On January 12th, “Salute to History: 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Journal of Public Management and the Symposium on the Review and Prospect of Public Administration in China" was held at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT). The activity gathered scholars of public management from renowned universities and institutions in China to review the discipline development in the past two decades and discuss the future direction of the discipline. Prof. Liu Ting, vice president of HIT, Prof. Chen Xiaohong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Hunan University Of Technology and Business, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chen Peng, Member of the Publicity Department of Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, Wu Gang, direcotr of the Third Division of Management Science of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC), Prof. Xue Lan, Senior Professor of Liberal Arts at Tsinghua University and Director of the Schwarzman College, and Prof. Mi Jianing, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Public Administration, delivered speeches in the Opening Ceremony successively.

The Lifetime Achievement Award and Special Contribution Award in Public Management Discipline were presented at the ceremony. 15 senior scholars in public management discipline including Prof. Bao Guoxian, Founding dean, Honorary dean of LUSM, and Director China Research Center for Government Performance Management, together with Prof. Xue Lan of Tsinghua University, Prof. Wang Puqi of Peking University, Prof. Zhu Liyan of Renmin Univeristy of China, Prof. Zhu Qianwei of Fudan University, and Prof. Chen Zhenming of Xiamen University etc., were awarded. Prof. Wang Xuejun of LUSM was invited as the guest of honor to present the award to Prof. Bao Guoxian and read the award speech.

“On this glorious occasion, we are honored to present you with the Special Contribution Award in the Public Management Discipline in recognition of your outstanding contributions to the fundamental theories of management, government performance management, governance theory and public policy. As a pioneer in the field of local government performance evaluation in China, your research and practical work has become an important milestone in the discipline of public management. As a scholar and mentor respected by students and peers, your contributions to management and public management education have laid a solid foundation for training a new generation of public management experts and leaders. Your major academic contributions in the field of government performance have not only enriched the theoretical system of public management, but also guided the direction of practice. Your contributions to the discipline of public management are reflected not only in your academic achievements, but also in your far-reaching impact on the field of public management education and practice." The award speech released by the Journal of Public Management for Prof. Bao Guoxian reads.

Paof. Bao Guoxian expressed in his acceptance speech that the honor belongs to LUSM and China Research Center for Government Performance Management, and all the experts, professors, colleagues and friends of the Government Performance Management Research Network. It is the twenty years joint efforts that creates the development of the discipline of government performance management, and a wealth of talent and academic prosperity.

During the Symposium, Prof. Bao made a presentation entitled "Government Performance Management as a Discipline" in the sub-forum of "Traceability and Echo: Tradition and Evolution of Chinese Public Management Disciplines".

The award is the recognition of Professor Bao Guoxian's academic achievements, and also of the achievements made by LUSM and China Research Center for Government Performance Management in the field of performance research for a long period of time, which has once again highlighted the academic influence and good academic reputation of the discipline of public management at LZU. In the future, LZU will continue to focus on the advantageous direction of government performance management in the discipline of public management, highlight the characteristics of public management in the University, promote the high-quality development of the discipline, motivate the cross-fertilization of disciplines within LUSM and LZU, and domestically and internationally with government performance management as the link on a wider and deeper scale.