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Alumni lends support to quake relief

By Brendan John Worrell (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-06-10 16:24

On Saturday, June 7 in Beijing's Soho District, the Australia China Alumni Association (ACAA) held a special Aussie BBQ Dinner to raise funds for the people affected by the earthquakes that devastated southwestern China.

The association represents Alumni of Australian Universities, who are living in China, be they Australian or Chinese.

The Australian Newspaper's Beijing correspondent, Rowan Callick speaks about his observations regarding quake affected Sichuan." [chinadaily.com.cn/by Brendan John Worrell]

Opening the evening was award winning journalist, Rowan Callick, the Beijing correspondent for the Australian newspaper and the 2007 Walkley Award recipient for Coverage of the Asia Pacific Region.

The Walkley's are Australia's highest honor to the journalism profession and this evening Rowan spoke of his recent duties out in the quake ravaged areas.

He began reflecting that this weekend saw the commencement of the national college entrance exam, or gaokao, and that those most obviously affected by the quake were schools and their pupils.

Rowan mentioned a story of a young schoolboy who was buried in the rubble and whose mother successfully tried to find him, traveling all the way from Guizhou. This story of resilience – about a mother who refuses to give up and eventually locates her boy alive days after the quake - epitomized the response of all those involved.

He revealed that approximately 100,000 volunteers had arrived on the scene, nearly matching the numbers of PLA troops there. One group he spoke to were members of a Beijing 4WD club, who drove 2,000 kilometers at breakneck speed to assist with the relief work.

Elsewhere he noted how so much medicine and support came from donations and that the corporate response from organizations like China Mobile and the banking sector was commendable as it was compassionate.

To conclude his speech he asked whether the sympathetic community, which had evolved in response to the recent earthquake, would extend into the future, and if it could lead to greater events and activities.

"Is that real gold?" Guests delight at the presence of the Nobel Medallion, including UWA's Eva Chye, Dr Barry Marshall, Mrs and Mr Sigley. [chinadaily.com.cn/by Brendan John Worrell]

In attendance at the gathering was the 2005 Nobel Laureate for Physiology or Medicine, Dr Barry Marshall, the University of Western Australia's Vice Chancellor, Alan Robson and the Director of the first Confucius Institute to be opened in Australia, Dr Gary Sigley. They were in China promoting official exchanges and possible future research undertakings between China and Australia in high-level science.

Speaking to Dr Marshall he revealed how the day earlier he had made a speech to a group of young Chinese school students regarding the scientific process and how a testable hypothesis was the key to any legitimate research undertaking.

Previously Dr Marshall and his colleague discovered the bacteria that caused peptic ulcers and to verify his findings he actually made himself physically sick by swallowing a whole petri dish of bacteria to prove it. When asked what the winner of a Nobel Prize actually gets he dipped into his pocket and pulled out his Gold Medallion delighting onlookers.

To conclude the evening a raffle took place to raise funds with proceeds going towards the building of new temporary schools for the children of the Sichuan region.

The event was well attended with a healthy mix of both Chinese and Australians.

The group aims to promote Australian Education via the success of Alumni, and supporting Alumni in China through business, social networking and career development.

The Australian Ambassador to China, Dr Geoff Raby, serves as the association's Patron.