On 6 May 2020, at the video launch of the Compendium of Information on Combating Covid-19 (Arabic version) held at Peking University, a video of blessings recorded in Arabic by Peking University students was shown and stood out. The video was one of a series of blessing videos for Arab countries recorded by students and teachers of the Arabic Department. Recently, under the guidance of Arabic language teachers, Arabic language students from all over the world have collaborated remotely to record and edit a number of blessing videos, expressing the sincere blessing of PKU students and teachers in support of the Arab countries in their fight against the Covid-19.

Screenshot of the blessing video (for the video, please turn to the Chinese version)

Covid-19 is rampant around the world. The Chinese government, in the spirit of responsibility for the lives of its people, contain the outbreak first through comprehensive controls and quickly turned the situation around. However, the virus spread rapidly in other countries around the world, and Arab countries suffered greatly in the process.

Arab countries are important partners in China's Belt and Road Initiative construction process, and Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided medical supplies and other assistance to China in the hard time.

Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia offered medical and other assistance to China during the hard time. Egypt made a light show with a bright Five-Starred Red Flag on Cairo's Saladin Castle, the country's World Heritage landmark, and another one using Chinese red on two temples in the ancient Egyptian capital, Luxor. Burj Khalifa, the Sailboat Hotel and several other famous buildings in Dubai, UAE, were also lit up with bright Five-Starred Red Flag for China's heroic fight against Covid-19, especially Wuhan, with giant "Wuhan Come On" and "We are always together" inscriptions shining in the night sky of bustling Dubai. Confucius Institute and Chinese language students from Sudan and Tunisia cheered for China and Wuhan in Chinese also.

Saladin Castle in Cairo, Egypt lights up in "Chinese Red"

In traditional Arab culture, there is also a proverb that says "true love is seen in times of trouble". The outbreak of the Covid-19 has shown us the deep relationship between our Arab friends and China. After seeing the development of the epidemic at home and abroad, the students and teachers of the Arabic Department of Peking University, in the fine tradition of the Chinese people of repaying kindness, decided support their Arab friends by producing videos in Arabic to show their blessing for the Arab people in their fight against the Covid-19 and to make contributions to strengthening Sino-Arab friendship.

UAE landmark Burj Khalifa lit up for China in the fight against Covid-19

When Professor Lin Fengmin, Head of the Arabic Department in the School of Foreign Languages, proposed the idea, it was immediately endorsed by professor such as Fu Zhiming, Wu Bingbing and Lian Chaoqun and many students. Students from all years, including undergraduates and postgraduates, enthusiastically took on the task, and even first year students who had just studied Arabic for a few months also participated actively. In coordination with the professors, each year was responsible for producing a video for a different Arab country, such as Egypt, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Lebanon. Besides, a summary video for all Arab countries was produced by all students and teachers.

Selected video screenshots

The students worked hard in order to show the greatest goodwill to their Arab friends. From copywriting, video filming, staffing to post-editing, the students all worked together by themselves. Students from all over the world overcame different difficulties, taking the initiative to learn editing skills, carefully writing the video copy and arranging the plot of the video to produce a touching production.

Teachers from the Arabic Department provided firm support and guidance to the students. A number of teachers spent a lot of their spare time searching for historical materials and provided  a very rich source of video material, including important pictures and visuals. The teachers were very careful with the text of the students' videos, striving for precision and beauty in every expression, and offered many valuable suggestions for revision, which greatly helped the final presentation of the videos.

In the videos, the students expressed their sincere sympathy and support for the Arab people affected by the Covid-19, as well as their heartfelt gratitude for the material support and moral encouragement given to China by the Arab governments and people during the early stages of the epidemic. On the other hand, the students showed in the video, through some pictures, the exchanges and cooperation between Peking University and higher education institutions and research institutes in Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent years, which is a reflection of the close Sino-Arab relations.

King Abdulaziz Public Library General expresses gratitude to Peking University

The video was broadcast through multiple platforms both on and off campus and received an overwhelming response. Several Arab embassies in China have given positive responses. After watching the video, the Saudi Ambassador to China expressed his sincere gratitude to the students and teachers of the Arabic Department and said that he would visit students who made the video and the Arabic Department of Peking University after Covid-19 is over. The General Library of the King Abdulaziz Public Library also expressed its gratitude for the video. The Ambassador of Lebanon to China, Ms. Miriam Jebbour, said that the video was "wonderful and moving, it goes straight to the heart and thanks very much for the excellent work you and the students have done". The UAE Embassy in China posted a Facebook message to this effect, saying "The UAE Embassy in China would like to express its deep gratitude to the Arabic language students at Peking University for this delightful video which reflects the solidarity (spirit) in the face of the Covid-19  outbreak in the UAE". Diplomatic envoys from the Omani Embassy in China and friends back home in Oman who have seen the video have praised the Peking University students for their excellent speaking and found the Arabic language teaching at Peking University to be effective. In China, Xinhua News Agency, CGTN, China.com and People's Daily Online have all republished the series of videos produced by the Arabic language students and teachers.

Source:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Uf5zWYwAaWfGsEez0mTNgw