On the morning of January 23, 2021, the opening ceremony of Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) 2020 undergraduate military training was held at Green Pine Stadium. Qikun XUE, SUSTech President, Fengliang LI, University Council Vice Chairperson, Haijun YANG, Director of the Shenzhen National Defense Education Base, Changcheng CHEN, Head of the Military Training Regiment of the Huizhou National Defense Education Base, the training officers, and all the Class of 2024 undergraduates attended the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony began with the flag-raising tradition, where the students sang the national anthem in a neat formation and straight military posture.

On behalf of the University, President Qikun XUE paid tribute to the training officers and soldiers, and gratitude to all the teachers and students participating in the training. He said the class of 2024 kick-off the University’s new decade. He hopes all participants will be obedient during military training; to learn from soldiers’ hard-working, to show courage and dedication, embody the spirit of the motherland, and not afraid to challenge themselves.

Fengliang LI presented the flag to the military training group.

On behalf of all the training officers, Xiaoxue XU, a training instructor, promised to abide by the instructions and requirements set out by SUSTech. They would lead by example, show how a model soldier behaves, and help students through the military training to enhance their national defense awareness and how to face the various challenges that may occur in their future life.

Yaxuan LIU, an undergraduate student of Zhicheng College, spoke on behalf of all the students. She said that all new students should not be afraid of facing problems, to be resolute and tenacious throughout the military training. She noted it would make them stronger individuals going forward.

Military training instructors and retired military officers conducted basic demonstrations of military training actions which entertained everyone in attendance.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Zheng XUE, Director of the Student Affairs Office. Ling ZHANG, Head of the Office of Communications & Public Relations, Zhifeng CHEN, Head of the Office of Human Resources, the heads of various departments and deans of the University were also in attendance.

Due to the current pandemic, the University started classes a little later than the regular arrangement this semester. So, in order not to affect the teaching schedule, SUSTech held the military training during the winter vacation.

The military training would combine a series of educational activities on topics such as China’s national security, story sharing of Vietnam War veterans, tug-of-war competitions, and patriotic movie watching.