Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, jointly built by China and Indonesia, has been put into operation recently, and it has been announced to be officially ticketed in early October, marking a new era of high-speed rail for Indonesia, and also a landmark achievement in China’s BRI.
Jona Widhagdo Putri, a doctoral student at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, is one of the participants in the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail project.
Years ago, with no knowledge of Chinese, Jona Widhagdo Putri embarked on a journey to China after high school, taking with her a small dictionary to learn the language. Today, she not only has a strong command of Chinese but also serves as the exclusive Chinese interpreter for former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and current President Joko Widodo.
She holds the position of Special Advisor to the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment in Indonesia, serving as a lecturer and researcher at the International Relations School of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Indonesia.
Jona, a doctoral student of Fudan’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs, has dedicated herself to bridging China and Indonesia and contributing to the development of their bilateral relations.
“Fudan University, an internationally renowned university”
In 2016, Jona was admitted to Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs as a doctoral student. Looking back at the moment she made that decision, Jona remarked, “Perhaps it was fate.”
During an academic event, she and Fudan University’s Vice President Chen Zhimin, the then Dean of the School, were both invited to deliver speeches. Though she had already heard of Fudan’s reputation as a prestigious university, it was after this event that she decided to actually pursue a degree in international relations at Fudan, a top-ranking university in the field globally.
Jona felt deeply grateful to her mentor Professor Xin Qiang who was patient and kind to her from the very beginning. As the Associate Director of Center for American Studies, Fudan University, Xin’s schedule was tight. Jona reached out to him and expressed her research interests. With more in-depth discussions, she became Xin’s first international doctoral student.
Jona fondly remembers Fudan University as a diverse community. The international cafeteria made international students from different countries feel welcome and at ease. Additionally, the university’s excellent academic environment and comfortable accommodation left on her a lasting impression.
While at Fudan, Jona’s biggest challenge was juggling work and study. Due to intensified strategic cooperation between China and Indonesia, she shuttled between the two countries for various work commitments and academic activities.
In Professor Su Changhe’s classes, she was glad to learn a lot about China’s thoughts and perspective in various international events, and she believes such mutual understanding is essential to enhancing bilateral communication.
During her time at Fudan, she participated in academic activities across China related to China-Indonesia and China-ASEAN relations, delivering speeches and attending seminars to introduce those Chinese guests to Indonesia and explore further possibilities in bilateral relations
Flourishing on the stage of interpretation
Back in high school when Jona was weighing her future options, Jona’ parents told her “China is the future” and that “China will develop rapidly”. Thus, with no prior knowledge of Chinese, she arrived in China in 2000 and learned from scratch using a small dictionary. It was painstaking but she didn’t give up. As China-Indonesia ties strengthened in the following years, Jona’s bilingual proficiency became a valuable asset since there weren’t many people in China good at both Chinese and Indonesian.
As an interpreter, Jona follows a two-part preparation process. She would first collect and study relevant materials, learning the vocabulary in both languages to ensure smooth translation. Second, she would practice interpretating with relevant texts extensively. Despite the huge mental efforts the job requires, once she even managed to interpret simultaneously for up to two hours.
Bridging cross-country exchanges whole-heartedly
Beyond academics, Jona contributed to bilateral relations in her professional capacity. During the global COVID-19 pandemic, she organized a video conference between Indonesia’s pandemic prevention team and China’s medical colleges, enabling both sides to share knowledge and experience in combating the challenge.
Additionally, Jona acted as an interpreter during President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali on November 16, 2022. The meeting focused on the highly anticipated Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project, the first “Belt and Road Initiative” project in Indonesia and China’s first overseas high-speed railway project.
Jona emphasized that China and Indonesia’s cooperation is built on mutual trust and win-win principles. The cooperation ranges from infrastructure to language, education and research, all of which are crucial to fostering people-to-people exchanges.
There is a quote that she likes very much from Wei Xue, a Chinese classic discussing learning: “Are things in the world easy or hard? If you do them, then even hard things are easy; if you don't do them, then easy things become hard.”
She said this quote continues to inspire her to strive for excellence, reminding her that learning is an ongoing process, one that requires continuous effort and an unwavering commitment to contributing to the modernization and development of Indonesia.
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Presented by Fudan University Media Center
Source: Fudan Tribe
Writer: Zi Qin
Translator: Chen Shuyang
Editor: Wang Mengqi , Li Yijie
Designer: Wang Qianyi
