Sustainability: Learning for Empowerment
April 2012
Banner photo: Environmental education through art, Los Tuxtlas biosphere, Veracruz, Mexico. [© Cardiela Amézcua Luna]
Promoting Exchanges with China
Soka Gakkai delegates presenting books to students at the Beijing First Experimental Primary School [© Seikyo Shimbun]
Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the normalization of relations between China and Japan, a delegation of Soka Gakkai representatives, including Soka Gakkai Vice General Director Hiromasa Ikeda, visited China in mid-January. On January 11, the delegation traveled to Beijing where they met with various officials, including Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang and China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA) Honorary Adviser Tang Jiaxuan.
Vice Premier Li conveyed messages for SGI President Daisaku Ikeda on behalf of Chinese President Hu Jintao and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Mr. Li also highlighted that it has been 27 years since youth exchanges began between China and the Soka Gakkai and stressed that the foundation of Sino-Japanese relations lies in the bonds between citizens, especially youth, who are the hope for further strengthening of friendship between the two countries.
Mr. Tang spoke about Mr. Ikeda's 1968 proposal for the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations, commending his courageous efforts to help harmonize relations between the two countries after a bitter history of war despite being criticized and even subject to death threats by those who opposed his proposal.
A delegation from the Soka Gakkai's Education Department also visited China in December and held an exchange meeting with students of Nankai University's Zhou Enlai and Daisaku Ikeda Research Group. The delegates made a donation of books at the Beijing First Experimental Primary School, which has a long-standing relationship with Soka Elementary School.
On December 29, the CJFA and the Soka Gakkai Education Department sponsored the China-Japan Rally on Practical Application of Education, which was attended by educators and teachers from both countries.
