Germany President's Speech at Tonji Univ on Mar 23

choi

Federal President Joachim Gauck, Speech at Tongji University in China. Der Bundespräsident, at Shanghai, Mar 23, 2016 (English transcript).
http://www.bundespraesident.de/S ... D9974ABA04.2_cid293

Quote:

"But I would like to begin by acknowledging those who have embraced a German legacy. For it is no news to you that the roots of Tongji University are German, growing out of the German Medical School. It was a doctor, Erich Paulun, who founded the school and built it up together with Chinese partners. * * * I am impressed by * * * But also by the strong support Chinese and German enterprises provide to endowed chairs at the Sino-German School for Postgraduate Studies, which was jointly established by your University and the German Academic Exchange Service 18 years ago.

"The characters of your University are based on the charming saying 'Crossing a river together in one boat.' This motto now adorns your university emblem.

"the European Union is China's most important trading partner and its largest sales market. The volume of China's trade with Germany is almost as large as its trade with France, Britain and Italy put together.

"For more than four decades – as a child, as a young person, as an adult – I lived in the German Democratic Republic [East Germany] * * *

"the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the UN General Assembly adopted nearly seventy years ago. The Declaration was by no means a solely Western product. On the contrary, the committee which drafted it included intellectuals from Asia, Latin America and the Arab world; its deputy chairman was Chinese. The first article of the Declaration is this: 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.'

Note:
(a) There is no need to read the rest. News report about this speech says he denounces dictatorship. It is not completely true: some negative comments about East Germany, that is all.

(b) Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Drafting Committee - Members. United Nations, undated
http://research.un.org/en/undhr/draftingcommittee
("In February 1947, in accordance with a decision from the first session of the Commission on Human Rights (E/259), a group consisting of Eleanor Roosevelt [chairperson of the committee], Pen-Chun Chang [vice-chair] and Charles Malik [Rapporteur of the Commission], began drafting the International Bill of Human Rights")
(i) Peng-chun Chang  張彭春
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_Chun_Chang
(1892 – 1957; born in Tianjin, China, and died at his home in Nutley, New Jersey)
(ii) rapporteur (n)
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Rapporteur