At the same time as we have been celebrating Rewi Alley’s 125th birthday here in Aotearoa New Zealand, our friends in China have been celebrating, too. In Shandan, they have also been celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Shandan Bailie School, founded in 1942 with the support of Rewi Alley and with Rewi’s friend George Hogg as its first headmaster.
I was invited to deliver two speeches on Friday 2nd December — one for Shandan Bailie Vocational College, and the other for Shandan County Government. The first speech covered some of the history of the school and its connection with our own Society. The second addressed Rewi’s internationalism, and his hopes for peace and prosperity for all of humanity. Both speeches were pre-recorded and are available below.
我不好意思！ In both these speeches, I mention that George Hogg and the boys in his care in Shaanxi had been threatened with recruitment into the Japanese army. They were of course threatened with recruitment into the Kuomintang army. Apologies for the error.
