On the morning of May 19, a 31-member delegation from Chiang Kai Shek College (CKSC), led by Chan Cuan, Honorary Chairman of the Chiang Kai Shek College Board of Trustees and a respected leader of the Filipino Chinese community, visited Shanghai Soong Ching Ling School (SSCLS) and Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten (SCLK). Wang Yufeng, Vice Chairperson and Secretary of Party Leadership Group of the China Welfare Institute (CWI), attended the event and talked with the delegation. The event was attended by heads of CKSC, the CWI, SSCLS and SCLK.

The delegation first visited SCLK, where they personally experienced Madame Soong Ching Ling’s educational philosophy of “Give Children the Most Valuable Things” as upheld by the kindergarten. From a creative themed teaching environment to activity areas for kids to explore autonomously, every aspect of SCLK shows its respect for and development of children’s potential. Then, the delegation visited SSCLS, where they had friendly interactions with students at the school. They were impressed by the school’s beautiful, elegant campus, advanced, sound educational facilities, and the students’ confidence and openness as reflected in the communication.

At the talk session, Wang Yufeng welcomed the CKSC delegation on behalf of the CWI. He said that the CWI has long been committed to facilitating people-to-people friendly exchange and cooperation between China and the rest of the world. He wanted to take the opportunity of forging a sister-school relationship between SSCLS and CKSC to practice Madame Soong’s idea of “Give Children the Most Valuable Things,” create better platforms for the development of teens and children, further deepen cultural and educational exchange and cooperation, advance friendly people-to-people exchanges, and develop a lasting friendship. CKSC Honorary Chairman Chan Cuan noted that he expected the two sides to deepen educational cooperation and make fresh contributions to China-Philippine talent development and friendly exchange. CKSCExecutive Vice-ChairmanRobert Que said that this sister-school deal was an important milestone in the history of CKSC, and that the college would draw upon Chinese state-of-the-art experience in running schools to fuel the co-development of education between the Philippines and China.

Feng Lirong, Executive Principal of SSCLS, and Judelio Yap, President of CKSC, officially signed an MOU on forging a sister-school relationship on behalf of each side on the spot. Both sides stated that they would take this opportunity to keep broadening and deepening exchanges and contribute their part to people-to-people connectivity between the two countries.

CKSC was founded by overseas Chinese-Filipinos represented by Wong Chun Seng and Yu Khe Thai in Manila in 1939. It is the first institution of higher learning in the Philippines offering education in all levels from preschool to graduate school and one of the largest, most sound institutions for Chinese education in the country. The college blends in the Philippine educational system while inheriting fine Chinese culture, endeavoring to facilitate educational exchanges and people-to-people bonds between the two sides.