Chinese Education

The red flag of the People's Republic of China flow over University Hall yesterday, marking the visit of a Chinese government coalition examining Harvard's educational system.

The group visited five departments to study course requirements and teaching practices, part of an effort to better prepare their own students for American university study, according to Judith Neal of the University Marshal's office.

There are approximately 70 Chinese students at Harvard and 6000 in the United States, said Benxia Wu. director of the department of graduate affairs in the Chinese ministry of Education and one of the five visitors.

Saying that he came to Harvard to "get to know the American degree system," Wu noted that Chinese students adjust "fairly well to a drastically different system."

Dr. Thomas J. Bazzone, director of laboratories for the Biochemistry department, talkied with the Chinese group and said he noticed "an intense interest in the availability of the department to people of their country." confirming this, Wu said his coalition wants to continue the "mutual interaction" between his country and the U.S.

After yesterday's sessions with the east Asian, American Studies, Geology, Biochemistry, and English literature departments, We's group is headed for MIV Princeton, the University of California at Bereley and Gengeltown.