【正文】 covered here in Beijing could save lives in America, that clean energy technologies from Silicon Valley in California could improve the environment here in China, that the architecture of an ancient temple in Xi’an could inspire the design of new buildings in Dallas or that’s when the connections you make as classmates or labmates can blossom into something ’s what happened when Abigail Coplin became an American Fulbright Scholar here at Peking and her colleagues published papers together in top science journals, and they built research partnerships that lasted long after they returned to their home Professor Niu Ke from Peking University was a Fulbright ScholarshipScholar in the year, and he reportedand this is a quote from himhe said, “The most memorable experiences were with my American friends.”These lasting bonds represent the true value of studying I am thrilled that more and more students are getting this you’ve heard, China is currently the fifth most popular destination for Americans studying abroad, and today, the highest number of exchange students in the from still, too many students never have this chance, and some that do are hesitant to take may feel like studying abroad is only for wealthy students or students from certain kinds of they may think to themselves, well, that sounds fun but how will it be useful in my life? And believe me, I understand where these young people are ing from because I felt the same way back when I was in , I came from a workingclass family, and it never occurred to me to study parents didn’t get a chance to attend college, so I was focused on getting into a university, earning my degree so that I could get a good job to support myself and help my I know for a lot of young people like me who are struggling to afford a regular semester of school, paying for plane tickets or living expenses halfway around the world just isn’t that’s not acceptable, because study abroad shouldn’t just be for students from certain hope is to build connections between people of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds, because it is that diversity that truly will change the face of our we believe that diversity makes our country vibrant and our study abroad programs should reflect the true spirit of America to the that’s why when my husband visited China back in 2009, he announced the 100,000 Strong initiative to increase the number and diversity of American students studying in this year, as we mark the 35th anniversary of the normalization of relationships between our two countries, the actually supports more American students in China than in any other country in the are sending high school, college and graduate students here to study ’re inviting teachers from China to teach Mandarin in American ’re providing free online advising for students in China who want to study in the the Fulbright program is still going strong with more than 3,000 the private sector is stepping up as example, Steve Schwarzman, who is the head of an American pany called Blackstone, is funding a new program at Tsinghua University modeled on the Rhodes today, students from all kinds of backgrounds are studying here in the example of Royale Nicholson, who’s from Cleveland, attends New York University’s program in , like me, Royale is a firstgeneration college her mother worked two fulltime jobs while her father worked nights to support their of her experience in Shanghai, Royale saidand this is her quoteshe said, “This city oozes persistence and inspires me to acplish all that I can.” And happy birthday, was her birthday yesterday.(Laughter.)And then there’s Philmon Haile from the University of Washington, whose family came to the refugees from Eritrea when he was a of his experience studying in China, he said, “Study abroad is a powerful vehicle for peopletopeople exchange as we move into a new era of citizen diplomacy.”“A new era of citizen diplomacy.” I could not have said it better myself, because that’s really what I’m talking am talking about ordinary citizens reaching out to the as I always tell young people back in America, you don’t need to get on a plane to be a citizen tell them that if you have an Internet connection in your home, school, or library, within seconds you can be transported anywhere in the world and meet people on every that’s why I’m posting a daily travel blog with videos and photos of my experiences here in China, because I want young people in America to be part of this that’s really the power of technology –how it can open up the entire world and expose us to ideas and innovations we never could have that’s why it’s so important for information and ideas to flow freely over the Internet and through the media, because that’s how we discover the ’s how we learn what’s really happening in our munities and our country and our that’s how we decide which values and ideas we think are best –by questioning and debating them vigorously, by listening to all sides of an argument, and by judging for believe me, I know how this can be a messy and frustrating husband and I are on the receiving end of plenty of questioning and criticism from our media and our fellow it’s not always easy, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything in the time and again, we have seen that countries are stronger and more prosperous when the voices of and opinions of all their citizens can be as my husband has said, we respect the uniqueness of other cultures and societies, but when it es to expressing yourself freely and worshipping as you choose and having open access to information, we believe those universal rightsthey are universal rights that are the birthright of every person on this believe that all people deserve the opportunity to fulfill their highest potential as I was able to do in the United as you learn about new cultures and form new friendships during your time here in China and in the United States, all of you are the living, breathing embodiment of