The Fifth "Amity Cup" International Table Tennis Philanthropic Tournament drew 866 participants from 32 countries for global friendship in Nanjing, Jiangsu, on October 19 and 20.
As the co-chair of the competition, Word4Asia Consulting International from the U.S. is dedicated to fostering a greater understanding of China among the American public and has made significant efforts to promote friendship between the two nations.
At the opening ceremony of the first "Amity Cup" international ping pong competition, Dr. Gene Wood, president of the organization, reviewed the history of Ping Pong Diplomacy between China and the U.S. He highlighted that this tournament was a step forward based on the foundation of the original Ping Pong Diplomacy in 1971, further advancing people-to-people diplomacy and international exchanges.
T-shirts given to competitors stated, “Ping Pong Diplomacy Building Sino-American Friendships 50 Years Later.”
Recalling last year’s visit in Beijing with Ai Ping, the former vice premier of the Foreign Relations Department, asked, “what can we do to improve our American-Chinese relationships?” Dr. Wood stated that he now had a few suggestions, which he presented to the Jiangsu Foreign Affairs Department the day after the tournament.
He stressed that his experience has always been more upon building cultural bridges than national ones as the latter is more political, and added that when people understand and appreciate one another that will inevitably produce stronger national relationships.
Dr. Wood hopes their active participation in this event will help correct the misconception that religious people don’t care about society in general. By investing money and time to co-chair the first Amity Cup International Table Tennis Philanthropic Tournament, he hopes to demonstrate the Christian community has deep love and compassion for the Chinese community.
“We love our families. We care about education, we are very concerned about the economy. But in this particular case, we shared a mutual love for sports, and that also can be a way we build a bridge.” He said. “Any financial gain that comes from this will go towards the needy, whether it's schools or the disenfranchised. We trust the Amity Foundation to know where the genuine needs are and oversee that process.
Word4Asia hosted a competitive team from the United States, headed by two-time Olympian Lily Yip, who was born in China and has moved to the U.S. The 61-year-old ping pong player just recently won a senior’s competition.
Scott Preiss, former U.S. national coach, and member of the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame, was the coach for the team. In an interview with Jiangsu You he said that ping pong was a good sport for the quality of life. Mentioning that young people can play with old people together at the table, he “truly believes that ping pong brings the world together. ”
His son Austin Preiss, Men’s Singles and Doubles Champion and former ITTF professional player of the year in the U.S. also played in the tournament.
“They are just wonderful people, love the game, and they are so excited to be here in the home of ping pong,” Dr. Wood said.
