The 62nd Anniversary of the Founding of the P. R. China and the 22nd Anniversary of the Establishment of the Diplomatic Relations between the P. R. China and the FSM were Celebrated
2011-09-28 20:12

        A reception was hosted by the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Federated States of Micronesia, His Excellency ZHANG Weidong, at the China Star Restaurant in the evening of September 28, 2011, to celebrate the 62nd Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China and the 22nd Anniversary of the Establishment of the Diplomatic Relations between the P. R. China and the FSM.

        Attended were His Honorable Vice President Alik L. Alik and Mrs. Alik, Honorable Consultants and Acting Secretaries of the Departments of the National Government and their spouses, His Honorable Speaker Isaac V. Figir and Mrs. Figir, some of the Senators of the 17th Congress of the FSM, His Honorable Chief Justice Martin G. Yinug, some officials from the Pohnpei State Government, Ambassadors of the United States, Japan and Australia and their spouses, overseas Chinese in Pohnpei, which all together amounted to 130 guests.

        H.E. Ambassador ZHANG and His Honorable Vice President Alik delivered their remarks respectively.

        The full text of Ambassador ZHANG's remarks is as follows:

Remarks at the Reception Marking

the 62nd Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China and

the 22nd Anniversary of the Establishment of the Diplomatic Relationship

between the People's Republic of China and the Federated States of Micronesia

by H. E. Ambassador Zhang Weidong

September 28th, 2011

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Kasalehlie mengo! Good Evening! Wanshang Hao! Thank you very much for coming.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere respect to the traditional leaders of Pohnpei State and all over the FSM!

On the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 22nd anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and the FSM, it is a great honor for me, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy, to extend the warmest welcome to all of you. In my short remarks today, I would like to share with you some important numbers.

The first one is 5000. China is a country with one of the longest histories in the world and the written history of China is more than 5000 years old. The Chinese people of all ethnic groups, with diligence and wisdom, have jointly created a splendid civilization and built a unified multi-ethnic country. The Chinese civilization has a unique feature of being enduring, inclusive and open. The Chinese nation has endeavored to learn from other nations and improved itself through centuries of interactions with the rest of the world, making major contribution to the progress of human civilization. But, after 1840, feudal China was gradually turned into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country due to foreign aggressions. The country became poor and weak, and the people suffered from wars and chaos. The Chinese people waged many successive heroic struggles for national independence and liberation and for democracy and freedom. Great historical changes took place in China in the 20th century.

The second number I'd like to share with you is 100. One hundred years ago, the Revolution of 1911, led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, abolished the feudal monarchy. The historic mission inspired the Chinese people to struggle for independence and prosperity. However, such efforts failed to overthrow imperialism and feudalism and did not change the nature of China as a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.

Then the third number is 62.  On October 1st, 1949, 62 years ago, after waging protracted and arduous struggles, along a zigzag course, the Chinese people of all ethnic groups led by the Communist Party of China ultimately overthrew the rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat-capitalism and, living up the people's expectation, founded the People's Republic of China. Since then the Chinese people have become masters of the country. China has come a long way over the past 62 years. The Chinese government has worked hard to explore a path of socialist modernization that conforms to China's conditions and the trend of the times.

The fourth number is 33. 33 years ago, in 1978, China adopted the reform and opening-up policies. Overcoming difficulties and setbacks, the Chinese people have succeeded in finding a path of development with Chinese features and in keeping with China's conditions-the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Remarkable achievements in economic, political, social and cultural fields have been achieved. The life of the Chinese people has been improved considerably.

Looking back at the past 62 years, and particularly the past 33 years, we are proud of our great achievements. Looking ahead to the future, we are convinced that China will achieve even greater and a prosperous and developing China will make more contributions to the world. At the meantime, we are very well aware of the fact that China is still and will remain a developing country for a long time to come. China has a large population yet a weak economic base. Unbalanced development still exists between the urban and rural areas and among different regions. The structural problems in economic and social development remain acute. The scale and magnitude of the difficulties and problems involved are unprecedented in the present world and rare in human history.

In addition to all the above, China is still confronted with the august task of the national reunification. The Taiwan question, an internal affair of China, bears on China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests and is dear to the hearts of the 1.3 billion Chinese people. It is the inviolable duty of all Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan, to accomplish the great task of reunifying the motherland. In the past years, with the concerted efforts by both sides, the relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have maintained the good momentum of peaceful development. We have been making efforts with sincerity in promoting cross-Straits relations and preserving peace in the Taiwan Straits. All the efforts are based on the One China Principle. No matter what changes will take place in the cross-Straits relations, our position of adhering to the One China Principle, opposing "one China, one Taiwan" or "two Chinas", and rejecting "Taiwan independence" has never and will never change. China calls upon any country that has diplomatic ties with China to remain committed to the One China Principle, handle Taiwan-related issues prudently and support the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations with concrete actions.

China's achievements in national construction and development are inseparable from the support of the people of the world. China consistently carries out an independent foreign policy of peace and adheres to the five principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence in developing diplomatic relations and economic and cultural exchanges with other countries, including the Federated States of Micronesia.

And now we come to the fifth number, 22. 22 years ago, on September 11th, 1989, the People's Republic of China and the Federated States of Micronesia established the diplomatic relations and now the FSM is one of the 171 countries having the diplomatic ties with China, standing together with the majority of the international community. Thanks to the joint efforts of both countries, China-FSM relations have witnessed rapid development, and scored notable achievements in the past 22 years. Bilateral cooperation in various fields has been deepened and close coordination in international and regional affairs has been enhanced. The development of bilateral ties has brought the two peoples tangible benefits and contributed to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific Region.

We are confident that the friendly and cooperative relations between China and the FSM will develop further and bring even greater benefits to both countries and peoples. Taking the 22nd anniversary of bilateral ties as an opportunity, the Chinese side is ready to work with the FSM side to further strengthen the mutually beneficial friendship and cooperation in a broad range of fields, including economy and trade, culture and education, so as to constantly enrich bilateral ties and lift the China-FSM relations to a higher level. As the Chinese Ambassador, I am always ready to do my utmost to cooperate with the government and people of the FSM.

From 5000 to 100, from 62 to 22, these are not only simple numbers representing the history, but also tell us a lot. We will remember them and work hard together for a better future.

 

Now please allow me to propose a toast,

        To the development and prosperity of the People's Republic of China and the Federated States of Micronesia,

        To the China-FSM friendship and cooperation,

        To the good health and happiness of everyone present,

 

Ganbei! Cheers!

Kalanghan! Xiexie! Thank you!

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