Festival in Hunan promotes peace

An international cultural festival on peace was held in Hunan province on Thursday and Friday, drawing domestic and foreign delegates to discuss paths to peaceful development.

This year's Zhijiang International Peace Culture Festival included panel discussions, cultural performances and the signing of sister-city and sister-school agreements to promote dialogue on peace and development.

Attendees included international goodwill representatives, scholars, relatives of the World War II-era American Volunteer Group known as the Flying Tigers, and war veterans and their families.

The event took place in Zhijiang Dong autonomous county, where Japanese representatives came to discuss the details of the surrender in 1945, towards the end of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, highlighted Zhijiang's importance during the war. He recalled the wartime cooperation between American and Chinese pilots, praised Chinese citizens who risked their lives to shelter US airmen and urged nations to work together for lasting peace.

Liu Cheng, a council member of the Asia-Pacific Peace Research Association, said: "The festival in Zhijiang is an important platform for spreading the culture of peace, which is a crucial foundation and touches everything from relations between states to everyday interpersonal conduct.

"Widespread but often overlooked forms of structural violence, such as racial and gender discrimination and unfair labor divisions, can become root causes of violence, conflict and war."

Liu added that Zhijiang's transformation from a small city in western Hunan into an international peace city — driven by international cooperation, sister-city relationships, memorial ties and support for Sino-US youth exchanges — provides a practical model of peace building and peace education other regions can emulate.

In recent years Zhijiang has actively promoted cultural exchanges for peace, welcoming foreign dignitaries and veterans connected to the Flying Tigers to help spread the message of reconciliation.

Chen Yishuang contributed to this story.