China

Pakistan Institute of China Studies (PICS) on March 21, 2023, organized a day long “Interactive
Refresher Training Session” for the students and faculty of the University of Sargodha enrolled in the
Tang Chinese Language Program. The Interactive Session organized in four different groups focused on
trouble-shooting the technical problems encountered by the students while using the Tang Cloud Platform
through a combination of apps – Tang Class, Ding Talk and VooV.
Director PICS, Dr. Fazal ur Rahman moderated the session, while Mr. Yasser Shakoor, Regional Director
of Tang International Education Group China, and Mr. Rashid Mehmood, Manager of Academics and
Operations at Tang were the main interlocutors.
In his opening remarks, Director PICS emphasized the importance of learning the Chinese language as
China and Pakistan are close friends for a long time and now that China is nearing to become a developed
country, it is the best time for Pakistanis to benefit from this window of opportunity. China's policy
towards Pakistani students is very favorable and those who learn Chinese language here can easily get
scholarships from good universities in China. He further said that the Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Qasir
Abass, who himself holds a PhD from China has created a huge opportunity through Tang Chinese
International Education for the students of Sargodha University and the students should take full
advantage of this initiative. At present 22 Tang Chinese language classes comprising 25 students each are
operational at the UoS.
Mr. Yasser Shakoor, in his presentation said that learning Chinese language may aid students in finding
employment and qualifying for Chinese scholarships. He emphasized that learning Chinese would help
people from two different nations become more acquainted with one another and understand each other’s
cultures. He also ascertained feed-back from the students regarding their experience of using Tang Cloud
Platform.
Mr. Rashid Mehmood gave an insightful lecture to the students on how to learn Chinese characters in an
easy way by tracing the history of the characters. He explained in detail the evaluation system for this
course besides answering and resolving their issues regarding the usage of Tang Cloud Platform
Applications. In his closing remarks, Dr. Fazal encouraged students to learn the language with a strong
motivation as this will bring them opportunities and benefit in their future.