Chinese American appointed overseas honorary director of SPAFFC

A Chinese American, David Chong, was appointed as the overseas honorary director of the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, on Tuesday.

The appointment is very special for Chong, who has devoted himself to promoting communications between Chinese and American people in the past few decades.

"I am truly honored to receive the credit from the SPAFFC. Communication is extremely important between both nations and people, and the way we both communication is very critical," said Chong.

Over the years, Chong had tried various ways to promote communications between the people of the two nations.

Just before the appointment, Chong discussed with Jing Ying, vice-president of SPAFFC about the possibilities of building a friendship between schools in Shanghai and the US.

In the eyes of the 55-year-old Chong, communication is important even during the age of the Internet, because "there are still many American people who know very little about China".

In a bid to let young students see the real China by themselves, Chong organized for 100 students from his alma mater, Lincoln High School, to visit China in 2016.

The young students had a memorable journey in China. They learnt about the history of China at the Forbidden City in the Chinese capital Beijing, played table tennis, and performed a flash mob at Dujiang Dam of Sichuan province.

"Coming back from this trip, the 100 kids had influenced more than 100 families as they told their parents about their experience in China and shared with their teachers and friends about what China is truly like," Chong said.

There is one thing special that Chong wants to accomplish. "The state of Washington had always wanted to be loaned a pair of giant pandas…I want to make it come true some day," Chong said.