The president of Peking University announced the establishment of the Florence Fang Peking University Humanity Library Fund at Stanford University on Monday.

Florence Fang (left), and Jianhua Lin, President of Peking University, together sign agreement establishing the Florence Fang Peking University Humanities Library Fund in Palo Alto, California at Stanford University on Monday.

Peking University is ranked one of the top universities globally by US News and World Report. Peking University President, Jianhua Lin, said that the library fund would help the University advance social science studies in China. “Social science has become really important for China. We are not only in economic transition, but also social transition,” Lin said.

Lin said Peking University is honored by Fang’s support. “We choose carefully the people we work with,” Lin said. “We are deeply impressed by Mrs. Fang’s work in China and the U.S.”

From left to right: Jianhua Lin, Florence Fang, Linquan Luo, and Mark G. Duggan

Fang, the patron of the fund, is known for her philanthropy work developing social understanding between China and the US. She is the chairwoman of the Florence Fang Family Foundation and well known in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Born in China and living in the U.S., Fang said she is the daughter of her two “moms”. Recently, Fang donated funds to Peking University for a new building for the Chinese program. The program has led to tens of thousands of American students going to China and learning Chinese.

Chinese Consul General in San Francisco, Linquan Luo, said Fang’s work is an integral part of the China-U.S. relationship. Luo said that Fang’s work promoting cultural exchange and social science is important as part of the China-US High-level People-to-People Exchange, a program backed by China and the U.S. government to raise mutual understanding between the two countries. “Cultural mutual understanding is one of the pillars supporting the US-China relationship,” Luo said.

In the U.S., Fang became an honorary curator of the WWII Pacific War Memorial Hall in San Francisco in 2005. Fang said she will continue to help China and the US work together and gain mutual understanding, and social science is propelling that advancement. “Social science has become powerful and valuable in China,” Fang said.

Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the US House of Representatives and current House minority leader, congratulated Fang and Peking University on the fund. Pelosi said in her letter that she supports and appreciates the role Fang plays in promoting the China-US relationship.