On Saturday 26 November 2011, the Chinese Community Council of Australia (Victoria Chapter) held its Annual General Meeting, hosted by one of its members 2Future Education in Box Hill.
Dr Stanley Chiang, President of the CCCAV, reported that 2010/11 was all about consolidation and contribution.
“CCCAV stepped up its engagement with Victoria’s Chinese community and the wider community through a wide range of activities ranging from media engagement, the hosting of workshops and forums, meeting government representatives and community day,” said Dr Stanley Chiang, President of the Chinese Community Council of Australia (Victoria Chapter)
CCCAV was honoured to welcome Dr Gao Jia from the University of Melbourne as the guest speaker. Dr Gao was greatly impressed with the aims and objectives of CCCAV and its work to being the peak body for Victoria’s Chinese community.
“It is important for the Chinese community in Victoria and Australia for that matter to unite and band together under one voice. The community needs to get our opinions out more often and focus our energies on gaining a better understanding on what the issues are”, said Dr Gao Jia.
Dr Gao presentation outlined the important topic of Australia’s growing bilateral relationship with China, which sparked up much debate and discussion amongst members.
“We have heard members speak out and sharing their concerns on the Gillard Government’s policy decision in the Australia/United States military and security alliance. Some of our members saw this as a containment policy against China. Members are keen to see a more balanced approach in Australia’s foreign policy, said Dr Chiang.
“Our work is not done, it is clear to us that the voice of Victoria’s growing Chinese community needs to be heard. Our priority for 2012 is to do just that”, concluded Dr Chiang.
澳华社区议会维州分部 (CCCAV) 于2011年11月26日 (周六) 在博士山 (Boxhill) 举行了2011年年度大会。大会由CCCAV成员之一的2Future未来教育中心(2Future Education)协办。约60位大会成员及社区代表参加了当天的会议。
CCCAV会长蒋天麟医生向与会成员汇报了2010至2011年以团结统一与奉献为主题的各项工作。
他说：“澳华社区议会维州分部通过传媒宣传、举办讲座、与各级政府官员会谈、举行社区日等活动，率先站起来广泛而紧密的联系维州华人社区。”
大会更荣幸地邀请到墨尔本大学高佳博士作为演讲嘉宾。高博士对CCCAV作为维州华人社区的高端组织、为华人做实事的宗旨和目标而深受感动。
高博士说：“在同一个声音下紧密的团结一致对维州华人、乃至整个澳洲的华人都是非常重要的。华人社区需要在关键问题上集中力量达成共识，并把华人的声音更频繁更广泛地传递出去”。
高博士的报告简述了澳洲与中国双边关系发展的重要问题，并在与会会员中产生了热烈反响。大家各抒己见、气氛活跃。
会长蒋天麟医生介绍：“在谈到吉拉德政府在军事和国家安全问题上与美国合作的决策时，我们的会员纷纷发表、并共同探讨了各自的观点。一些与会成员认为这是一项对中国的遏制政策。大家都很希望看到澳洲在外交政策上能采用更平衡的方式处理问题。”
蒋医生最后总结到：“我们的工作尚未完成，大家应该更清楚地看到维州的华人社区在日益发展壮大，华人的声音需要被更多人听到。这正是我们2012年工作的当务之急。”
Month: November 2011
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Our Work is Not Done, Victorian Chinese Voice Needs to be Heard 澳华社区工作任重道远，我们需让更多人听到维州华人的声音
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New Castle University Urged to Rethink Chinese Programs 纽卡索大学准备缩减中文课程
Dr Anthony Pun, National President of Chinese Community Council of Australia (CCCA) is urging Professor Caroline McMillen, the Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University to rethink and reassess its decision to reduce its Chinese Programs from a major to a minor within its Bachelor of Arts degree.
“As Australia prepares itself to have a greater China focus for a rapidly changing regional and global economy, we should be working towards equipping our graduates and people with a high level of Asian language literacy, strong cross-cultural competence and targeting and welcoming foreign direct investment”, said Dr Anthony Pun, National President of CCCA.
“Australia shares a very close relationship with China but we have only skimmed the surface in terms of economic and social engagement. Rather than reducing the Chinese major, Newcastle University should be investing in more resources to strengthen and widen its programs to reach new students.
China is on track to becoming the world’s largest economy and Australia is well placed to meet its changing needs. Resources such as iron ore, coal, wool and gas continue to underpin Australia’s exports to China but as China moves into its next growth phase, its economic engagement with the rest of the world will change.
Australia needs to broaden its links with China beyond the resources sector and start identifying new opportunities for growth as China moves towards domestic consumption and services. The continued growth of China will bring about new needs and challenges and Australia’s world class service sector is well positioned to provide that opportunity.
“We need to have qualified people with sufficient knowledge to build on these opportunities. CCCA believes that reducing the Chinese programs will have significant and long term impacts on the training of specialised experts. We need to have adequate programs to offer pathways to postgraduate study and help build a valuable research base relating to Chinese studies.
“CCCA strongly supports Newcastle University’s Student Association’s position and invites Professor McMillen to reconsider its decision and reassess the issue and come up with the right program to provide the best experience for students”, concluded Dr Pun.
澳华社区议会(CCCA) 全国主席潘瑞亮博士日前敦促纽卡索大学校长卡罗琳.马特斯教授重新考虑及评估其减少该大学本科中的中文课程之决定。
“当前，澳大利亚正聚焦中国以适应迅速变化中的区域和全球经济，我们应该致力于培养具有高水平亚洲语言能力的大学毕业生，促进跨文化交流并欢迎国外直接投资”。潘博士表示：”澳大利亚同中国的关系非常密切，但我们与中国的经济和社会互动还远远不够。纽卡索大学校应该加强在中文课程上的投资，扩大招生而不是背道而驰，削减压缩其中文项目。”
中国有望成为世界上最大的经济体而澳大利亚也在继续加强其铁矿石、 煤炭、 羊毛和天然气等资源出口到中国的力度，以应付中国不断转变的需求。更为重要的是当中国进入其增长新阶段时，将会改变其与世界其他地区的经济交往。
澳大利亚不仅需要扩大与中国在资源方面的联系，同时，也应该在中国经济转向国内消费和服务时寻求新的商机。中国的持续的增长将会带来新的需求并面临新的挑战，而澳大利亚具有世界先进水平的服务性行业则完全有能力提供这种机会。
“我们需要拥有具备足够知识的合格人才来打造这些机会。而足够的培训项目和研究基地，将为学习和研究中国铺平道路。CCCA 认为减少中文课程的做法则对培养这种专门人才造成重大且长期的（负面）影响。”潘博士最后表示：“CCCA 强烈支持纽卡索大学学生会的立场，并希望马特斯教授重新考虑并评估其决定。”