A group picture taken at the donation ceremony (screen capture from NY1 coverage)

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t 9 A.M., May 29th, 2012, the Ameson Culture and Education Exchange Foundation together with the China Zhigong Party donated 1,000 Chinese language books to the Flushing branch of the Queens Borough Library in a donation ceremony attended by Wang Qinmin, the National Deputy Secretary and Executive-Vice Chairman of the China Zhigong Party, Sean Zhang, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Ameson Foundation, and Diana Chapin, the Executive Director of the Queens Library Foundation (QLF). The event was covered by the NY1 TV station, the World Journal, Ming Pao Daily News and other major overseas-Chinese media outlets.

The donation ceremony was hosted by Fred Gitner, in charge of recent immigrant projects and international relations for the Queens Library. Ms. Chapin gave a speech on behalf of the Head Librarian Ge Yunfeng, formally accepting the donation of the Chinese books. The books cover a broad range of subjects, including literature, history, philosophy and classic works, as well as illustrated practical books documenting culinary and medicinal traditions. After accepting the books, Ms. Chapin thanked Ameson and the Zhigong Party with a letter and certificate of official recognition.

New York State Representative Toby Stavisky and New York City councilmember Gu Yaming also gave speeches at the ceremony. Ms. Stavisky praised the vibrance and richness that Flushing’s multi-cultural environment has brought to its residents. Libraries are not simply places to read and store books, it is also an important center of social activity for a community. Mr. Gu believes that books are a necessary element of humanity’s continuing development. This donation is especially important for people of Chinese descent living in America, as it can help them greater understand their Chinese heritage, integrate into American society, and better themselves. Councilman Gu also presented Ameson and the China Zhigong Party with special certificate of merit, thaning them for their support of the Queens Borough and the Flushing Community.

Representatives from the China Zhigong Party, the Ameson Foundation and the Queens Borough Library pose together with some of the donated booksThe Deputy Inspector for the Central Liaison Department of the China Zhigong Party, Chi Weidong and professor Sean Zhang gave short speeches detailing the history of Ameson’s collaboration with the Zhigong Party, including separate donations of Chinese language books in 2009 and 2010 to the Los Angeles Public Library  and Washington DC Public Library. The books were donated with the goal of promoting Chinese cultural understanding around the world, and also hoping to inspire readers to visit China to understand first-hand what they had read about this changing, hopeful land called China. After the end of the ceremony, the New York correspondent for Xinhua News Service interviewed the Deputy Director of Ameson’s Washington DC office, Zhu Xiaodi and Deputy Head Librarian of the Flushing branch Qiu Xinye.

The Flushing Library is located in an area with lots of Chinese immigrants and Americans of Chinese descent, with a turnover of over 10,000 books or music resources, and a daily visitation rate of over 5,000 people. This donation will be a windfall for the 20,000 readers of Chinese descent and people interested in Chinese culture who live in the area. In the face of looming budget cuts, Ms. Chapin stated that this donation “could not have come at a better time”.

 In total over 1,000 books were donated to the Queens Borough Library