A group of high-ranking Chinese educators visited Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Council of the Twelve in his office in the Church Administration Building Nov. 10, and received a copy of a set of LDS books that will be placed in their institutions' libraries when they return to China.

The visitors - including government officials, university presidents and a university vice president - have responsibility for the education of some 80 million people among China's 55 minority groups. (A minority group has its own unique language and culture.)The educators came to the United States at the invitation of Dr. Dan W. Andersen, dean of BYU's College of Education, and Dr. Ray Hillam, director of the David M. Kennedy Center at BYU, to develop a cooperative research and training program in educational leadership.

BYU's College of Education and China's Nationalities Commission have a shared interest in meeting the challenges of minority education in both countries. "Providing effective training for our educational leaders is of great importance to us, and we feel BYU has much to offer in this area," said Xie Qi Huang, head of the delegation.

The books presented to the educators were assembled by Dr. Curtis Fawson, professor of instructional science in BYU's College of Education, with the help of Harold B. Lee Library administrators. Approximately 150 sets of the books will be placed in libraries throughout China. Each set comprises 12 books - including the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price - that explain Church doctrine and history.

Institutions designated to receive the books include university libraries, general research libraries and public libraries. Some universities in China have a book exchange with the BYU library.

Elder Oaks told his visitors, "We wish these books to be in the libraries so that when people in China wish to know about our Church they can obtain accurate information."

The visitors expressed appreciation for the books. One of the educators is president of a university that has a religious research institute.

While in Utah, the educators visited BYU and schools in southern Utah, particularly those where there are large groups of minority students. Dr. Jeff Eastmond of Salt Lake City arranged their tour of the public schools. Their hosts from BYU were Dr. F. Del Wasden, chairman of the Department of Educational Leadership; Dr. Fawson; and Bruce Hawkins, who will go to China soon with Dr. Eastmond to work with the Nationalities Commission and its educational institutions.

Dr. Fawson, who has been working on library modernization projects in China since 1984, said, "Chinese scholars need to have a resource, in their own libraries, to satisfy their interest and curiosity about the Church. Much of their interest has been stimulated by BYU, which is likely the best known American university in China."

Elder Oaks' guests were Xie Qi Huang, deputy director of the Bureau of Education and China's State Nationalities Affairs Commission; Yan Si Sheng, president of the Northwest Institute of Nationalities; Ren Shi Qi, president of the China's Central Institute of Nationalities; Ye Shan Gqi, vice president of Youjiang Medical College for National Minorities; Li Yuaning, professor of Guangxi University; and Gan You Ping, a professor of Chinese Academy for Managerial Science and deputy chairman of Guangxi Education Commission.