On May 18, Nankai University held a grand celebration for the 40th anniversary of the reestablishment of its Department of Political Science and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of its Zhou Enlai School of Government. The event also featured the Forum on High-quality Development and National Governance Modernization.

At 8:30 AM, the event commenced with the solemn playing of the national anthem.

The event was graced with the presences of Yang Qingshan, Chancellor of Nankai University, Chen Yulu, President of Nankai University, Zhou Bingyi, a national expert on Zhou Enlai studies, Liu Bin, a relative of Comrade Mao Zedong, Zhang Shuhua, Executive Vice President of the Chinese Association of Political Science, Wang Puqu, Peking University Boya Chair Professor, Xu Yong, Senior Professor at Central China Normal University, Ding Huang, Professor at Wuhan University, Yan Jinming, Dean of the School of Public Administration and Policy at Renmin University of China, Jane Duckett, Visiting Professor at Nankai University, Zhang Jinsheng, Director of the Social Work Department Tianjin Municipal City, Wang Liwen, representative from the Tianjin Federation of Social Science, Qu Kai, Chancellor of Tianjin Normal University, Zhang Lishun, Chancellor of Tianjin University of Sport, Liang Qi, Vice Chancellor of Nankai University, and Zhu Guanglei, former Vice President of Nankai University and the founding Dean of the Zhou Enlai School of Government.

The event was also attended by a total of more than 600 figures such as leaders from organizations including the Chinese Association of Political Science, the Chinese Public Administration Society, the Tianjin Federation of Social Science, and the Tianjin Society for Public Administration, members of the Academic Degree Committee under the State Council and the National MPA Education Steering Committee, as well as experts and scholars from over 70 institutions, heads of   schools and colleges within Nankai University, alumni representatives, and faculty and student representatives. The event was moderated by Wang Hui, Chair of the Zhou Enlai School of Government.

Chen Yulu, on behalf of Nankai University, extended a warm welcome and expressed heartfelt gratitude to all the distinguished guests. He highlighted that the Zhou Enlai School of Government, founded in 2004, stands as the sole professional school in China named in honor of a statesman. Taking the distinguished alumnus Premier Zhou Enlai as a role model and learning to inherit his spirit have become one of the distinctive educational features of the School and even Nankai University.

President Chen expressed his hope that all distinguished guests, alumni, and members of society would continue to support the School, actively participate in providing advice and assistance, and join hands to make substantial contributions to the development of an independent knowledge system in China and to the progress of the nation’s great rejuvenation.

At the event, Zhu Guanglei reviewed the history and development of the School.

In 1919, at the founding stage of Nankai University, political science courses were offered. In 1923, the Department of Political Science was established, making it one of the earliest institutions in China to develop political science as a discipline. In 1979, with the leadership of Wang Ganyu, Zheng Jianmin, Zhang Lingzhi, Niu Xingxi, and Che Mingzhou, the reestablishment of Department of Political Science was initiated. In 1984, Zheng Jianmin, a teacher from the Department of Marxism-Leninism, was appointed as the head of the Department of Political Science and Zhang Lingzhi as the chair, specifically in charge of the reestablishment work. At the turn of the 21st century, in the context of a vibrant and competitive era in the social sciences, Nankai’s political science and public administration disciplines entered a period of rapid development. In 1998, the School of Law and Political Science was established as a substantive entity. In 2004, the Zhou Enlai School of Government was established. Since then, the discipline of political science has developed rapidly, producing a group of young and middle-aged scholars who have had a certain influence both domestically and internationally, and have earned high praise within the academic community. In 2006, the School was granted the first-level discipline of political science and the doctoral degree program in public administration, and the political science program was approved to establish a post-doctoral research station. Subsequently, the  political theory sub-discipline became a national key discipline. In the fifth round of discipline evaluation, the School witnessed further progress in its political science program, with the first-level discipline of public administration entering the top tier nationwide, and in 2020, the professional degree program in public administration was rated as Grade A. Additionally, a number of research centers have also achieved excellent results in building think tanks.

Wu Xiaolin, Dean of the Zhou Enlai School of Government, gave a detailed report on the school’s situation, including faculty and students, discipline development, research strength, cultivation of students, alumni resources, international exchanges, and future development.

Speech by Yang Na (as a faculty representative), Director of Institute of Global Issues at Nankai University and Professor of International Relations at the Zhou Enlai School of Government.

Speech by Quan Xin (as a student representative), an undergraduate enrolled in 2020 at the Zhou Enlai School of Government.

Speech by Qu Kai (as an alumni representative), Chancellor of Tianjin Normal University and an alumnus enrolled in 1991 political science major.

The inauguration ceremony for the Nankai Alumni General Association Zhou Enlai School of Government Branch was held at the event. Chancellor Yang Qingshan and Nankai Alumni Association Zhou Enlai School of Government Branch President Wan Li, and other alumnus representatives unveiled the plaque. Yang Qingshan presented appointment letters to the branch president and all co-presidents.

Wan Li was appointed as the first president of the Nankai Alumni Association Zhou Enlai School of Government Branch.

The Zhou Enlai School of Government has attracted significant attention and strong support from Nankai alumni and people from all sectors of society. Yang Qingshan, on behalf of Nankai University, accepted donations and presented plaques to the donors.

On behalf of the donors, Yang Guopeng, Co-President and Secretary-General of the Nankai Alumni General Association Zhou Enlai School of Government Branch, and General Manager of the Strategic Client Department of Tianjin Branch at Hua Xia Bank gave a speech.

On the same day, the Forum on High-Quality Development and National Governance Modernization was held concurrently.  Representatives, from home and abroad, engaged in in-depth discussions.

（Edited and translated by Nankai News Team.)