A delegation of the Australia China Economics, Trade and Cultural Association (ACETCA) paid a visit to the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone (PCPZ) in Fujian province on Dec 14 to replenish ties.

Members of the Australia China Economics, Trade and Cultural Association and officials of Pingtan pose for a group photo in Pingtan, Fujian province, Dec 14. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

Pingtan is the ancestral home of Josephine Lam, ACETCA’s honorary chairman. She was astounded by how tremendously her hometown had changed, and said she would contribute to international cooperation on education in Pingtan.

Lam reminisced that the first time she come to Pingtan was in 1996, and she arrived by ferry. In 2012 she came again attending a media activity.

Now, after two years, Pingtan has made big strides in many areas, especially in its infrastructure.

“I thought at one point that I was in Fuzhou (capital city of Fujian),” she joked.

Lam revealed she is trying to link Pingtan with an Australian city as a sister city. And she thinks Pingtan, after becoming an experimental area open to Taiwan, will develop into a much more famous island city, attracting overseas enterprises and investments.

On Dec 13, Lam organized another team composed of students from the University of Western Sydney to visit Pingtan. The students just concluded an academic exchange study in Xiamen Huaqiao University.

“I believe Pingtan is a place to realize one’s dreams. They got an opportunity to come here and could explore career possibilities,” she said.

Besides showing care for Pingtan’s economic development, Lam also paid special attention to the education of females.

“I plan to set up a platform for communication between women’s associations in Fujian and Australia. We can kick off some lessons for women with lower degrees of education, teaching them some basic knowledge and cultivate their independent personalities,” she said.

Brief Introduction to ACETCA

ACETCA is an association initiated by Chinese in Australia in accordance with the mission statement of the association. It is a government registered non-profit trade and cultural community entity. The main location of the association is in Harbour Plaza, while branches of the association reach Beijing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau.