[Pakistan] Shafiq Zohaib, Yangtze University

I am Ba who studies and lives at Yangtze University in Jingzhou, Hubei Province. I am an internet celebrity with more than 1 million followers online (a little proud of myself). Although I have made many Chinese language videos and received a lot of views, I did not expect that I suddenly broke out of the industry and became very popular locally because of a speech in June of this year.

It is no exaggeration to say that many people follow me on social media, comment and like me, and the mainstream media continue to interview me. When I walk on campus or in the streets of Jingzhou, people say hello to me “Little Ba, Little Ba” from afar. Many people come to challenge me with dialects and Mandarin. This is not a problem for me. I can speak them fluently; even my mother in Pakistan felt amazed that her Little Ba has become a real internet celebrity.

This starts with the 2023 graduation ceremony and degree awarding ceremony of Yangtze University. On that day, I wore a master’s uniform and spoke as a graduate student representative of the School of International Education. My dear leaders, teachers and classmates were sitting under the stage. They looked at me with smiles, and I burst into tears for a while. I remember the first time I came to school, the first time I said Nihao or hello, the first time I tried to taste the amazing Chinese food, the first time a patient gave me a thumbs-up during my internship in a Chinese hospital, and the first time I was Liked by a friendly stranger when posting a video in China... There are so many things I want to say thank you for, but the words turn into “I miss the time when I first came to China and the auntie in the school canteen enthusiastically asked me what I wanted to eat.” This sentence was so joyful, and there was a knowing laugh in the audience, because the canteen aunt said “Want to eat something” in the local dialect, and I can express it so freely and fluently now, which is enough to show that I am not only a lover of Chinese food, but also an amazing level 10 dialect speaker.

I then said loudly and affectionately, “China is a great and united country, and the Chinese nation is a respectable. China’s Belt and Road Initiative has contributed wisdom and strength to Pakistan and the development of the world, which makes me extremely moved. The admiration also prompts me to make greater efforts to tell Chinese stories well. In the past few years in college, I have also made a lot of short videos, telling many people the story of China-Pakistan friendship, and it has also been recognized by more and more people. There is a saying in The Analects of Confucius, ‘‘Those who are near are happy and those who are far away come.” Not only did I come to China, I also developed a Chinese heart. China is my second hometown which is amiable, respectable and lovely. In the future, I will continue to study and develop my career in China, and continue to use the opinions and expressions of a foreigner to make my own contributions to Chinese cultural exchanges and the international spread of Chinese culture. I want more people to understand the great China.” At the end, the audience burst into applause. This applause was for me and for the friendship between China and Pakistan.

In Pakistan, we often say that China-Pakistan friendship is higher than the Himalayas and sweeter than honey. The “as strong as iron” friendship between China and Pakistan has long been integrated into the genes of the two peoples. Now that the baton of China-Pakistan friendship has been passed on to the hands of our younger generations, I want to use more meaningful and fashionable words to sincerely convey it to the world.

Every day I spend in China is fruitful and meaningful. In the future, I will become a doctor who can save lives and heal the wounded. If you want to know how I cultivated a Chinese heart and a “benevolent heart of a doctor,” please follow my social media with the account name of “小巴铁兄弟”.