12/10/2014 - New Zealand China Friendship Society (NZCFS) delegation led by society president David Bromwich attended a lecture delivered by Professor Pan Wei of the 'China in the World Studies Centre' of the Peking University School of International Studies (PKUSIS) on the influence of Confucianism on present-day China and her governance system, followed by a banquet joined by Chinese students from the New Zealand Centre's New Zealand Film Studies undergraduate course.

New Zealand China Friendship Society (NZCFS) delegates visiting the iconic Weiming Lake, upon the edge of which the New Zealand Centre is based.

A New Zealand China Friendship (NZCFS) delegation made up of several veteran members as well as close friends of the Society paid a visit to Peking University and the New Zealand Centre. The delegation, led by NZCFS president David Bromwich, attended a short lecture by Professor Pan Wei of the School of International Studies on the influence of Confucianism on contemporary Chinese society, as well as its implications for the country's current form of governance.

The legacy of New Zealander Rewi Alley, an official hero of the Chinese people, also permeated the tour: flowers were laid at the monument to American journalist Edgar Snow (as pictured below) who had worked closely with Alley in communicating China's various political upheavals and social transformations to audiences in their respective home countries and beyond. Professor Pan Wei also remembered to his audience his own academic mentor, Professor Chen Hanseng, who shared a friendship with Rewi Alley.

The university campus also put on a spectacular show with the many colours of the autumn leaves providing ample photo opportunities for the visitors. A brief tour of the New Zealand centre also allowed the delegates to learn more about the work of the Centre, and the steadily growing academic ties between New Zealand and China.

The lecture was followed by a Chinese banquet, attended by five students from the New Zealand Centre's New Zealand Film Studies undergraduate course, which is currently in session in cooperation with the Peking University School of Foreign Languages. This provided a rare opportunity for the Chinese students concerned to meet with a special generation of New Zealanders, and to exchange their views on China's development and standing in the world. The NZCFS delegation were particularly interested in learning about the students' way of life at Peking University, as well as their future career aspirations.

You can learn more about the work of New Zealand China Friendship Society by way of their official website.

NZCFS President David Bromwich speaks before laying flowers at the memorial stone for American journalist Edgar Snow, a close friend of Rewi Alley who founded the NZCFS, both of whom worked tirelessly to promote better understanding of China in their home countries and elsewhere.