Honorary Doctoral Degree Speech by Jing Xinhai

Your Honour,
Eminent Chancellor,
President Barnard,
Distinguished guests,
Members of the graduating classes,
Their families and friends,
Ladies and Gentleman,

It is a great honour for me to be here today to receive an Honorary-Doctoral from the University of Regina. I would like to thank the University for the recognition. I shall cherish it always.

I feel this honour is not given just to me as a single person, but to my colleagues and friends I worked with as well—it is teamwork that has resulted in the shared accomplishments of so many people from both sides of the Pacific Ocean, from both China and Canada. Through their endeavours, we have achieved much; and we have made friends with people from different nationalities and different cultural backgrounds.

It is difficult to express adequately the profound gratitude I feel to all the people involved. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to those who have been my inspiration. First I owe this honour to Professor Pan Chengdong, the former President of Shandong University, second Mr. You Fanghu, the former President of the Shandong Academy of Science and third, Dr. Cam Blachford, the former Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at he University of Regina. Last, but not the least important, I owe it to Mr. Deng Xiaoping, the former leader of China. Without his open door policy introduced in China in the early 1980’s, it would not have been possible for me to go abroad, nor would it be possible for China to provide such a favourable environment for economic development. Hence, it would not be possible for me to stand on this platform to receive this honour.

In 1982 to1984, I was in my early thirty’s. Like most at that age, I was somewhat mature, fixed in many ways, but still receptive to new challenges and ideas. As the third Chinese Visiting Scholar who ever came to the University of Regina to study Computer Science,, I came here with a very clear objective. That was to study advanced technology from the developed countries. I was extremely fortunate to be able to come to this University, not only because it is one of the distinguished Universities of Canada, but also for what I learned from the University. I was deeply impressed by the professors with their knowledge, hardworking attitude and their dedication to teaching and research. I was equally impressed by the students. They were energetic, positive, and helpful. These impressions have had a long lasting impact on my character.

I was also strongly impressed by the city of Regina, which provides the nutrition for the University. When I first stepped on this remarkable land in the midst of the great Canadian plains, I was so attracted by her beauty. She was clean, green and growing with people of different nationalities coming from different parts of the world living and working together. Although the weather was cold, I could feel the warmth of the common human sensibility. Since then every time I come back to visit, I always have the feeling that I am returning to my second home.

During my two years of study, I achieved much more than the objective I set at the beginning. In addition to technology, the most important thing I learnt was something entirely different from what I had ever learnt previously --new concepts and new ways of thinking. It was during my stay in Regina that I recognized the significance and the importance of communication between East and West. And at that time I realized that the interaction of different cultures and philosophies could lead to something new and better for everyone.

Two years cannot be said to be a long period in one’s life. But for me, the two years in Regina was a turning point of my career. When I left Regina, I had a dream that I would be able to use what I had learnt about technology and the new way to do things to provide products and tools, which were widely accepted and needed in China, And someday may be accepted world wide.

The dream can come true if you really make an effort. Now for us, the company CVIC Software Engineering is there. The company has been growing speedily and steadily, and has become one of the top ten Software Companies in China. In the Chinese market we offer software packages for banking solutions, transportation systems, e-business and multimedia as well as electronic products. Recently we have started expanding business into international markets—Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States.

Running a company requires continuous learning. The rapid changes that are occurring in society in general and business in particular, require us to constantly update, modify and expand our products, and ways of doing business. We must learn from our competitors, our colleagues and our institutions that are devoted to education. Individuals working in this dynamic environment must also be open to new ideas and be willing to acquire new skills. A cycle of learning ends today with our graduation, but learning as a lifetime activity a new cycle begins tomorrow. It is a cyclical process that never ends and it is the key to achieving our goals and dreams.

We continue to learn and grow. We learn from market, from practice, and even from failures. Here, I like to emphasize that we continue to learn from my professors and friends who are from different parts of the world. I have always appreciated fully what we have gained through such co-operation. In the past many years, Dr. Larry Symes has visited our company regularly. He patiently listens to the new development of the company, and gives very valuable advice, which helped us a great deal. Some quotes from him are put in the Basic Rules we have established for the running of our company. And I always remember the days when Dr. Brien Maguire worked in a room in Jinan’s Qilu Hotel and solved the key problem of communication. The solution made it possible, for the first time in China in the late 80’s, for a bank customer to deposit money in one bank branch and then make a withdrawal from another.

Today we must recognize that we have entered what Marshall McLuhan coined ----The Global Village. Today’s modes of travel, transportation and communications facilitate the rapid movement and exchange of people, products and ideas. Hence your competitor of tomorrow may be operating on the other side of the world today. To prosper and grow local firms and individuals must be aware of what is happening on the world stage.

I truly believe that the exchanges between east and west over the last 20 years have benefited both sides. For our part we have built a close working relationship between the University of Regina and CVIC Software Engineering, between the city of Regina and the city of Jinan. We have been sending visiting scholars to the University of Regina, we have created a subsidiary company in Regina, we have been inviting experts from Regina to come to our company in China, we also accept co-operative students from Regina to work in our company. We will do that persistently.

Today I feel especially privileged to be invited on this platform. And I know the honorary degree is more a pressure put on me than an award to my work. Pressure can help us discover our potential. It helps us achieve things that we would never thought we were capable of. For this I thank my Alma Mater the U of R, and there are only three things I can do to credit her—first, make an effort; second, make more effort; third, make still more effort.

In a tribute to the friendship, I would like to quote the following verse from an ancient Chinese poet:

(If you have a friend who knows your heart, Distance can't keep you two apart.)

In closing, let me offer congratulations and best wishes to the graduates. May your new journey and new cycle of learning that you are about to begin, be enriching and fulfilling. May you enjoy your work and continue to enjoy the support of your family, friends and professional colleagues.