Beginning this year China would send 1,250 senior middle school
students to Japan annually. The same number of Japanese students
would visit China to gain a better understanding of each other's
countries. The Ministry of Education explained the project to
China Daily Wednesday.
About 1,100 of the total 1,250 students will stay in Japan for
10 days while others will undertake half-yearly or yearly study
programs, said Xue Yanqing, director of the Asian and African
Affairs division of the ministry's international co-operation and
exchanges department.
"We hope young people from both countries can gain a true
understanding of modern China and Japan so that misunderstandings
and prejudices brought about by historical matters can be cleared
up," he said.
The first group of 200 students to visit Japan will set off in
May and are being hosted by the Tokyo-based Japan-China Friendship
Center.
Students will visit three or possibly four cities in 10 days and
meet local residents in their homes to experience "a day in the
life" of an average Japanese person.
The ministry said the 200 students had been chosen from senior
high schools nationwide. Students from remote areas received
preferential treatment.
As well as the program the Japanese Embassy in Beijing also
announced Wednesday that they would provide free TV programs with a
value of 35.4 million yen (US$300,000) to China Education TV. The
majority of programs would be science and technology documentaries,
said the Embassy.
The project comes at a time when Sino-Japanese relations are
strained. Beijing has repeatedly pledged to actively promote
Sino-Japanese ties in diversified fields.
President Hu Jintao told seven visiting Japan-China
friendship organizations in late March that he hoped mutual
understanding and friendship between the two sides would improve
especially among the young.
Visiting Japanese Vice-Foreign Minister, Kaneda Katsutoshi, held
talks with Chinese Vice-Minister of Education, Wu Qidi,
Wednesday.
He said in the meeting that besides close economic ties between
the two countries, "we should also strengthen cooperation in
education and culture."
(China Daily April 13, 2006)