In the afternoon of June 16th, a donation and appointment ceremony for visiting professor Mr. Zheng Shengtao, President of Fujian Solomon Investment Co. Ltd., from Minnan Normal University, was held in the auditorium of Longyan University.
Professor Zheng donated RMB ¥ 660,000 to set up the “Zheng Shengtao Scholarship for Self-reliant and Disabled Students”, who also gave each of the 10 needy students an envelope containing RMB ¥ 1,000.
Mr. Wang Yaohua, the Party Secretary of the university, Mr. Ling Qidan, President of the university, Mr. Chu Yongping, director of preparatory office of Ziqiang University from Solomon, Mr. Yang Haiming, an associate professor the university alumnus, attended the ceremony together with the heads of each departments, the deputy Party secretaries and political instructors from the colleges, and the student delegates. The donation ceremony was presided over by Ms. Chen Hongying, director of the student affairs department.
President Ling Qidan, on behalf of the university staff and students, expressed his heartfelt gratitude and lofty respects to Professor Zheng, and presented a plague with the words of “managing state affairs and raising the scholarship with selfless love” on it. Meanwhile, Professor Zheng was hired as a visiting professor, given a letter of appointment and worn the university badge.
Mr. Ling Qidan said, Professor Zheng had many such titles as professor of Minnan Normal University, chairman of Solomon Company, “the National Self-reliance Model”, all of which demonstrated his infinite and hard work. Mr. Ling hoped that all teachers and students learned from Mr.Zheng’s enterprising and innovative spirit, carried forward his dedication in promoting public welfare and made contribution to the transformation and development of our university.
After the ceremony, Professor Zheng gave a motivational report titled “the Dream of Self-reliance on the Wheelchair”, presided over by Mr.Zhu Min, aDeputy Secretary of the Party Committee.
Mr.Zheng had been dreaming of becoming a college teacher who had never attended an undergraduate university. Then, he was eager to establish a self-reliance university that could provide opportunities for more than 85 million disabled people in the country.
He first shared his dreams with all the attendants, telling how he realized his first dream and strived for the second one, and how he grew up from adisabled person to a university professor and an entrepreneur. Mr.Zheng summed up his success into three aspects,i.e. thanks giving is the foundation, perseverance is the key, and learning is the activator. He encouraged the students to closely link their personal dreams upwith the destiny of the country, to overcome all difficulties and setbacks with a thankful heart, and to contribute to the realization of “China Dream”, who also shared the “trinity”foreign language learning methods and his“putting three tracks into a parallel self-reliance” university-running ideas.
After the report, Mr.Zheng patiently answered more than 40 needy students’ questions.
Mr.Li Weibing, a political instructor of Grade 2016 from the Life Sciences College, was quite touched, “Professor Zheng’s great love for the society reminds me of my parents’ love towards me. Though my parents have physical defects, they love me deeply. As Mr.Zheng said, we should give back with thankfulness to those who treated us kindly.”
Mr.Zhang Yinghui, a student from Grade 2016 majoring in financial management, said, “This report is so inspiring to me. I will never shrink from difficulties. I hope to become a person like Professor Zheng andtodo my best for the society.”
In addition, the university leaders Mr. Wang Yaohua, Mr. Ling Qiqiu, Mr. Zhu Min met Professor Zheng before the ceremony, who also conducted academic exchanges with some teachers from the Foreign Languages College.
Mr.Zheng majored in English, graduated from the Foreign Languages Department, Fujian Normal University, is the first disabled student getting a master’s degree in Fujian Province. He has been rated as “the National Outstanding Teacher”, “the National Self-reliance Model”. Now,he is a professor of the Foreign Languages College, Minnan Normal University, and chairman of Fujian Solomon Investment Co., Ltd. and a vice chairman of Wuyishan Vocational College.
“We have Zhang Haidi in the north and Zheng Shengtao in the south, both of whom never give up fighting for their dreams though they are disabled”. Though once desperate, he never givesup the pursuit of his ideal, but stubbornly struggles for it. He is enthusiastic about public welfare, setting up foundations in Wuyishan Vocational College, Minnan Normal University, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University and Sanming University, covering all the disabled students’ tuition and rewards for some outstanding teachers and students.
