With 4,969 students from over 50 countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Huaqiao University (HQU) is one of the universities that recruit the largest number of overseas students in China. Having been actively involved in various volunteer services at school, they went on to do what’s in their power in the fight against COVID-19 back at home. 

Spreading Chinese Culture While Staying at Home

For Yang Zhiyan, the Pilipino girl, her favorite pastime after her online classes during the pandemic is to introduce to her family such traditional Chinese cultural activities as making lanterns, cutting paper and drawing Chinese paintings.

The volunteer team, Chinese Spark, which is made up of HQU overseas students, was set up since 2016 aiming at introducing Chinese culture to the world.  Out of her love of the Chinese culture, Yang Zhiyan became one of the volunteers and has devoted a lot of her holiday time to help local primary and secondary school students gain hands-on experience of traditional Chinese culture.

Fathoming Overseas Chinese's Love of Their Home Country

Shao Zhuojun, a sophomore majoring in Business Administration from the International School is an overseas Chinese from Kenya. During the winter holiday, she helped her father make a detailed record of donation from Kenyan Chinese.

Returning to Kenya at the end of January, 2020, she learned from her father that Kenyan Chinese wanted to donate some masks to the then COVID-19 stricken China and they needed a young man good at spoken English to help them contact the local mask manufacturers and purchase masks. Shao volunteered to undertake the task at once.

Shao not only engaged herself in the whole process of purchasing and donating masks, including selecting manufacturers, negotiating the purchase, remitting funds, managing inventory, mailing them to China and so on, but also fathom the selfless love of those overseas Chinese to their home country. They are closely related to their motherland wherever they go.

At the beginning of March, while COVID-19 eased in China, the disease is worsening around the world. Shao then assisted her father with the same relief efforts mentioned above, but in an opposite direction.

A Gentleman Puts Others before Himself

Back in Malaysia, Lian Xiangwei, a sophomore from College of Physical Education, has been busy with taking part in the relief activities organized by the local rescue team as well as watching the replay of his online courses.

Born in 1998, Lian is an overseas Chinese from Malaysia who grows up practicing martial arts. In senior high school, he became a member of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Malaysia called St. John Ambulance Brigade. When it was time to go to college, he chose HQU majoring in Physical Education, hoping to systematically learn more about martial arts in its hometown.

Returning home this winter break, Lian received a phone call from the organization, asking whether he was willing to participate in the special relief activity to combat COVID-19. Lian agreed. While committing himself to the rescue, he rushed not only regular patients, but suspected patients of COVID-19 to the hospital. Lian said that he hoped to do his bit in the fight of the disease before returning to school and promised to put on protective equipment in advance every time he was on duty and report his health conditions regularly to the school.