Oct 8, 2015 - Mr. Zhang Guobin, prominent diplomat from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, former Consul General of China in Strasbourg, France, visited Institute for Human Rights to give a lecture to first year master students and some Ph. D students.Prof. Zhang Wei, Associate Professor, Co-Director of Institute for Human Rights, attended the lecture as well.

The theme of the lecture, was the differences between China and the West in culture and etiquettes, together with feasible suggestions.

In general, the lecture, was divided into 6 aspects, ranging from the sense of time, gift choice, airport pick-up, being a guest, good communication with landlords, to the table manners. Throughout the lecture, he interpreted that opinions using vivid examples to show how faux pas put our daily life abroad in inconvenience.

Firstly, Mr. Zhang made a thorough introduction. To begin with, Mr.Zhang pointed out the significance of heavily culture-oriented etiquettes in international interactions.

The first aspect, as he put forward, referred to being time-conscious by making appropriate plan and sticking with it.

The second aspect was about gift choice, where he firmly held that the meaning of the gift counted more than the size and price. As for what to select,he considered less common Chinese-style gifts a great choice.

Airport pick-up was brought up as the third aspect. In this part,Mr. Zhang raised awareness of never blocking others behind and keeping elevatorsavailable for staff.

Following the airport pick-up was the fourth aspect, being a guest. According to Mr. Zhang, we should cherish the opportunity and observe the traditions. Chatting time could serve as a chance to show ourselves and China.

The fifth aspect was about how to communicate with landlords well. Mr. Zhang presented that, undesirable habits as well as lack of respect forothers contributed to failure. In addressing it, he encouraged students to pay attention to their behavior and foster communication.

The last aspect was mainly about table manners. Mr. Zhang offered several tips as reference, covering seating arrangement, chatting rules and soon.

All he said could be boiled down to one word, there was no one that could communicate with ease without basic etiquette rules, however knowledgeable he was.He took it as a kind of soft power that needs possessing. Though we still had a long way to go, perseverance will prevail.

Following the talk was Q&A time. Teachers and students posed meaningful questions, which were answered patiently by Mr. Zhang. All the attenders benefited by gaining deeper understanding, and were looking forward to learning from Mr. Zhang again.

(Written By Li Lifan)