Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

THE education foundation of SUSTech received a donation of 20 million yuan (US$2.94 million) from Broad Link Group on Friday, the largest single donation that the university has received so far this year.

The fund will be used as the start-up fund for HelloKongzi Foundation of SUSTech Experimental Education Group, a basic education group, which was established Thursday and consists of three primary schools and one nine-year school in the Shenzhen University Town area of Xili, Nanshan District.

“The donation marks a further step in SUSTech’s effort for basic education and will provide better culture-based education, information sharing and research systems for students,” said Guo Yurong, Party chief of SUSTech, at a donation ceremony Friday. The fund will be used for teaching reform, featuring the informatization and internationalization of education.

In 2016, SUSTech received 400 million yuan in donations from enterprises.

HelloKongzi is a cultural brand of Broad Link Group. Kongzi is the Chinese pinyin for Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479 BC), whose teachings were the code of ethics adopted by most Chinese dynasties (206 BC – 1912 AD). The ideas of Confucius, Mencius and Xun Zi were codified and adapted over millennia into a doctrine known as Confucianism.

In 2014, Broad Link initiated the Culture Rejuvenation project to promote and introduce traditional Chinese culture to the world through the branding of its HelloKongzi animated character. The traveling HelloKongzi Global Cultural Exhibition has been held in Taiwan, Pakistan, the United States and Canada.