ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former Ambassador to Germany and a well-known Sinophile, Syed Hasan Javed, Director, Chinese Studies Centre at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), has become the first Pakistani scholar to be awarded the 15th China’s National Special Book Award Prize.
The prestigious Prize will inspire and motivate other scholars in Pakistan to write on China, translate Chinese books, and promote cultural and literary exchanges with China in the future.
While talking to media about his recent meritorious achievement, the Ambassador thanked the Press and Publicity Administration of China and stated that the Special Book Award given to him is a recognition of his serious efforts to promote understanding of China globally and tell the “China story” and deepen and widen people-to-people exchanges between Pakistan and China.
Books are an effective medium of not only knowledge dissemination, but also projection of soft power, and building narratives. “Libraries and digital media platforms in China, developing states and Muslim countries are biased, fake and factually incorrect,” added the Ambassador.
Syed Hasan Javed highlighted that, “both Pakistan and China and other countries in the developing world, as well as the Islamic world, need to promote new partnerships, re-energies their knowledge hubs’ such as universities, think tanks, research and development (R&D) departments, to create their own knowledge systems rooted in history. The best way to do it is to write books, research papers etc. to ignite and sustain the oriental societies’ cultural, intellectual and technological revival and renaissance in the 21st Century.”
Regarding how to cultivate more talents familiar with Chinese and Pakistani literature, Amb Syed Hasan Javed stated that, “we need to increase teachers, scholars, and experts in the Cultural Exchange Programs from each side and launch it immediately to build the Culture Corridor of CPEC under Belt and Road Initiative. Without Culture Corridor, BRI can only achieve half of its objectives.”
S.M.Naveed, former President of Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industries, while speaking on bestowing of the award said that, “Ambassador Javed is an iconic figure and has played a major role in promoting people-to-people ties between the two iron brothers. – Agencies
