Critics say the speech was similar to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s diplomatic narrative of ‘community with a shared future for mankind.’
The first Chinese woman selected to speak at a Harvard University graduation ceremony has sparked controversy both in China and the United States amid the Trump administration’s actions to curb Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence
Jiang Yurong, also known as Luanna Jiang, graduated with a master’s degree in public administration in international development.
In her speech on May 29, Jiang spoke of an aspiration to “end hunger and poverty for humankind,” and said “humanity rises and falls as one.”
The 25-year-old described how she and her 77 classmates from 34 countries “danced through each other’s traditions, and carried the weight of each other’s worlds,” and told the audience to “hold onto” people with different faiths, opinions, and backgrounds.
The speech, which was delivered during a months-long standoff between the Trump administration and Harvard over the university’s handling of alleged anti-Semitism on campus and its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, was occasionally interrupted by laughter and rounds of applause from the audience.
It also sparked online criticisms regarding hypocrisy and increased scrutiny of CCP influence in U.S. academia.The six-minute speech first drew the ire of CCP critics, who likened it to a Party mantra often used by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The mantra, officially translated as “building a community with a shared future for mankind,“ was described by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as ”the core tenet of ‘Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy.’”
Jiang’s speech was widely interpreted on social media as echoing Xi’s “community with a shared future for mankind;” and criticized by some Chinese dissidents overseas and users on Bilibili, the Chinese equivalent of YouTube.
The phrase “community with a shared future” was used in 2007 by former Chinese leader Hu Jintao to describe China and Taiwan. He expanded the term to include “all mankind” the following year, while his successor, Xi, integrated it into a core part of the CCP’s diplomatic narrative.
In Xi’s multiple speeches delivered at the United Nations, whose titles are variations of “building a community with a shared future for mankind,” the communist leader spoke against U.S. hegemony by touting multipolarity and decrying “imperialism, colonialism, and hegemonism.”
By Lily Zhou
