Make Sincerity and Integrity Your Best Asset in Future Education and Life

Dear colleagues, students, ladies and gentlemen, good morning!

At this important moment, I would like to say a few words and offer my heartfelt best wishes for all the students under the training program of soft academic skills. It gives me great pleasure to see you have all completed this year of intensive training and are ready to move forward with your future education both here and at other universities.

We are living in a time when we can access all kinds of information, negative or positive, inspirational or discouraging. Some of that information might lead to confusion, conflicts, and violence that lead to grave consequences including loss of life and property. All members of society regardless of profession, race, religion, or culture are expected to take responsibility for their actions and seek practical solutions to these burning social problems.

To avoid all of this we should be constantly aware of the ongoing socio-political contexts, both regionally and globally. This means we are expected to have a profound knowledge of the world and bear various analytical methods to understand these issues well.

I also believe that we urgently need to cultivate inner sincerity and integrity that will facilitate us to tackle these confusions and identify the problems we are facing and the causes of those problems. Why? Sincerity allows us to express ourselves truthfully when dealing with your life and career whether as an academic or a member of society; integrity helps to nourish mutual trust, sadly lacking in today’s world, among individuals or countries.

When I was delivering the plenary speech at the NTU International Conference on “Maritime Silk Road” last December, I stated that only when all countries along the Silk Road showed sufficient integrity in their domestic and foreign policies would the common prosperities promoted by China’s Belt and Road initiative be achievable. In my discussions with my excellent colleague and friend from Nanyang Center for Public Administration Prof. LIU Hong, we agreed to establish concrete collaborations of academic integrity for the sake of regional development between our two institutes. Ladies and gentlemen, please be aware of the importance of being a sincere person of integrity in all your future endeavors.

Dear students, I must admit that, sometimes, society does not give back in equal measure what we put in. But sincerity and integrity contribute to social transparency and reliability and help to make you a better, and happier, person, laying the foundation for a happy life.

In closing, please allow me to wish you all success as you continue along the educational road to a better life. Thank you! Thank you very much!