President Chen, professors, teaching assistants, students and staff of the
Institute of Military Engineering, Comrades:
At this moment of the beginning of a new term for you, I extend to you my
warmest and most enthusiastic congratulations.
I take this opportunity also to express our heartfelt thanks to the government of the Soviet Union and the Soviet experts who have so enthusiastically
aided us in planning and creating this institute.
The establishment of the Institute of Military Engineering of the Chinese
People’s Liberation Army has an extremely great significance for our country’s national defense enterprise; in order to build a modernized national defense [system], our army, air force, and navy must all possess fully mechanized
equipment and armaments, and none of this can be achieved without complex
specialized technology. What we direly need today is a large number of people
who are capable of managing and steering the direction of technological [advancement] and to see to it that our technology may improve and make progress uninterruptedly. The purpose for the creation of the Institute of Military
Engineering is precisely to resolve this urgent and yet glorious task.
Learning from the Soviet Union’s experts has been a fine tradition that we
have followed throughout the history of the construction of our armed forces.
No matter at what time or in whichever department of our work, we should
[continue to] do so. This is something that has all the greater significance for
this Institute of yours. You must learn from the Soviet Union’s advanced scientific and technological knowledge, learn from the Soviet Union’s rich experience in the construction of military science, and emulate the learning mentality and working attitude of our comrades, the Soviet Union’s experts, and their
highly developed spirit of patriotism and internationalism. In learning one
must be modest and earnest; one must not become self-satisfied and arrogant
as soon as one has learned a little bit.
There is something that you in this Institute, and everybody in the armed
forces, must fully understand and never, not even for a single moment, forget,

and that is: Maintain and develop the glorious tradition of the Chinese People’s
Liberation Army, and particularly the heroic spirit of dedicating oneself wholeheartedly to serve the people and of self-sacrifice!
I hope that you will unite, and be of one mind, building and running this
Institute well, respecting the experts, dedicating yourselves to diligent study,
and strive for the accomplishment of the glorious task that the People’s Military Commission has placed on your shoulders.