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NZC Welcomes Staff from the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
24/04/2018 - The New Zealand Centre at Peking University welcomed Ms Lucie Trask from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and Ms Rachel Brookie of the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing on their visit to Peking University. On the beautiful sunny afternoon of 24 April, New Zealand Centre at Peking University welcomed Ms Lucie Trask from MFAT accompanied by Ms Rachel Brookie, Second Secretary of the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing, on their first visit to Peking University.
Ms Lucie Trask and Ms Rachel Brookie Welcomed by the NZC staff at the Weiming Lake
The Centre Director Professor Liu Shusen and the Centre Secretary Associate Professor Liu Hongzhong welcomed the guests in the Centre office and had an engaging meeting with the guests. First, Professor Liu Shusen updated the Centre operations apart from all the programmes and achievements that marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Centre last May. Some of the highlights include the ongoing Fellowship Programme, which the Centre runs to help host scholars and academics from eight New Zealand universities in order to enhance academic exchanges and cooperation with Peking University. The programme is rather popular among the NZ universities and the number of visiting scholars has increased year on year. Professor Liu Shusen also expressed his sincere appreciation to the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing for its continuous support to Centre’s undergraduate course New Zealand History and Culture and to the “Chinese Language and Culture Programme” Peking University offered to the New Zealand students. Ms Lucie Trask and Ms Rachel Brookie thanked the Centre for making this meeting possible even at a very short notice and pointed out that such a visit is essential and timely. At a time when the new New Zealand Ambassador is to take office in Beijing very soon and PKU is celebrating its 120th anniversary, it is crucial to review the Centre’s achievements and seek possibilities of new initiatives for the near future. Ms Rachel Brookie mentioned the Trade and Economic Department of the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing would be more engaging in support of the cooperation with Centre’s operation. It is agreed that possible initiatives include co-hosting lectures and seminars delivered by visiting scholars from New Zealand and professors form Peking University, hosting visits from both Chinese and New Zealand students, introducing New Zealand films, NZ film industry and NZ-China co-productions to Peking University faculty and students. Ms Lucie Trask emphasized the importance of the strong and continuous support of MFAT to the New Zealand Centre at Peking University. As the MFAT’s representative at the NZ Centre Advisory Board meetings, she is pleased to visit the Centre and learn more about the Centre in person during her short stay in Beijing. Both visitors were impressed by the small yet crucial library collection at the Centre and the great amount of work the Centre has been doing. MFAT financially supports the New Zealand Centre at Peking University along with Ministry of Education, Education New Zealand, and all of the eight universities in New Zealand. The visit ended with a cheerful tour around the campus.
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