PHOTO: APP
He made the remarks at the inauguration of the Centre of Excellence Chinese Studies at the Government College University (GCU). Boren said the centre would play a crucial role in cementing people-to-people contacts between China and the nation. He said both the nations were strategic partners and their relationship had withstood the test of time. Boren emphasised the need to bring the youth of the two states closer and overcoming social and cultural voids. He said Pak-Sino ties had a bright future.
National University of Modern Languages (NUML) lecturer Zafar Naveed, who has been appointed as the Chinese instructor at the varsity, told The Express Tribune that Chinese was destined to become the preeminent language of the world in the future. He said 100 students had expressed interest in learning Chinese at the varsity. Naveed said out of these, 35 had been selected for the first session of the Chinese Language Certificate course.
He said over 500,000 Pakistan students were currently studying in China. Naveed said scores of students would have benefitted if Chinese language teaching had been introduced at varsities nationwide earlier. “We should have introduced Chinese five years ago due to its cultural and economic importance for the region,” he said.
Zoology Department Chairperson Nusrat Jahan said China had made an immense contribution to the nation’s development. She expressed hope that research conducted by the centre would facilitate greater understanding of the various aspects of Chinese culture, politics and national development.
Khalid Manzoor Butt of the centre shed light on the efforts of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and former higher education secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal with regard to the centre’s establishment at the varsity. Butt said the certificate course only marked the beginning of a long process as the centre would soon start offering a diploma programme and ultimately a degree programme on Chinese language and literature.
Butt said the overarching aim of the centre was to conduct and support research on China. He said this would facilitate greater understanding about the nation’s northern neighbour and bring the peoples of the two states closer. Butt said the centre had received a great number of applications for the certificate course. He said this demonstrated the great interest among people from all walks of life to learn Chinese.
Commissioner Abdullah Khan Sumbal said Pakistan had extremely strong strategic and economic ties with China. Sumbal said this should compel government officials to learn Chinese. He also welcomed Boren to the city.
Students studying at the centre told The Express Tribune that learning Chinese was fast becoming pivotal due to the lucrative opportunities it afforded. They said they had enrolled at the course to act as a bridge between the two nations.
The Chinese Consulate in Lahore has also equipped the centre with IT equipment including computers and printers. It has also additionally pledged to provide the centre with books on Chinese language and culture.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 6th, 2015.
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