An event named “学习宣传贯彻党的十九大精神——千名高校优秀辅导员’校园巡讲’和’网络巡礼’活动（上海）” (which literally translates to “Studying and Implementing the Spirit of the 19th National Congress of the CPC—Speech tour of Outstanding Party counselors from A Thousand Universities” ) took place on campus this Monday, December 4th. The event featured four CPC party counselors (辅导员) who delivered speeches on the role and responsibilities of Chinese youth in the context of the recent 19th National Congress of the CPC. On December 1st, Chinese national students at NYU Shanghai all received an email informing them about the speech. This event was initially proposed by China’s Ministry of Education, suggesting that university students should learn more about the spirit (精神) delivered in the CPC National Congress meeting. The proposal received an immediate response on university campuses in Beijing. In response to the call from Beijing, the Shanghai Ministry of Education organized similar series “that requires all university campuses in Shanghai to participate in”, described by Yu Hong, one of the counselor speakers from ECNU. Geng Shaoning, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Moral Education Committee who opened the event with a speech, told students the tour speech was planning to cover more than 30 provinces and province-level municipalities in China. The event in Shanghai covers all the 61 universities in Shanghai, including NYU Shanghai. She suggested that the younger generation should learn from the 19th National Congress of the CPC, and added that the idea of this event is to “inspire university students to understand the spirit of the congress and contribute their knowledge to the future steps China is taking.” Counselors from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Donghua University, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, and ECNU all spoke at NYU Shanghai. They expressed their pride in China’s development and the CPC, giving examples from their life experience and famous scholars such as Qian Xuesen, “father of Chinese spaceflight”. Wang Yushen, moral education counselor and secretary of the Party committee at Shanghai Jiaotong University, wanted students “to have the sense of responsibility and dedication to the country.”aimed to inspire university students to think beyond personal interest. “Some students might cover their ears as soon as they hear the word ‘party’ because they think they have nothing to do with political issues,” Wang added, “but this is actually a result of misunderstanding. We are trying to tackle this problem because young generation are the ones who play most important roles in the future.” Freshman Russell Li believes the 19th National Congress of CPC was an important event that brought the world’s attention to China and its rise. Li had hoped the speech would contain more information about the congress, instead of mainly focusing on the spirit. His voice echoed with two other freshmen, who both skipped their Calculus class for the event. A senior, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he believes the 19th National Congress of the CPC indicates important steps China is taking in the upcoming years. He is planning to work in China after graduation, and believes it is necessary for him to learn more about it. He considered two of the counselors’ speeches especially helpful, because they mentioned the implementation of new policies departing from Xi’s “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in The New Era”. NYU Shanghai Chancellor Yu Lizhong, at the end of the conference, emphasized the importance of the event. Yu commented that the 19th National Congress of the CPC marks a milestone in China’s development and that all Chinese people have reason to be proud. Yu shared what his life in China was like 30 years ago and compared it to living conditions in China today. He believes that China is taking big steps forward and it is important for NYU Shanghai students to learn about it. Yu suggested that because of NYU Shanghai’s uniqueness, students are exposed to various voices, but it is essential to listen to China’s own voice. “I hope it can inspire students into thinking,” Yu said, when asked what he believed the biggest takeaway for students is. This article was written by Simone Ye and Ben Weilun Zhang. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Simone Ye