Connie Talk EP14 | Fan Meiyan: Charity adds impetus to education, cornerstone of country's development

As a spontaneously self-governed charitable entity, Clan-based charity serves as a powerful supplement to national philanthropy. Fan's Yih-Jong, established by Song Dynasty literati, politician, and military strategist Fan Zhongyan, is recorded as China's first non-religious private charitable organization, pioneering the concept of family philanthropy in China.

In this episode, we're glad to have Ms. Fan Meiyan, the 26th-generation descendant of the Fan Zhongyan family and the president of the Hong Kong Fan Zhongyan Foundation, to share her views about educational philanthropy.

As a patriotic philanthropist, Ms. Fan pointed out that the Fan family has established over sixty charitable projects nationwide and set up scholarships in nearly 100 schools. She emphasized that the key to persevering in educational philanthropy lies in the passion and the family's generational ethos of "be the first to beware of perils and be the last to partake of pleasures."

Regarding the foundation's operations in Hong Kong, Ms. Fan said that the foundation has established the Fan Zhongyan Foundation and the Fan Zhongyan Scholarship in more than ten schools across three districts in HK, hoping to motivate more HK students to learn about China's rich traditional culture, understand the country's history, and enhance their patriotic sentiments.

What is the secret behind the enduring legacy of the Fan Zhongyan family for over a millennium? How will educational philanthropy develop in HK? And what opportunities will arise for young people in both HK and the Mainland? Watch the video for more!