Date: Aug. 24, 2022

Author: Sun Mu, JNU student reporter

Translator: LUO Shaotong, LI Fenfen

On JNU's Shipai campus, a game booth celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China attracted many teachers and students. They worked on jigsaw puzzles reproducing Hong Kong's classic architecture, answered questions to gain an in-depth understanding of Hong Kong's historical events and guess the names of old Cantonese songs recalling the glory days.

（Lao on the site）

Lao Shifang, the event's organizer and the founder of the Cheng Li Volunteer Service Team for students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, is a Hong Kong student in the 2018 School of International Studies. She has been honored as one of the first Top 10 Outstanding Hong Kong Students in the Greater Bay Area and the Star of JNU's 5A Excellence Leading Program. She said organizing such an event during her college years is not only a matter of pride, but also an honor.

(Lao being honored as the graduate with achievements and contributions)

(Lao being presented with the first Top 10 Outstanding Hong Kong Students Award)

Although Lao and her family moved to Hong Kong when she was 5, her ties with her hometown deepened as she grew older. Each year on Tomb-Sweeping Day, people scattered across the country return to Jiangmen to worship their ancestors and share stories and experiences at dinner, which raised her curiosity and yearning for the mainland.

Lao has traveled to many places, including Guangdong, Hainan, Henan and Beijing, hoping to see the great rivers and mountains of the motherland. She likes Beijing, the capital with its rich culture and history.  In 2019, on a trip organized by JNU's Student Affairs Office, she came to Beijing for the second time and visited exhibitions of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which she said impressed her most. 

(JNU students celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China)

It has been nearly nine years since Lao joined the Youth Voluntary Service Organization in Hong Kong in secondary school. She was a volunteer teacher in Qingyuan, Guangdong; sold flags to raise funds for the Hong Kong Drug Rehabilitation Center; supported children with AIDS in Henan Province; and taught elderly people living alone how to use electronic devices. Lao always impressed everyone around her through her enthusiasm and sincerity. Having discovered her leadership ability and interests through performing these services, she said: I hope that through my help, people can enhance their independence and overcome setbacks independently in the future. I hope to contribute to our society.

(Lao, center, with children for whom she is a volunteer teacher)

At the beginning of 2022, Lao participated in volunteer activities to fight the pandemic.

(JNU volunteers in Hong Kong)

(Lao distributing pandemic supplies)

In 2018, influenced by a friend who was studying at JNU and longing to meet more friends from the motherland and all over the world, Lao registered for the examination for JNU's School of International Studies.

With the support and encouragement of teachers, Lao established JNU's first volunteer team for overseas students from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. She served as the executive director of the JNU Volunteer Group in Hong Kong and the chairman of the Hong Kong Students' Association of Canton. She always adhered to the original mission of helping people and contributing to society.

(Lao's volunteer team)

(A shooting team finger dance for this year's 2022 Winter Olympics)

(Lao sharing the story of JNU in live streaming for recruitment)