A “renewed acquaintance”
More than thirty years ago, as an intern, I was allowed to help create teaching kits for schools for VNC. VNC was the example of a well-run organization with its own travel agency and a nice membership base. Still a student myself, I developed a special interest in China. That country was still mostly a great unknown and VNC was filling a rapidly growing need for knowledge and contacts.
The Netherlands China Association has now been in existence for 45 years. Although this year is not a crowning glory year, it is still an impressive number of years. For 45 years, the Netherlands China Association has been committed to sharing knowledge and promoting connections between people back and forth. It has provided an impressive array of publications and delegations and meetings.
At the October 8 general membership meeting, I was elected as your new president. A president who applied for a vacancy with the VNC as an intern in 1990 and then studied, lived and worked in China for many years and for whom China remained a common thread in her life even later. All the more, therefore, I look forward to the opportunity to put my energy back into VNC now.
The circumstances are, of course, substantially different now than they were then. It was then a time full of optimism and expectations; now we live in a time of sobering, indeed sometimes outright disappointment. With the handling of the pandemic and the choices we are making regarding the war in Ukraine, we are becoming further apart. Literally, too.
We have to face that and be honest with each other about it. But at the same time, we will have to continue to seek connections. We all know examples of great friendships between people of different cultures. So do I. Without understanding, there are no friendships. It is precisely that understanding – explaining what is happening in China – that we promote with our magazine China Now. As far as I am concerned, we go the extra mile – with analysis, discussion and debate. Not as someone’s mouthpiece, but as an independent association that remains curious. Not only during Chinese holidays in The Hague, but also in other places in our country.
Finally, in mid-January we will organize a meeting to inform members about activities in the coming year. Hereby a call to actively participate in thinking about activities. I find it pleasant but also necessary that you, loyal members, feed the board with ideas and advice. You can reach me at: chairman@vnc-china.nl
Many thanks in advance.
Monique
