Farewell to Professor Xiao Jianming
A special gathering was held at IPS to say farewell to Professor Xiao Jianming, a scholar from Kunming University, China, who was reverting back to his native country after a nine-month stay in Pakistan.
The scholar, in his farewell speech, shed light on the time spent in Pakistan and thanked the hosts for their hospitality. He extended his gratitude towards IPS for arranging interviews, meetings, seminars and lectures as well as for supporting him through various means during all stages of his research tasks. The major research studies carried out by the professor included ‘Role of Religion in Pakistan’s Society and Politics’ and ‘Pak-China Relations’, with special focus on the economic corridor.
Prof. Xiao said that though Pakistan and China enjoy cordial relations at the state level, the people at the grass root level are still almost strangers for each other. He stressed on increasing people to people contact to fortify bilateral relations between the two nation-states. He also hoped that his visit to Pakistan will inspire and motivate other Chinese scholars to visit Pakistan and carry out researches on various aspects of the country’s polity and society.
His wife, Liao Zhujun, who in this period rendered her services of teaching two six-month long Chinese language courses for IPS LEAD – the Learning, Excellence & Development program of the Institute – termed her experience as a memorable one as it provided her a chance to know and interact with Pakistani citizens hailing from diverse backgrounds.
Alongside the IPS team, the event was attended by students of Prof. Xiao from Quaid-e-Azam University, where he taught a full semester, as well as the trainees of Mrs. Liao from the two Chinese languages courses. The students too spoke on the occasion, and said that their sessions with the Chinese scholar were very helpful in developing greater understanding about China and Chinese language.
DG-IPS Khalid Rahman concluded the session with a note that the two countries were faced with the challenges of war of narratives, and the only way to counter this phenomenon was to develop and promote a narrative of their own. This, he emphasized, could be achieved through greater mutual understanding by increasing intellectual and institutional exchanges between the two countries.
The trainees of IPS LEAD’s Chinese language course were awarded with completion certificates in the end.
