by Dr. Shuiping Wang, One of the Founders of the School
各位领导，各位来宾，朋友们，同志们：
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
Fifty years, Mr. Martin Luther King had a very famous speech, “I Have a Dream”. Fifty years late, today, one minute ago, I heard another famous, historic speech by Mr. Guodong Li, “Touching the Dream”.
I do not know what the differences are between Mr. King’s dream and Mr. Li’s dream. But I do know, exactly, both of their dreams are deeply rooted in the great American dream. Today, this American dream is dramatically enhanced by the nature of this great nation. America is the true, and, maybe, the only one, real multicultural country in the world!
As Chinese American living in St. Louis, it is our holy duty to promote and enhance the multicultural environment of this great St. Louis city, by offering authentic Chinese culture. We have been holding this as a dream for a long time and through many generations, including the parents of Shen’s family. Today, after fifteen years’ hardworking of the parents, teachers and volunteers of the St. Louis Modern Chinese School, with the generous support of the Shen’s family, the Chinese Culture and Education Service, the local government, and many many companies, organizations, and hundreds of ordinary people, we are going to have a Chinese Culture Center, here, just in this building.
Today, we have many VIPs here. We have many important people, like all of you. You are called the IPs. We also have ordinary people like myself, just a P, for people. However, it does not matter whether you are the VIP, the IP or just a P; the Chinese Culture Center will welcome you all! You can come to learn Chinese, or to learn Chinese Kungfu. You may come for the celebration of the Chinese New Year, or for a Chinese cooking show. Or, you may just drop in to have a cup of Chinese tea! This Chinese Culture Center will welcome all of you!
Really, my dear friends, it does not matter who you are. It does not matter where you come from. It does not matter what is the color of your skin, or what is the color of your blood, I hope it is red, though. We welcome all of you.
This Chinese Culture Center will be your home!
It is for you!
It is for every one of us!
Thank you.
