On the morning of the 14^th of February, the funerary ceremony for Mr SEN Xinyi, an old friend of RUC, acknowledged by the State Council as a ‘distinguished foreign specialist,’ a recipient of the Beijing City People’s Government ‘Great Wall Friendship Award,’ and former Japan specialist at RUC, was held at Babao mountain funerary parlour. He passed away on the 8^th of February due to illness and was 100 years old. Attending the ceremony were vice premier of the State Council LIU Yandong, former premier ZHU Rongji, secretary-general of the State Council YANG Jing, and many other leaders who arrived to pay their respects to Mr SEN, and to express their condolences and present flowers to his family. In attendance from RUC were University Council Chairwoman JIN Nuo, executive deputy Chairman ZHANG Jianming, and vice President YI Zhihong, who also came to pay their respects and to present a wreath of flowers. Also there to pay their respects were President LIU Wei, executive vice President WANG Liming, University Council deputy Chairman WU Fulai, and vice Presidents HONG Dayong, HE Yaomin, and WU Shaoqiu. Mr Sen was born in Fengtian, now part of Shenyang, on the 11^th of November 1911. He attended Harbin University between 1935 and 1941, and upon graduating from a research degree assumed a teaching position there. He stayed in the northeast between 1945 and 1957, and in 1957 moved to RUC where he was employed as a Japanese language specialist. He returned to Japan between 1970 and 1980, and then came back to RUC in 1980 to continue teaching Japanese language, and then settled in Beijing.