May 28, 2010, the opening ceremony for the new Rothlin Primary School was held at the new school site, located in the Luguan Commune of the Nanpi County in Cangzhou City, Hebei province. Dr. Stephan Rothlin, the Honorary Chancellor of Rothlin Primary School and General Secretary for International Business Ethics Center; H. E. Martin Sajdik, Ambassador of Austria to China; Professor Liu Baocheng, Director of the Centre for International Business Ethics; Professor Ding Dou and Professor Luo Yanjie, Peking University professors; Ms. Huang Lei, Vice General Secretary for CIETLAHRA; Hua Feng Group Representatives; Mr. Liu Yuxi, Vice Mayor of Changzhou Municipal People's Government; and Mr. Zhang Jinjiang, County Magistrate of Nanpi Municipal People's Government attended the opening ceremony.
Predecessor of the Rothlin Primary School is the Daguo Primary School, built in 1965. Because of its remote location, Daguo Primary School has suffered from a scarcity of teaching resources, the aging of its school buildings,lack of reconstruction funds,and from backwards teaching methods. Since 2007, Dr. Rothlin, the General Secretary of the Center for International Business Ethics, and Professor Liu have donated money and resources to Daguo Primary School, and have actively communicated with the students and teachers. Word about Daguo Primary School spread out among Dr. Rothlin’s circle of friends, and support was immediately generated for Daguo Primary School. Huafeng Group at China Meteorological Bureau, Cangzhou Enji Bioproduct Co., Ltd, and Dr. Bruno S. Frey and his wife Dr. Margit Osterloh, together donated 120,000 RMB to the school. Thanks to local government support and those who donated, Da Guo Primary School has finished Phase I: Construction of a classroom building; and is currently undergoing Phase II: building a laboratory building. In January 2010, the school was officially named Rothlin Primary School. The new school will be taking up 30 Mu and the construction-area will reach up to 2000 square meters. The new school will accommodate more than 500 students from the three surrounding villages, and it is expected to service up to 5000 people.
In the ceremony, Honorary Chancellor Dr. Rothlin, Ambassador H.E Sajdik, Nanpi County Secretary Mr. Bei Jun and Professor Liu Baocheng together cut the ribbon for the completed new school. H.E. Martin Sajdik gave a warm speech on the official Rothlin Primary School completion, and expressed hist most sincere congratulations.
Honorary Chancellor Dr. Rothlin and Mr. Feng Weihong, the Vice County Magistrate of Nanpi Municipal People's Government, attended the official school inauguration and announced the formal establishment of the school council. Later, Honorary Chancellor Dr. Rothlin gave an inspiring speech; he expressed CIBE, since its inception, has been committed to China, especially the development of education in remote areas of China. Rothlin Primary School and its establishment represent a milestone for CIBE’s commonweal contribution history. In the future, CIBE promises to offer continuous support in building educational opportunities in China. Later, Honorary Chancellor Dr. Rothlin and Mr. Cui from Cangzhou Enji Bioproduct Co., Ltd held a donation ceremony; they donated 17,740 and 5,000 RMB respectively to the school to improve teaching conditions, water facilities and assisting needy students. Honorary Chancellor Dr. Rothlin brought holiday gifts to all the students and teachers.
After the opening ceremony, attending guests appreciated a painting and calligraphy exhibition put together by the students. In the afternoon, the guests left for Nanpi First Middle School. In Nanpi First Middle School, delegation members visited a student and alumni painting exhibition. Lastly, guests watched student basketball games and martial arts drills.
|