A Letter to Faculty, Students and Staff of GDUFS
Work Together to Overcome Difficulties
A Letter to Faculty, Students and Staff of GDUFS
Dear faculty, students and staff,
Happy new year！
In the winter holiday of 2020, we had a very restless Spring Festival. A sudden outbreak of an epidemic roiled the holiday’s supposed peace and joy and also affected us all. In order to win the battle of epidemic prevention and control, the whole country works together with every possible effort to fight a desperate battle against time and disease. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to this battle. General Secretary Xi Jinping convened a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the first day of the Chinese New Year to make detailed arrangements for epidemic prevention and control. Guangdong Province promptly launched the first-level public health emergency response. The Department of Education of Guangdong Province promptly and accurately established response mechanisms and proposed work requirements. The Party Committee of the University, by taking winning the epidemic prevention and control war as the most important political task at present, set up the Leading Group for the Prevention and Control of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia and formulated prevention and control work plans as soon as possible, so as to do its best to ensure the life safety and health of our faculty, students and staff.
Unite to fight against the epidemic and work together to overcome difficulties. In the face of such a stern and big test, no corner of China can be left alone and no Chinese are willing to look on with folded arms. For a time, the whole country are taking actions, so is Guangdong Province and the University! At this moment, although our teachers, students and alumni scatter in different parts of China and even the world, we must have a common wish and be making our own small but very precious efforts and contributions in different ways to fighting against the epidemic.
Here, we would like to express our most sincere condolences to teachers and students in Hubei Province and other key areas. Maybe you are far away from the University at this moment, but our hearts are always with you. Please be confident. We will wait for your healthy return under Baiyun Mountain and by Yuxin Lake. We would like to extend our warmest greetings to teachers and students who respond to the call, stay at home and improve themselves. We know it is not pleasant to be a homebody for a long time, but please hold on. When the epidemic recedes, what awaits you will be a fresh city and a beautiful campus! We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our alumni at home and abroad who have made donation, foreign students who have bought and transported supplies, and volunteers who have provided psychological services. You are the most beautiful “business card” of the University. Please take care. Take good care of yourself while devoting your own efforts! We would like to express our highest respect to party members and logistics, security and medical workers who are fighting in the front line of the prevention and control work of the University. For the safety and health of our faculty, students and staff, you left your family, gave up your Spring Festival holiday and went back to work early. Thank you. Please continue to hold on. We believe that happy smiles on faces of our teachers and students when they come back safely are the best returns for you!
Although novel coronavirus infected pneumonia comes menacingly, as long as we “have firm confidence, work together to overcome difficulties, conduct scientific prevention and control and take precise measures”, we will certainly be able to cross this hurdle and pass this barrier. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic and ensure the physical and mental health of our faculty, students and staff, the following call is hereby issued to our faculty, students and staff. We believe that during epidemic prevention and control, actively responding to the call is the best action that our faculty, students and staff can perform.
1. Before receiving the official university opening notice, stay at home and do not return to the campus in advance. At present, our epidemic prevention and control is still severe, and the prevention and control work is at a critical stage. According to the deployment of superior authorities, the Party Committee of the University is carefully arranging every epidemic prevention and control task and is closely monitoring and studying the development of the epidemic at the same time. It is making various plans for the beginning of the new semester. A formal notice will be issued before the start of the new semester and there will be sufficient time for students and teachers to return to school. Once the notice is issued, please protect yourself well, make off-peak travels and return to the campus safely according to the specific notice of the University.
At present, in order to effectively deal with the risk of personnel flow, the University adopts “closed campus management”, suspending on-site gatherings and exchange activities with the off-campus. All external vehicles and personnel are not allowed to enter the University without approval. If teachers or students(including those of Institute of Advanced Continuing Education, Open College, International College and Institute for International Education) not in Guangzhou (or Hubei Province or other key areas) need to return to school in advance due to special reasons, they should apply by themselves. Their applications will be submitted to related functional departments after investigation and approval of the Leading Group for the Prevention and Control of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia of their school or department and then submitted to the Leading Group for the Prevention and Control of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies by such functional departments after their investigation and approval. Only with the approval of the Leading Group for the Prevention and Control of Novel Coronavirus Infected Pneumonia of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies can such teachers and students return to the campus.
2. Actively cooperate with local governments and the University in epidemic prevention and control and make personal contributions to the fight against the epidemic. Epidemic prevention and control is a “people’s war”, which requires united strength and coordination. We hope that faculty, students and staff who still live in Hubei Province or other key areas, or have had physical contacts with people from Hubei Province or other key areas can actively cooperate with the management of local authorities, carry out medical screening, and conduct self-quarantine or home-based observation. We hope that you can always pay attention to your own health and that of your family members, adhere to healthy living habits, take good protection measures and thus leave no opportunity to the virus. At the same time, please fully understand and support the “daily report” system for epidemic prevention and control information, cooperate with the investigation into your holiday schedule, health status and other information by the University, and actively and faithfully report your relevant situation. Teachers or students who have been to Hubei Province or other key areas or have had physical contacts with people from Hubei Province or other key areas during the past 14 days should report to their school or department in time and provide accurate information. At the same time, please make good self-quarantine and home-based observation and take temperature every day. Please do not go to public places or visit friends or relatives.
3. Cherish the holiday, study actively, concentrate on scientific researches and work effectively. We should take these “quiet” days as an opportunity for deep thinking, examine ourselves, refuel and recharge ourselves and get ready to start again! We hope that teachers can actively improve their teaching, prepare for classes carefully and devote themselves to scientific researches. We hope they can make good use of “Internet+” for remote teaching, and firmly ensure “no suspension of learning even during suspension of classes”. We hope that students can make good use of online courses on platforms such as MOOC of Chinese universities, make independent learning and reading, prepare for exams actively, and strive for self-improvement. We hope that administrative personnel of our administrative departments, teaching and research institutions and teaching-assistant and directly affiliated institutions, student counselors and logistics support, security and medical personnel can stand fast on their posts and shoulder and fulfill their responsibilities. We hope that they can complete all tasks in accordance with the prevention and control deployment of superior authorities and work arrangements of the University.
He who gathers together the strength and wisdom of men will succeed. Party organizations at all levels and party members of the University should fulfill their original aspiration and mission in epidemic prevention and control, unify their thoughts and actions with the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, and always bear in mind that the interests of the people are above all else. Faculty, students and staff should carry forward the values of “excellence, integrity, inclusiveness and confidence” of the University in epidemic prevention and control, unite as one, and strive for the final victory of the fight against the epidemic at an early date!
“No winter is insurmountable and spring will finally come.” We sincerely hope that our faculty, students, staff, families and friends will be safe, healthy and happy!
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
February 4, 2020
