On April 28, Wuhan University (WHU) Alumni Association in Japan received a letter of appreciation from Yukio Hatoyama, former Japanese Prime Minister. As the Honorary President of “theThe Belt and Road Promotion Association of Sino-Japan”, Mr. Hatoyama extends his thanks and best wishes in this letter to the helpful donations from WHU alumni.
The letter of appreciation
The epidemic has been spreading globally since March, which poses greater challenge on many countries. WHU alumni, without a break from the battle against COVID-19 in China, began to aid other countries. On April 20, 11 alumni entrepreneurs and their friends, via WHU Alumni Association in Japan, donated medical supplies to “Japan-China Belt and Road Donation Committee” led by Mr. Hatoyama. The donation includes medical masks, protective clothing and goggles, which worth more than one million yuan.
Around the 2020 Spring Festival, both the government and citizens of Japan offered relief materials to China in its most critical moment. The encouraging verses attached, such as “Though separated by a mountain, we share the same clouds and rain/A bright moon belongs not to a single town” quoted from Tang poet Wang Changling’s “Seeing Off Imperial Censor Chai”, have touched millions of Chinese’s hearts.
The ancient wisdom inspires us that neighboring countries should always help each other. Therefore, for those who have assisted us in our times of crisis, WHUers will spare no effort to provide our support with great gratitude in return.
1,070,000 yuan in half an hour
The virus-caused problems have been increasingly serious in Japan since mid-March. Confronted with the critical shortage of the materials needed for epidemic prevention and control, Mr. Hatoyama organized “Japan-China Belt and Road Donation Committee” to raise those relief supplies by all means. The donation later went to the disability organizations and medical institutions in Japan.
Dr. Kong Ming, member of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is currently doing research in Japan supported by Chinese government. As the Deputy Secretary of the Donation Committee, he made a phone call to He Shaojun. Dr. Kong Ming hoped to raise some supplies for Japan with the help of He,a 1984 alumnus of WHU and the Deputy Chairman of Beijing Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology Company.
Upon knowing the situation, Mr. He reacted instantly by making phone calls to his alumni as well as colleagues. 1,070,000 yuan was raised in less than half an hour. There are 10 donors except for Mr. He himself: Zeng Wentao, the CEO of Zhongjia Capital (Wuhan) Investment Management Co., Ltd; Cheng Hui, the Co-Founder of Beijing Strong Biotechnologies, Inc; Luo Aiping, the President of East.net (China) Co.,Ltd; Chen Li, the Co-Founder of RRDS Law Offices; Wu Youming, the Director of MM Law Firm; Zhou Hao, the CEO of Shengang Securities Co., Ltd; Guo Shuiyao, the President of SAEC; Wang Lu, the General Manager in Shanghai branch of Shenzhen Fortune Caizhi Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd; Zhong Jiafu and Xu Limin, the Co-founders of Beijing Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology Company.
The donors are mostly the Co-Founders of “Luojia White Angel Fund”. He Shaojun expressed, “They transferred the money directly to my account just after the call. What’s more touching is that, even when we had limited the cash donation within 100,000 yuan, Zeng Wentao insisted to donate 200,000 yuan. Also, Luo Aiping and I only knew each other from being the donors of ‘Luojia White Angel Fund’ and have never met before, but he sent the money to me without hesitation.” He added that the act could be seen as an extension of “Luojia White Angel Fund”, “They offer their absolute support simply because we are all WHUers. Behind the trust is the power of love and the commitment of Wuhan University, which is really precious.”
Relief goods donated by WHU alumni
After collecting enough money, He Shaojun immediately contacted the suppliers, purchased more than 150 boxes of relief goods, and sent them to Japan by air. The goods include 100,000 medical masks, 3,000 medical protective clothing and 3,000 pairs of medical goggles.
Three years ago
As an old Chinese saying goes: “You throw a peach to me, and I give you a white jade for friendship.” China and Japan hold hand in hand to fight against the virus as friendly neighbors, leaving numerous moving stories.
This story, however, can be traced back to three years ago. In the year of 2017, He Shaojun led a team to conduct research in Japan, where he met a graduate student Kong Ming from Waseda University. Kong Ming is from Shandong Province and acted as their guide and translator during their stay. Under the recommendation of Kong Ming, He Shaojun and his team paid a visit to Mr. Hatoyama and were warmly welcomed. They were also invited to attend a dinner party.
Remembering the party that night, He Shaojun noted, “The party lasted for more than three hours. We all had a great time there and I also had the honor to make a speech on behalf of China with good results.”
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in China from the late January, Mr. Hatoyama has been paying close attention to the epidemic in China. On February 6, Mr. Hatoyama invited the Chinese Embassy in Japan, Chinese staying in Japan and medical enterprises to the “Emergency Meeting for the COVID-19”. There they discussed and donated essential materials to China, including millions of masks, protective clothing and medical equipment.
September 25 last year is the 47th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japan diplomatic relations. On that day, Mr. Hatoyama visited Wuhan University and delivered a keynote. He promoted the Belt and Road Initiative and advocated to maintain friendly relationship with neighboring countries.
He Shaojun (left) and Yukio Hatoyama(right)
“I know that Mr. Hatoyama has been dedicated to promoting the friendly exchanges between China and Japan for several years. Although I talked with him for only half a day, I can feel the enthusiasm and kindness from Mr. Hatoyama and Japan. Mr. Hatoyama supplied one million masks to China during our most critical moment, so I decided to help without the slightest hesitation when I heard that he was raising money for Japan,” He Shaojun said.
Friendship lasts forever
On April 20, more than 150 boxes of relief goods arrived at the “Japan-China Belt and Road Donation Committee” with the Chinese saying “Within the four seas, all men are brothers” attached. Mr. Hatoyama signed for the supplies, took photos with them, and sent his thanks to WHU alumni for their good deeds.
Yukio Hatoyama receives the relief goods
The donation is in the name of the WHU Alumni Association in Japan. During the whole process, administrative staff of the association including Liu Bingyi, the Chairman, Luo Tingting the Executive Director and Wang Zhiping the Secretary General worked together with Mr. Hatoyama’s team very well through plenty of detailed communication. As the coordinator, Dr. Kong Ming has also made great contributions to the whole donation procedure.
It is reported that those supplies will all be distributed to the medical institutions such as Tokyo University Hospital and Tokyo Medical Association as well as local governments.
In the letter of thanks, Mr. Hatoyama quotes the famous Chinese verse “Would that we could live a long life and together share the moonlight a thousand miles away!” written by Sushi, an well-known poet in Northern Song Dynasty in China. Through the poem, he expresses his sincere appreciation and best wishes to WHU alumni for their generous donations.
Source：https://alumni.whu.edu.cn/info/1048/15316.htm
Rewritten by Yu Jianan
Edited by Zhou Siyan, ZouXiaohan and Sylvia
