On 27 November 2012, the National Astronomical Observatories (NAOC) held a doctoral dissertation defense meeting for its first international student, Ali Taani, from Jordan. The members of the defense committee were from Peking University, the Institute of High Energy Physics, and NAOC, and the chairman, Prof. Chen Li, was from Beijing Normal University. During the dissertation defense, the committee members spoke in both Mandarin and English when asking questions. Mr. Taani fluently answered and clearly illustrated the main points of his dissertation. His outstanding defense won the approval and positive comments from all of the committee members. Therefore the defense committee unanimously recommended Ali Taani to be awarded a doctoral degree.

In his acknowledgment of the defense, Mr. Taani said that he was grateful to the Chinese government and people for the past three years of financial support and generous assistance with his study in Beijing. He also expressed his appreciation to NAOC for its guidance, giving special thanks to his two supervisors, Prof. Zhao Yongheng and Prof. Zhang Chengmin. He emphasized that in the future he will convey the friendship of the Chinese people to the people of Jordan.

After the defense meeting, Mr. Moaz Otom, Cultural and Scientific Counselor of the Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Embassy staff, and the student association members of the Arab Federation in China, came to NAOC and congratulated Mr. Taani on the success of his doctoral dissertation defense. The guests attended an astronomical education exchange meeting held by NAOC Party Secretary Prof. Zhao Gang, where cordial speeches were exchanged. They all look forward to strengthening the cooperation between China and Jordan in the field of astronomy education.