After more than an eight-month long suspension of in-school education due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Guangdong Union Theological Seminary opened again.
The seminary said that it held military training for freshmen from August 24 to 28 as it is a controversial tradition for universities to provide military education and training for freshmen. Based on the pandemic requirements, the provincial-level seminary implemented a fully enclosed management.
A military training parade was held on August 28. Rev. Xu Jieping, president of the seminary, and Rev. Cai Jianwei, dean of the seminary, observed the military training for new students in the 2020-2021 academic year in a uniform queue.
At 9 in the morning on September 1, with the majestic March of Volunteer (China’s national anthem), they raised the five-star red flag and held the opening ceremony of the 2020-2021 academic year as scheduled.
Based on 2 Timothy 2: 21, President Xu Jieping exhorted the students to cherish their time, do their best to equip, pursue the truth, knowledge and the filling of the Holy Spirit, cleanse themselves from the ignoble thing, prepare to do any good work, be more useful to the Master and accomplish the mission given by God.
Pastor Fan Hongen, chairman of Guangdong TSPM( Three-Self Patriotic Movement), gave a speech at the ceremony, encouraging students to be determined to serve, uphold the truth, and continue to do the regular prevention and control work during the pandemic.
At 9 o'clock in the morning on September 2, the seminary organized all teachers and students to have a nucleic acid test in the lobby on the first floor of the teaching building. They took 200 samples for throat swab nucleic acid test in this retest. The college had uniformly required students to take a nucleic acid test before they came back to school.
On September 3, they had a negative result in the nucleic acid test for all teachers and students.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
