Farewell in Beijing

Dr. Rainer Gepperth, Vice General Manager and Head of the Institute for International Contact and Cooperation of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, bid farewell to Jürgen Wilke, head of the department China/Mongolia at the Institute for International Contact and Cooperation. Many representatives of German and Chinese institutions attended the celebration act.

Prof. Dr. Wu Qidi, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China , honored Mr. Wilke for 22 years engagement in education policy in China : “Over this period Mr. Wilke overcame language and cultural barriers through enthusiasm, honesty, profound knowledge and rich experiences in project work, thus earning the trust and respect of his Chinese colleagues. Jürgen Wilke was appointed “Foreign adviser of the Research Center for Education Development” of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China by Prof. Dr. Wu Qidi.

This was the first time that the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China conferred this title.

In his speech Dr. Rainer Gepperth praised the achievements of Jürgen Wilke. As head of the department China/Mongolia he strongly influenced the education policy related activities of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in the People's Republic of China since 1984. Under his guidance a network of successful project centers were systematically built up that combined to become a Regional Project.

The President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Chen Haosu, conferred on Jürgen Wilke the title “Friendship Ambassador”. Until present, only 57 personalities from 24 countries were conferred this title. This prestigious title was conferred upon him due to his permanent engagement in Chinese-German relations. “Even in hard times, the Hanns Seidel Foundation and Mr. Wilke did not cancel the cooperation with China .” (Chen Haosu)

Mr. Wilke's old friend and cooperation partner over many years, Zhang Baoqing, former Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Chinese Foundation for Education and Development, emphasized that the reputation of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in China is closely interlinked with the person Jürgen Wilke. He contributed a lot to the trustful relationship that serves as a solid foundation for the successful cooperation between the Chinese and German partners.

In his speech Jürgen Wilke noted that all those awards and titles don't belong to him exclusively but are the result of the cooperation of many stakeholders who had and have the courage to initiate changes and who are driven by the will to give fresh impetus to the reform processes. He thanked the representatives of the various Chinese and German institutions for their trust and cooperation over the past two decades.