Peking University, Apr. 7th, 2012: His Royal Highness Maha Chakri？Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of the Kingdom of Thailand visited Peking University (PKU) on April 3, accompanied by Thai Ambassador Wei Wen Qiu Jun (Wiboon Khusakul). The Princess and her delegation were greeted by PKU President Zhou Qifeng, Vice President Li Yansong, former Chinese Ambassador in Thailand Fu Xuezhang and representatives of PKU’s faculty members and domestic students and those from Thailand.
Princess Sirindhorn and President Zhou exchanging talks
President Zhou welcomed the Princess’ visit, expressed his thanks for her generous hospitality during his visit to Thailand and recalled his impression of Chulalongkorn University. During the talk, President Zhou introduced to the Princess the status quo of PKU and some recent academic achievements. President Zhou said that many problems needed to be addressed during the rapid development of China and PKU encouraged faculty members to come up with effective solutions through their wisdom and efforts. He also recalled ties between the Princess and PKU and thanked the Princess for her promotion for the development of Sino-Thai bilateral relations.
The Princess thanked PKU the welcome and said that PKU had always been supporting the academic exchanges between Thailand and China, thanks to which, many Thai students learned mathematics and physics at PKU. She hoped that more Thai students could come to China for Chinese studies. She also hoped that the Sino-Thai relationship could have further development with the two countries’ joint efforts.
Princess Sirindhorn and President Zhou exchanging gifts
During the welcome lunch, President Zhou said that the Princess had been the messenger of the Sino-Thai friendship since her first visit to China in 1981. From then on, she had travelled across the mainland and had committed to advancing mutual understandings and trust. Also political, economic, educational and other cooperations between the two countries increased due to her efforts. President Zhou said that in the past decade, the Princess had been supporting PKU. He believed that with the strengthening cooperation between Chinese and Thai scholars, it was sure to add vitality to Sino-Thai relation. In her speech conducted in Chinese, Princess Sirindhorn said that she was very pleased to visit PKU again and meet old and new friends. She congratulated PKU on the academic achievements. She said that she was very proud of once being a PKU student and wished PKU progresses.
Background linked:
His Royal Highness Maha Chakri·Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of the Kingdom of Thailand was born in Bangkok on April 2, 1955. She has visited China many times and has been awarded the “Chinese Language and Culture Friendship Award”, “Understanding and Friendship-the International Literature Prize”, and the honor of "People’s Friendship Ambassador" for her commitment to introduce Chinese history and culture to the people of Thailand. She used to study for one-month at PKU as the winner of the scholarship of Chinese Culture She was awarded an honorary doctorate by PKU. In 2005 the Princess promoted the establishment of the Sirindhorn Exchange Center of Technology Culture at PKU, and made great contributions to the development of the Confucius Institute in Thailand. In April 2011, PKU held a commemoration for the 10th anniversary of the Princess’ study at PKU.
Written by: Feng Xiaomang
Edited by: Liu Lu
Source: Office of International Relations, PKU
