SIS Students Join “GDFAO’s Translation Team for Pandemic Response”

      Since the beginning of 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the economic and social life of the Chinese and beyond. To successfully conduct the international communication of pandemic prevention and control, Foreign Affairs Office of People’s Government of Guangdong Province (GDFAO) promptly built “GDFAO’s Translation Team for Pandemic Response”, which continuously sent  out official multilingual information about pandemic prevention and control of Guangdong province. During the most stressful time, the translation workload multiplied. To assist GDFAO, Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) dispatched nine foreign language teachers and students, including Huang Jingyi and Zhang Wenwen, 2016 students from Department of Korean of School of International Studies (SIS), to join “GDFAO’s Translation Team for Pandemic Response”. They guaranteed to be online at any time from March 12th to May 19th, 2020 and fulfilled the translation tasks on time with both quantity and quality, providing support and assistance for the international communication of Guangdong’s pandemic prevention and control. Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of CPC Guangdong Committee sent a letter of thanks to SYSU on May 19th, 2020.

      Go where there is pandemic, fight it till it perishes. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, People’s Government of Guangdong Province has acted with a firm resolve to implement the arrangements of the Party Central Committee and people of the whole province have fought together against the virus. As the biggest economic province in South China, Guangdong had a high risk of imported cases due to its large economic volume and external and internal population flow, as well as a large number of migrant workers. Thus, timely translation and release of pandemic prevention and control information, convenient for foreigners to know China’s epidemic prevention and control measures in time as well as facilitating China’s control of imported cases, was one of the important tasks of GDFAO at that time.

      The translation team composed of SYSU teachers and students prepared in advance, participated in the whole process, completed the tasks in time and provided language support for GDFAO’s work against the pandemic. During this process, they gave full play to their active roles as foreign language professionals and received high recognition from GDFAO.

      SIS has always advocated that teachers and students should put learning into practice and use their knowledge to serve and repay society. We hope more SYSU students can match actions to words and make the best of what they have learned, fully realizing their value in social practice, making their contributions to society, and  demonstrating outstanding abilities as SYSU students.

      Huang Jingyi: I feel very honored and fulfilled to be able to join “GDFAO’s Translation Team for Pandemic Response” during the special period and make a contribution to the pandemic prevention and control. Through this voluntary translation experience, I witnessed the efforts and commitment of the front-line workers against COVID-19, accumulated much experience of Chinese-Korean translation and further realized the responsibility that a young Chinese should shoulder for society. At last, I hope we can overcome the pandemic and get back to the previous ordinary but precious life soon.

      Zhang Wenwen: I feel very honored and fortunate to be able to join “GDFAO’s Translation Team for Pandemic Response” and make my contribution. During this process, I saw the responsibility and commitment from the front-line workers, as well as their love for the nation. As a Chinese saying goes, “If the motherland is in trouble, you should be a vanguard to defend it.” As SYSU students, we should remember the University Motto and the sincere teachings of teachers, realize our value in practice and contribute to the social construction and development. I’m convinced that the fight against pandemic must be successful under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

(Letter of thanks from Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of CPC Guangdong Committee)

(Name list of people from SYSU joining “GDFAO’s Translation Team for Pandemic Response”)