Alumni Association in China

About the Waseda University Alumni Association in China

In 1899, Waseda University accepted its first international students from China and has produced excellent students, including Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu, both contributing to China’s modern revolution. In recent years, more than 3,000 Chinese students have studied at Waseda University, and an increasing number of students choose to return to China after graduation. Given this situation, the “Waseda University Alumni Association in China” was established in Beijing on March 19, 2017, as an alumni association for Chinese students studying at Waseda University. The attendees of the commemoration ceremony for the establishment of the association included Kaoru Kamata, President of Waseda University; Akihide Fukuda, Executive Chairperson of the Waseda University Alumni Association; Cao Weizhou, Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of China’s National People’s Congress; and former Peking University Presidents Chen Jia’er and Xu Zhihong (Titles are as on the date of the ceremony).

Regional subcommittees of the Waseda University Alumni Association in China organize and implement various activities, such as social gatherings, forums, exchanges with other universities, and visits to companies, according to the number of their members and other characteristics specific to their own regions. After the Shenzhen subcommittee was officially approved in August 2022, the number of subcommittees reached 24, including those based in mainland China and abroad.
梁 里虹（Graduated in 2007 with a master’s degree, The Okuma School of Public Management）

We disseminate information from the Waseda University
Alumni Association in China’s WeChat official account.

The attractive points of China

Since China has vast land and a large population, there are natural differences in dialects, food, and people’s characteristics, which create diversity.

In terms of dialects, the Han Chinese group, which makes up more than 90 percent of the Chinese population, can be divided into eight large dialect groups of Northern Chinese (e.g., Beijing), Wu (e.g., Shanghai), Yue (e.g., Guangdong), Eastern Min (e.g., Fuzhou, Fujian Province), Southern Min (e.g., Amoy, Fujian Province), Xiang (e.g., Hunan Province), Hakka (e.g., eastern Guangdong Province), and Gan (e.g., Jiangxi Province). At general meetings and on other occasions, alumni communicate with each other in standard Chinese, while you can see how interesting respective dialects are at social gatherings of regional subcommittees.

When it comes to food in China, it is said “south-plain, north-salty, east-sour, and west-hot.” There are numerous local specialties, such as Peking duck, Shanghai soup dumplings, Guangdong yum cha, and Xian biang noodles. “Come visit me. XX is so delicious so I’ll treat you.” This is a regular phrase often used by alumni association members living far from each other.

People in different regions have different characteristics, although the extent differs among individuals. Many people may think that Northern people tend to be easy-going and powerful, whereas those in the south tend to be attentive and calm. Many of our alumni seem to be well organized regardless of where they are from, and it is unclear whether it has anything to do with their experience of studying in Japan.

Such diversity is certainly one of China’s attractions. We expect you to feel the attractiveness of China and the warmth of our Chinese alumni when you travel here for leisure, business, or work assignments.
梁 里虹（Graduated in 2007 with a master’s degree, The Okuma School of Public Management）

Message from the Chairperson

It is safe to say that the history of Waseda University’s establishment almost overlaps that of Chinese students studying in Japan. We wonder what Chinese people who studied in Japan and later played major roles in modern Chinese history would think of the establishment of the Waseda University Alumni Association in China.

It has been five years since the Waseda University Alumni Association in China was established in March 2017, during which we continue to respect our predecessors. Over the past three years, the number of meetings has decreased due to the coronavirus pandemic but instead, we have put a lot of effort into activities such as supporting Wuhan and helping Waseda University provide online classes for students.

Additionally, we have actively exchanged with the university president, university faculty members, and students participating in Waseda University’s study abroad programs, and visited memorial halls featuring famous Chinese alumni, such as Li Dazhao, and facilities built with support from Japan after the reform and opening-up policy were introduced. The regional subcommittees of the Waseda University Alumni Association in China often organize events jointly with Tomonkai in their respective regions. They have quite a few opportunities, such as golf gatherings and year-end parties, to sing Waseda’s anthem with their Japanese counterparts.

Currently, the Waseda University Alumni Association in China has 24 regional subcommittees and more than 4,000 members. Owing to information technology, we have active communication on a daily basis. From the perspective of both modern Chinese history and our own lives, we are proud of having studied at Waseda University.
孫 暁燕（Specially Recommended Alumni in1979）

Messages from the Members

Looking back at the four years I spent at Waseda University, I felt familiar with the university’s liberal school spirit, and the sense of humor of professors and teachers. While I was bewildered by the big difference from China’s teaching method of giving serious and one-way lectures to students, I diligently studied mainly Russian language and literature. I will treasure the human connections and warmth I felt at Waseda University throughout my life.
唐 亜明（Graduated in 1988, School of Literature Ⅱ）

The principle of the independence of scholarship, abundant research materials, free-spirited teaching styles of processors and teachers at the Faculty of Political Science and Economics, advice from senior students, and exchanges with international students from various parts of the world helped broaden my horizons greatly and gave me a fresh perspective of the world.
柳 明（Graduated in 1995 with a master’s degree, Graduate School of Economics）

In my work, I have daily contact with publishing, recording, and film companies around the world. Japanese companies are careful about making decisions and proceed with things at a relatively slow pace because they carefully check things, including issues that can be expected in advance. On the other hand, the U.S. and South Korean companies make swift decisions, but they have to adjust every time an unexpected issue arises while they are implementing their decisions. Naturally, different countries have different values and operational processes. During my days at Waseda University, I interviewed people from abroad as interns and played music in a band in my club activities. Through these activities, I met people with different careers and backgrounds and understood different cultures well, which later helped me a lot in my work.
高 揚帆（Graduated in 2012 with a master’s degree, Graduate School of Political Science）

Covered in Waseda Gakuho, April 2023 Issue

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