“I want to be a pupil at Confucius Institute”
—Former Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai Inaugurates Trang Branch of Confucius Institute at Phuket

On August 25th, as former Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and the guests jointly pressed the launch button, the red cloth covering a gilded plaque of the Confucius Institute was slowly unveiled in exciting music and rapturous applause. The inauguration ceremony of the Trang Branch of Confucius Institute at Phuket, Prince of Songkla University kicked off.

Inauguration ceremony

Chuan Leekpai, Dr. Nathavit, President of Prince of Songkla University, Trang Campus, Dr. Worawut, President of Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, Chen Xiaoda, Chinese Director of Confucius Institute at Phuket, and guests from various circles were present at the event. Together with journalists and hundreds of teachers and students, they witnessed the establishment of Trang Branch of Confucius Institute at Phuket.

At the inauguration ceremony, Chuan firstly delivered a speech. He expressed his heartfelt congratulations on the establishment of the Trang Branch of Confucius Institute at Phuket, and highly affirmed the Confucius Institute’s contributions as a platform for cultural exchanges between China and Thailand. He said that by getting on the express train of the “Belt and Road”, Thailand and China have constantly developed bilateral relations and enhanced all-round exchanges and cooperation. Learning the other’s language enables both sides to promote understanding of each other’s culture. He said humorously that “I will be a pupil at Confucius Institute when time allows”. With passionate solicitude for the development of Chinese language education in his hometown, Trang, Chuan has visited Trang Branch of the Confucius Institute at Phuket for many times and proudly said that he had studied Chinese there.

Chuan Leekpai delivering a speech

Later on, Chuan wrote an inscription for the Trang Branch. He took up the writing brush and dipped it in black ink, and then fluently wrote down four Chinese characters on the paper, which mean “Trang Branch”. The audience marveled at his vigorous, unadorned and elegant characters.

Chuan Leekpai writing down four Chinese characters “Dong Li Fen Bu” (Trang Branch in English)

Dr. Nathavit expressed in his speech that since the establishment of cooperative relations in teaching in 2009, the Confucius Institute at Phuket and Trang Campus have jointly worked together for over 9 years, achieving great development in various aspects. At present, there are 7 Chinese teachers at Trang Branch. With independent Chinese language activity center, Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) center, reading room and various kinds of electronic teaching experiments, Trang Branch mainly commits to teaching compulsory and optional Chinese courses in universities. Meanwhile, it also offered Chinese culture promotion activities and Chinese language teaching support to local primary and middle schools, as well as community organizations. In 2017, the Trang Branch of the Confucius Institute at Phuket, Prince of Songkla University got Hanban’s formal approval, which further upgraded local Chinese language teaching. Based on the needs of the Confucius Institute, Prince of Songkla University will continuously increase support and investment into the Trang Branch.

Dr. Nathavit delivering a speech

High appraising the achievements the Confucius Institute at Phuket has made in Trang over the years, Dr. Worawut pointed out in his speech that the establishment of the Trang Branch marks further upgrading of cooperation between the Confucius Institute at Phuket and the Trang Campus of Prince of Songkla University. The Phuket Campus will make joint efforts with the Trang Campus to well run the Confucius Institute, and help more Thai youths learn Chinese and make contributions to Thailand-China friendship and cultural exchanges.

Dr. Worawut delivering a speech

By showing video clips, Chen Xiaoda took the audience to review the successive teachers’ efforts in Chinese teaching and the development process of the Trang Branch from scratch during the past 9 years. Seeing the efforts and outcomes in the past 9 years, the audience was deeply moved. Chen expressed that the Confucius Institute will certainly take this as an opportunity, remain true to the original aspiration, and double its efforts to make the seed of Chinese teaching take root, sprout and thrive more solidly in schools and communities of Trang, and even its surrounding regions.

After the inauguration ceremony, accompanied by Chen Xiaoda, Chuan and his delegation visited Chinese cultural experience activities organized by the Trang Branch, and experienced tea art, Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, paper-cutting, traditional Chinese desserts and other cultural experience activities one by one with interest. Dr. Nathavit learned to write “r. Nathavit in Chinese, and said the “you” includes his heartfelt love and gratitude for Chinese culture and all the hard-working Chinese language teachers. As an important activity of Open Week campus culture festival of the Prince of Songkla University, Trang Branch’s exhibition area of Chinese cultural experience activities attracted hundreds of participants.

Dr. Nathavit writing down “I love you”

A group photo

The Confucius Institute at Phuket has been engaging in teaching Chinese language in southern Thailand since its establishment in 2006. After years of development, it has formed a development pattern and service network featuring “one body with two wings and multiple supports”. One body refers to Prince of Songkla University, Trang Campus. Two wings are the two branches set up in Trang and Surat Thani. Multiple supports consist of three community book corners, 19 teaching sites and HSK Test centers. The Confucius Institute at Phuket has extensively and rapidly met the needs of universities, primary and middle schools, and communities in southern Thailand, and thus was awarded the title of “Outstanding Overseas Chinese Test Center” in 2009 and honored twice as “Advanced Confucius Institute” respectively in 2010 and 2016.

Story by Li Han