIS, a well-known Indonesian think tank. Mr. Wang Changping, president of FNU, met with Soegeng Rahardjo, Indonesian Ambassador to China, after the symposium was concluded.
Both Chinese and international media, including China News Service and International Daily News (Indonesia), covered this event from different perspectives.
(Translated by Liang Li’e Reviewed by Lin Mingjin}