On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2020, a sudden outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia struck Wuhan, and it quickly spread across the whole country. As a responsible and large country, China has made a strong deployment of epidemic prevention and control. While striving to protect the lives and health of the Chinese people, it has also actively disclosed the epidemic situation information to the international community, shared the latest research and treatment results, and adopted powerful management measures of leaving and entering the country to prevent the spread of the epidemic. China's efforts have gained worldwide recognition including the World Health Organization (WHO).
Since the outbreak, China University of Petroleum-Beijing （CUP） has continued to receive consolation letters, emails and videos from member universities of Worldwide Energy University Network (WEUN), international cooperative universities, international organizations (3 continents, 8 countries, 13 universities and organizations) and international friends. They expressed their firm supports and good wishes to CUP and China and hoped that the epidemic would end soon.
On February 18, Professor Richard Williams, President of Heriot-Watt University, Executive Deputy Dean of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Academician of the Academy of Engineering, sent a letter of consolation. “During such difficult times, our thoughts and support are with our Chinese colleagues at CUP. We wish a prompt return to normal operation followed by success and prosperity.” Richard personally wrote down the four Chinese characters "中国" and "加油", and showed best wishes to China for fighting against the epidemic.
On February 14, Dr. Huang Cen, Deputy Provost and Associate Vice President of the University of Alberta in Canada sent a letter of consolation. She stated that “we appreciated the enormous effort that is being made by the government of China to respond to this outbreak" and expressed her "solidarity and support" to CUP faculties and students. “The University of Alberta is committed to working with you to overcome this challenge and continuing our successful partnership in the future”.
On February 12, Professor David Eastwood, Vice President of the University of Birmingham (UoB), sent a condolence saying that CUP is an important partner of the UoB. “Our thoughts are with our students, friends, colleagues and partners in China at this challenging time. We share your concerns and are aware of the impact that the current situation in China must be having". The UoB is doing its best to help teachers and students in China and in the UK to protect their lives and health. He hopes China can overcome the epidemic as soon as possible.
On January 28, Sergey Brilev, Chairman of the Global Energy Association (GEA), sent a letter of sympathy on behalf of GEA " to share sympathy for the coronavirus outbreak in China", " hope a fastest recovery to those who are ill ". He believed that the Chinese government's decisive action can effectively prevent and control the epidemic, and China can successfully overcome it in the end. He also stated that GEA continues to support CUP to host "Global Energy Prize Summit 2020".
On February 11, Professor Mustafa Babanre, the President of Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU), showed the sympathy and support via a video to Chinese friends for the epidemic as saying that "the Chinese people have a strong spirit and strength. A strong Chinese government will definitely overcome difficulties and will restore the people to normal life as soon as possible." At the same time, he said that ASOIU will do her best to protect the life and health of all Chinese students studying at the university. "I express my deep condolences to the Chinese friends who passed away in this outbreak, and hope that the infected patients will recover soon. The Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University and the Azerbaijan people will be with the Chinese people."
On February 20, Professor Paul Boyle, Executive Principal of Swansea University, sent a letter of condolences saying that "Our thoughts have been with all of our Chinese friends and partners during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The university has formulated corresponding policies and measures for faculties and students who have recently returned to China from self-isolation and those who have not returned to the UK due to the epidemic situation, and ensured that the health and personal dignity of all are protected. "We hope that this will continue for many years to come, despite the current uncertainty."
On February 17, Dr. Jeanie Hofer, Associate Vice President of the Missouri University of Science and Technology, expressed her condolences and support to all faculties and students and their family members of CUP. She said that “admire the efforts of the Chinese Student and Scholar Association (CSSA) at Missouri S&T who are fundraising to help those impacted in Hubei Province” and she looks forward to continuing to maintain a good cooperative relationship with CUP in the future. "
On February 13, A A. Alexander Rove, the permanent chairman of the Russian side of the Association of Russian and Sino Technical Universities (ARSTU) and the president of Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU), sent a letter of condolences to CUP and all other ARSTU member universities to express their deep condolences and support and hoped that all faculties and students would be safe and healthy. He commended the measures taken by the Chinese government and introduced the protection provided by BMSTU for Chinese students returning to China during the holidays. He quoted the Chinese proverb "Those who stand up to the ancient times must have perseverance" to express his conviction. He firmly believed that difficulties will only make us more united and more cooperative.
On February 20, the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom sent a letter of condolences to express support for faculties and students of CUP "We also understand that many Chinese students’ study plans affected by Covid-19, therefore we have put in place a series of measures relating to our admissions processes and deadlines to offset these difficulties."
In addition, the University of Rostock in Germany, Hanoi University of Mining and Geology in Vietnam, the University of British Columbia in Canada, and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and so on send their condolences via letters, emails, and videos to express their concerns about the faculties and students of CUP and their blessings and support to Chinese people.
（Edited by Fan Xiaoyuan）
