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Ten foreign experts were given a
friendship award by Hefei local government on Wednesday for their
contribution to the city's fast and prosperous development. The
third Hefei Friendship Award for Foreign Experts recognized experts
from Germany, Russia, Australia, South Korea, the United States, Japan,
and Costa Rica for their remarkable contributions to the capital city of
Anhui province, providing important talent and intellectual support to
build an innovative city with international influence. The
winner list includes Berdi Hakan Bulak, an auto quality expert from
Daimler Greater China; Claus Thomas Weise, an artificial intelligence
basic researcher with Hefei University; Grigory Shirkov, an expert
dedicated to superconducting cyclotron for proton therapy medical
equipment; Yang Nan, chief scientist of Anhui Anke Biotechnology Group
who works on cancer and gene research; Lee Ho Young, an OLED expert with
Sineva's Hefei branch; Zachary James Smith, a professor at the
University of Science and Technology of China who develops medical
technologies and solutions; Kim Sang Jin, a TFT-LCD expert of Hefei BOE;
Kim Chee Young, a Midea refrigerators safety and quality control
expert; Takashi Ichimori, an expert from Fuhuang Group on image and
video analysis and processing technologies and chips; and Io Kai Vong
Leong, chairman of JH Biotech, Costa Rica, who promotes agriculture and
horticulture technologies cooperation between China and Costa Rica. Luo
Ping, secretary-general of the Hefei municipal government, presided
over the award ceremony. He pointed out that talents are a strategic
resource to achieve national rejuvenation and win international
competitions. The Hefei Friendship Award for Foreign Experts
demonstrates the city's adherence to strengthening itself via actively
recruiting talents from all over the world. Since the Hefei Friendship Award for Foreign Experts was launched, a total of 30 foreign experts have been awarded the prize. As
of 2017, Hefei had ranked in the top six "Amazing China: Most
Attractive Chinese Cities for Foreigners," a survey conducted by the
Information and Research Center of the Foreign Talents of the State
Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs and the magazine of
International Talent Exchange, for three consecutive years. From 2016 to
2020, a total of nine foreign experts working in Hefei were selected to
enter the key talent introduction program of the Organization
Department of the CPC Central Committee. Meanwhile, 100 foreign experts
in Hefei have been selected for Anhui province's key talent introduction
program, with a total of 13 experts having won the Chinese Government
Friendship Award and 62 having won the provincial Huangshan Friendship
Award. These imported foreign talents have played an active role in
promoting key technological research, management model innovation,
enterprise and industrial upgrading and development, and cultural and
educational quality improvement. "I've
lived in Hefei for the last two years, since January 2019. I must say
I'm extremely impressed with the way that this region is being
improved," said award winner Berdi Hakan Bulak at a discussion and
exchange symposium following the event. "We can tell you a lot, we can
show a lot of ideas [as foreign experts in China], but the important
thing is that China does not lose its character and its tradition." He
added, "Any country, any society needs its roots and its long history
and you have a history which you can be very proud of. We should find a
good combination of modern thinking and modern ideas but keep the
traditions which made this country so big. This is a beneficial way to
combine ideas and cultures. This will bring success to China and to this
region." Another laureate, Thomas
Weise, recalled, "Before finishing my PhD in Germany in 2009, I was
looking for international research groups working in my field. The most
interesting one was located here in Hefei. Some senior colleagues in my
German university actually advised against coming here. They said: 'Do
not go to China. It will not be good for your scientific career.' I did
not listen and I am happy that I did not listen." "Here
in Hefei, I found a very nice, open, and dynamic environment as well as
great institutional support. Outstanding research was done in Hefei in
my field of science. This was a good chance to learn from excellent
scientists. For a decade, I have seen how Hefei has constantly grown,
developed, and improved. I think that science and research had a major
impact on this development," Weisse said. He
added that even hard times and challenges will not stop its
development. "This year, all of us have faced the coronavirus together. I
am happy that me and my family have stayed here in China during this
crisis. Here, all levels of governments devised strong and effective
measures – based on the advice of scientists – and the people, everyone,
implemented them. And that was right. In China, the disease is under
control. We can now be here, holding this meeting safely, because of
that." Bjoern Nashan, a world-famous
German doctor and medical expert now working in Hefei, attended the
symposium and echoed a similar sentiment. "2020 is finally coming to an
end, and we have had a very difficult year, an annus horribilis, due to
COVID-19. I am very glad that I am in China. China has brought the
epidemic under control in a very effective way, using technology based
on apps and smartphones in a very short time." For
Nashan, who has lived in the city for three years, "Hefei is a
hospitable city, and every time I am back here, it feels like home.
Living and working in Hefei feels quite relaxed and comfortable — it's a
well-organized city. Here, I can see amazing growth that makes people
from outside astonished." Nashan also
added, "No matter whether it's COVID-19, climate change, or economic
demands, our generation faces common challenges. No single country can
fix them alone. The only way to deal with them is to work together. I
hope that each of our foreign experts can become a bridge to link China
with other countries. Through us, we can strengthen relations in all
ways of life on the basis of mutual benefit and respect among nations.
This is a new era of mutual benefit and win-win results. To achieve the
prosperity and opportunity we seek, we must focus on our common humanity
and work together toward our common goals."
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