On September 23rd, CUEB held the opening ceremony for the new CUEBers of the Freshman Grade of 2021. Han Xianzhou, Party Secretary of CUEB; Fu Zhifeng, President of CUEB; Xu Fang and Wu Hui, Deputy Party Secretaries of CUEB;  Ding Lihong and Wang Chuansheng, Vice Presidents of CUEB; Chen Caiqun, a member of the Party Standing Committee and Discipline Committee Secretary, as well as Xing Qi, a member of the Party Standing Committee and Director of the United Front Work Division, attended the ceremony. Deans, Party Secretaries, Party Committee Secretaries, Party Branch Secretaries and freshman representatives from all Schools attended the main ceremony in Zhuoyu Auditorium. Deputy Party Secretaries, Deputy Deans, Counselors, head teachers and freshmen from all schools attended the ceremony in parallel sessions. Sun Haozhe, Vice President of CUEB, presided over the opening ceremony.

The ceremony began with a rendition of the majestic national anthem from all participants.

On behalf of CUEB, President Fu Zhifeng expressed warm welcome to the new CUEB ers of the Freshman Grade of 2021. He offered three master plans for college life. The first one is that we should bear in mind the big picture and the fundamental interests of our country and promote the aspirations of Chinese youth in the new era. As the generation of a powerful country, we must learn to set big ambitions, see the larger trends, grasp the big picture, set master plans, and shoulder major responsibilities, constantly enriching our knowledge and experiences of life’s struggle. We should brave the severe challenges posed by the profound and unforeseen changes of this century, mixed up with the overall strategy of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The second master plan is to cultivate our character and increase our courage as youth going into the new era. We should strive to be a noble person, a pure person, a moral person, and a person who is beneficial to society. The third master plan is to be skillful and competent and boost confidence as the youth of the new era. Keeping lifelong learning in mind, we should continue to learn new skills and develop strengths in vital areas so as to master our life’s goal and even be a winner in life.

President Fu Zhifeng said that we are now marching in confident strides toward the second Centenary Goal. The 65th anniversary of CUEB is around the corner. He hopes that our students could keep the motto of CUEB in mind and pass forward the spirits of CUEBers to a new generation. In light of that, our students, with a happy mood, will stand ready to devote themselves to building China as a modern socialist country and progress along the road of youth.

At last, President Fu Zhifeng quoted General Secretary Xi Jinping’s address, so as to inspire all freshmen to make it their mission to contribute to national rejuvenation so that they can live up to the promise of their youth and the expectations of our times, our Party, and our people.

Professor Gu Fenling, as a representative of teachers, shared her feelings about 37 years of teaching at university and her three wishes for the freshmen in a speech: “Live up to the Promise of Youth and Pursue Excellence”. First, we must have a clear goal, stay true to our original aspiration, be patriotic and stick to the ambition of serving the country, studying hard and taking responsibility, and to be a top-notch young person in the new era. Second, we should cherish the moment and understand love and responsibility. Either in adversity or prosperity, we must cherish life, and behave decently within the moral limit. We should be grateful, and always remain sincere and kind. Third, we must face challenges with courage, aim for the best, and take the initiative to think critically for research. 

Xiang Li, a 2020 student at the School of Business Administration, made a speech as the representative of the whole student body of CUEB. She shared her experiences about her five-years of studying from undergraduate to post graduate at CUEB. During the past five years, her experiences included everything from being blindly busy to catching the key points, finding the right direction and securing excellent results. In this context, she gave two suggestions to freshmen; that they should stay true to their original aspiration and be self-disciplined and self-reliant. They should have convictions, strategize national development, and serve the people.

Zhang Naiwen, an undergraduate freshman of the School of Economics, Xu Mengjie, a post graduate freshman of the School of Accounting and Li Yuanyu, a doctoral freshman of the School of Public Finance and Taxation made speeches as representatives for all the new CUEBers. Zhang recalled the experience of the college entrance examination and his first impression of CUEB. He said that the college life has begun. We must uphold the Camel Spirit, adhere to the school motto, integrate the individual into the collective, and portray the youthful future of college students in the new era; Xu shared her experience of four-years of undergraduate life about unremitting efforts marching toward the requirements of being a CUEBer with perception, resilience, and spirituality. In addition, she shared the reasons for choosing CUEB for postgraduate study and also the good vision of a new life. Li said that as a “young scientific researcher” who has not yet started, she should shoulder the mission of the times, stick to the original academic aspiration, and insist on independent innovation.

Next, the CUEB leaders put the university emblem on these representatives of the new comers. The university emblem reflects the culture and aspirations for all CUEBers. Putting on the university emblem means not only freshmen are officially CUEBers, but that they will carry forward the culture of the Camel Spirit and represent its values. Through wearing the university emblem, we hope that freshmen can fully understand the essence of the Camel Spirit, be brave and tenacious, be down-to-earth, speak cautiously and act wisely, and forge ahead. We also hope that they could respond to the call of the times which is fostering character and civic virtue and helping our country to be powerful, so as to shoulder responsibility as CUEBers.

Later, before the university flag, Zong Yi, a freshman of the School of Culture and Communication led all freshman representatives to make a solemn oath. On behalf of all freshmen, Li Xiaoran, a freshman of the School of Safety and Environmental Engineering handed over the long banner with these signatures to Party Secretary Han Xianzhou, and made a solemn commitment to CUEB.

Finally, the leaders, by means of a lucky draw program, presented seven-color gifts  for the freshmen so as to give them sincere blessings.

This year’s opening ceremony was strongly supported by Xiaoe-tech, a technical service provider with a focus on knowledge products and user services. Bilibili and other media platforms carried out simultaneous livestreams. A total of more than 20,000 people, including teachers, students, and their parents watched the ceremony online. The ceremony made a successful end with the theme song “Youth Comes in Time” for the Freshman Grade of 2021.