On July 22, the 22nd event of the Global Talents Home series was successfully held at the “Beijing Home for International Friends”. Dedicated to commemorating Professor Isabel Crook, a distinguished long‑term international friend of China, the session featured a special interview with her second son Michael Crook, founder of the Western Academy of Beijing and recipient of the Chinese Government Friendship Award. Born in China in 1951, Michael Crook currently serves as Chairman of the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (ICCIC), as well as Ambassador for Global Talents Exchange of Beijing Global Talents Exchange Association.

The interview was hosted by Jason Smith, senior anchor from CGTN. During the session, Michael Crook recounted stories of well‑known veteran foreign experts in China, unfolding heart‑warming chapters of how the destinies of long‑term international friends became intertwined with that of China.

A Pioneer of English Education Well‑Known in Chinese Education Circles

Michael Crook noted that he was born into an educational family. His maternal grandfather was once Chair of the Education Department at West China Union University. His grandmother founded Chengdu’s first Montessori Kindergarten and Diwei Primary School in Chengdu, and served as a board member of Chengdu School for the Blind and Deaf‑Mute and the Canadian School in Chengdu.

In 1940, David Crook (1910‑2000) and Isabel Crook (1915‑2023), Michael’s parents, were invited by the Communist Party of China to Nanhai Shan Village in Huolu County, Hebei Province. They helped establish and taught at the Central Foreign Affairs School, the predecessor of today’s Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU)中华人民共....

Motivated by internationalist ideals, Isabel Crook devoted herself to China’s revolution and the construction of New China. From the Central Foreign Affairs School to Beijing Foreign Studies University, through the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the Reform and Opening‑Up era, she remained diligent and dedicated to her work. As a trailblazer of English‑language teaching in New China, she participated in compiling China’s first set of university English textbooks, cultivated large numbers of foreign‑language professionals, and made outstanding contributions to China’s education sector, international exchanges, and people‑to‑people friendship between China and Canada.

Growing up in such a household, Michael Crook was imbued from childhood with the belief that “education serves as a bridge”. Born in Beijing in 1951, he grew deeply attached to the land of China and chose to build his career here. In 1994, together with partners, he founded the Western Academy of Beijing, integrating Chinese culture deeply into international education practice, thus carrying forward the educational legacy spanning three generations of his family.

Stories of the Older Generation: Epitomes of Witnesses to a Special Era

David Crook, Michael’s father, was a London‑born member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. His grandfather met Dr. Norman Bethune during the Spanish Civil War. While recovering from injuries, he read Edgar Snow’s writings. “My grandfather said Red Star over China changed the course of his life,” Michael Crook recalled. Inspired by the Long March spirit of Chinese Communists, David travelled to China in 1938. In Chengdu he met and married like‑minded Isabel.

In 1947, bearing a reference letter from the Communist Party of Great Britain and an invitation from the Communist Party of China, the couple travelled as international observers to Shilidian Village in the Liberated Areas under the Taihang Mountains in Hebei Province to conduct field research on ongoing land‑reform programmes. Though they had planned to return to Britain after completing their research, they were earnestly persuaded to stay in China by Wang Bingnan, who was then in charge of the Party’s central foreign‑affairs work. They taught at the Central Foreign Affairs School, nurturing professional talent for New China’s diplomatic services.

International Collaboration of China’s Industrial Cooperatives (Gung‑Ho) Movement

Launched during China’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Gung‑Ho Movement was an international initiative founded by international friends and patriots including Soong Ching‑ling to support China’s war effort. Michael Crook’s parents threw themselves actively into this movement.

As incumbent Chairman of the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives, Michael highlighted the international dimensions of Gung‑Ho. In 1938, Helen Foster Snow and Edgar Snow drew on cooperative principles to establish the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives in Wuhan, organising refugees for self‑help production. Evans Carlson, a US military officer, brought the spirit of “Gung‑Ho” back to US forces; his Carlson’s Raiders adopted “Gung‑Ho” as their battle cry. In addition, Jewish Austrian doctor Richard Frey and physicians from the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War risked their lives to support China’s resistance against Japanese aggression.

Three Generations of the Crook Family Rooted in China

For her exceptional contributions to education in China, Isabel Crook became the first foreign recipient of the Friendship Medal from the field of education. Michael Crook reflected: “Three generations of the Crook family have chosen to build their lives in China, drawn by worthy causes and a culture we cherish.” He remarked: “My parents’ life stories are my most vivid textbook; the land of China flows in my veins.”

As history moves forward and values pass from one generation to the next, Michael Crook has taken up his parents’ mission. As Chairman of ICCIC, he continues to write new chapters of international friendship between China and the rest of the world.

Inviting descendants of international friends for commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of the Anti‑Fascist War

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti‑Fascist War. Entrusted by relevant authorities, Michael Crook has helped invite descendants of international friends to visit China and take part in or organise commemorative activities. “Just people of conscience stood side‑by‑side in wartime, and that spirit remains precious today,” he said. He will carry forward his family’s mission, acting as a “bridge” for Sino‑foreign cultural exchange and contributing to China’s international education undertakings.