The former Prime Minister of Hungary, Dr. Péter Medgyessy, visited Sias University on April 27. Dr. Medgyessy was accompanied by the former Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands and Hungary, Zhu Zushou, and the President of World China Magazine, Lin Nagy. The delegation was met by Sias Party Secretary, Ma Jiansheng, Vice President, Wu Hua, and Prof. Guo Junfeng, as well as the heads of the Administration Office, Communist Party Committee, and Office of International Affairs.
Dr. Medgyessy, Zhu Zushou, and Ms. Nagy were led on a campus tour of Sias that included the European Street, CUBA Training Facility, Golf Driving Range, Student Activity Center, Chinese Garden, and Library. Following the tour, Dr. Medgyessy had a meeting with Sias leaders on the 14th floor of the Library. The discussions centered on educational and cultural exchanges between China and Hungary.
Ma Jiansheng gave the delegation a detailed introduction to Sias' development, educational philosophy, internationalization, international exchanges, and teaching methodology. He said that Sias had adhered to China's Belt & Road Initiative while making use of its high-quality educational resources, both domestically and internationally, through its East-meets-West educational philosophy to provide students with an international platform for growth. He said that Sias hoped to forge ties with Hungarian universities for exchanges in the future. Dr. Medgyessy said that he was impressed by Sias' development and educational achievements and expressed his support for cooperation and relations between Hungarian universities and Sias, to promote the development of both sides. He encouraged Sias to teach the younger generations to be modest, to learn continually, and never satisfied with their level of knowledge.
After the meeting, Dr. Péter Medgyessy, Zhu Zushou, and Lin Nagy, were interviewed by the Sias News Center and wished Sias for the upcoming 20th anniversary celebrations in May.
[Interview transcript below]
Prior to visiting Sias University, Dr. Péter Medgyessy, who was the Prime Minister of Hungary from 2002 to 2004, had attended the Belt & Road Initiative Summit in Beijing.
Zhu Zushou was the Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands and the Ambassador to Hungary from 2003 to 2007.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Péter Medgyessy Interview Transcript
Question
What are your impressions of Sias' campus and the internationalization here?
Dr. Péter Medgyessy
I want to congratulate [Sias] because this is a very nice campus. I like it! I would like to be young [again], to be a student of this very beautiful university. I wish you all success in the next 200 years, not only 20 years! I have to say that I am really impressed by the buildings, by the views, by the modernity of this university, and I think the idea of internationalization is an excellent idea because we know that China has become a superpower, one of the most important powers in the world. So this status needs a very well educated, and highly knowledgeable new generation, and this is the place to prepare for that and answer the big challenges of the future. So I would like to congratulate [Sias] and wish the best for the next, minimum, 200 years.
Question
As you know, Sias is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Do you have any special advice or wishes for the faculty and students at Sias?
Dr. Péter Medgyessy
You know it's very easy for Chinese young people to have good suggestions, because [they] have to learn and read Lao Zi and read [the Analects of] Confucius. These two very great philosophers said that [we] have to always be very modest, to learn, and not just know what you want and what you know, but also know what you don't know. This is the engine to learn more, to have the best result possible, and achieve big success.
