On January 19, 2024, Consul General Pan Qingjiang delivered a video speech at the Free State “Matric Well Done Function”. Deputy Consul General Zhou Yujiang attended the event, along with 500 participantsincluding Premier Mxolisi Dukwana, all MECs including Makalo Mohale，MEC for Education, mayors and MMCs for education of municipalities in the province.
In his video speech, Consul General Pan congratulated the matriculants of the Free State Province for their excellent performance and expressed the Consulate General's happiness in supporting the "Matric Well Done Function" for the second consecutive year. He said that under the guidance of the leaders of China and South Africa, China-South Africa relations have entered a "golden era", with people to people exchanges and educational cooperation being developed at a higher level. The Consulate General has maintained cooperation and partnership with the Free State government in many ways and especially in the area of education. Students from the Free State Province have actively participated and attained great awards in the essay writing competition and short video competition held by the Consulate General in the past two years with the theme and aim of promoting friendship and mutual understanding between young people of China and South Africa. The fruitful cooperation between theConsulate General and the Free State not only reflects the traditional friendship between the two countries and peoples, but also the common commitment to the younger generation through education. The Consulate General will continue to provide more platforms for the students of Free State to showcase their talents through “DrivingEducationCulture”Project. The Consulate General hoped that the students will continue to study hard, acquire more knowledge and skills so as to make their contributions to the society and the country, and become envoys of China-South Africa friendship.
Premier Dukwana thanked the Consulate General for its strong support for the event. He congratulated the matriculants of the Province for their outstanding performance, and encouraged the students to make persistent efforts to live up to the expectations of their families, the society, and the country and to grow up to play the role ofpillars of the nation.
On behalf of the Consulate General, Deputy Consul General Zhou Yujiang, together with Premier Dukwana and MEC Mohale, presented awards and prizes to the Top Ten outstanding matriculants.
