Peking University, Dec. 3, 2010: The New Oriental Education & Technology Group and Hanvon Technology Co. Ltd. jointly donated RMB1mn to Peking University as a student grant and 200 series of Hanvon E-books, each of which contained 2000 books, on Nov. 29.

The student grant is aimed at encouraging freshmen from low income families to finish their studies. Zhou Qifeng, President of PKU, Yu Minhong, Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of New Oriental Education & Technology Group, and Liu Yingjian, Board Chairman of Hanvon Technology Co. Ltd attended the donation ceremony.

The donation ceremony

On behalf of Peking University, President Zhou expressed his thanks for the generous support of PKU alumnus Yu Minhong and Mr. Liu Yingjian. He said that the two had both made considerable achievements in their respective careers. Meanwhile, they actively requited the society and supported education, which showed their strong sense of responsibility and would set a good example for PKU students. President Zhou pointed out that Peking University had always been devoting itself to training excellent students with a special emphasis on helping students from hard-up families to pursue their studies smoothly. The New Oriental-Hanvon Student Grant would certainly play a crucial role.

PKU President Zhou Qifeng at his speech

Mr. Liu delivered a speech, introducing the cause of cooperation with New Oriental and the history of Hanvon Technology Co. Ltd. Established in 1998, the company had successfully exploited many key technologies innovatively in the fields of on-line hand-wring recognition, optical character recognition, digital touchpad. These technologies solved the problem of inputting Chinese characters, and thus not only facilitated the progress of information civilization of China and the world, but also made Hanvon a model for national hi-tech industry.

Hanvon's Board Chairman Liu Yingjian at his speech

Yu Minhong, who graduated from PKU English Department in 1985, was considered by PKU students as an outstanding figure who successfully started an undertaking by his own efforts. He was popular for his legendary experience and his optimism of "finding hope out of desperation". Yu Minhong grew up in a low income family, in his speech he talked about his course of struggle which was full of frustration, and he told students never to give in to difficulties. His humorous and pleasant talk won loud applause and brought immense warmth and strength to the students at present.

New Oriental's CEO Yu Minhong at his speech

The cooperation between New Oriental Education & Technology Group and Hanvon Technology Co. Ltd, which expanded their business relationship to charity, was a good try. As a PKU alumnus, Yu Minhong is paying constant attention to the development of his alma mater, and has donated 3 million RMB from 2008 to 2009. The donation he offered this time was his rewards for his endorsement for Hanvon E-book. This pattern of cooperation in charity provided a new way for enterprises to undertake their social responsibility.

New Oriental-Hanvon Student Grant set up

Translated by: Cao Yixing
Edited by: Chen Miaojuan
Source: PKU News (Chinese)