USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文雙語(yǔ)Fran?ais
    World
    Home / World / Africa

    Mandela influenced by China's Long March

    By ZHAO YANRONG | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2013-12-06 11:02

    Not many foreign leaders are written about in Chinese textbooks. But millions of Chinese high school students have learned about Nelson Mandela, who was introduced to them as a true freedom fighter in their English classes.

    "Nelson Mandela was a fighter," it says in the chapter titled "Nelson Mandela — a modern hero".

    "Instead of bowing down to this unjust system of government, he became a lifelong warrior in the battle to free South Africa. Today, thanks to the sacrifice of Nelson Mandela, apartheid has been outlawed. Everyone in South Africa now has an equal opportunity at home and at work to live comfortably."

    Mandela influenced by China's Long March
    Special: Nelson Mandela

    Even though the great hero passed away on Thursday, aged 95, his stories and legacy will remain in China, and his name will be remembered by Chinese people.

    Mandela said China's modern history and Chinese revolutionary strategy had a strong influence on him.

    While he was president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, China established diplomatic relations with Pretoria in 1998.

    In 1992, the then 74-year-old Mandela took his first trip to China as president of the African National Congress. During his visit, the Chinese government contributed $10 million to the ANC and Peking University awarded him an honorary doctorate.

    Mandela said he was deeply touched by the sincere welcome and high standard of hospitality he received from the Chinese government. In turn, his sincerity and friendliness moved many Chinese people.

    In 1999, a year after China and South Africa established diplomatic relations, Mandela made his second trip to China, this time as president of South Africa.

    Liu Guijin was a senior officer in the Department of African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at that time.

    In most high-level meetings, government officials usually greeted only their counterparts before conversation began, Liu said.

    "But when we participated in the meeting, which then Premier Li Peng held for Mandela, the African president smiled and shook hands, using both of his hands, with all the people in the room. Everyone in that meeting was touched," Liu said.

    On his second trip to China, Mandela said China's Long March and the Chinese people, who fought for the liberation and freedom of the whole country, had been a great encouragement to the South African people in their fight against apartheid.

    He also expressed his appreciation for all the valuable support South Africa received from the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

    After two years as president of South Africa, Mandela announced in 1996 that Pretoria would establish diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1998.

    "It did take time for the South African president to make the final decision," Liu noted. "But we were very glad to see him fulfill his promise during his presidential term."

    From 2001 to 2007, Liu served as Chinese ambassador to South Africa, which gave him more opportunities to know the great African leader better.

    "He once told me that when he was in prison, he and his inmates used to celebrate the Chinese National Day as one of their festivals. They painted Chinese flags on their hands secretly, to encourage each other to fight and achieve success like the Chinese people," he added.

    According to Liu, following his second trip to China, Mandela mentioned to the Chinese embassy a few times that he was willing to go on holiday in China, but he was not able to do so because of his health.

    In Liu's mind, Mandela was a man of peace. "He spent 27 years in jail but he smiled to the world when he was released. He told others to forgive their oppressors and move on."

    Liu is now dean of the China Africa International Business School at Zhejiang Normal University.

    Immigrants in South Africa benefited from Mandela's contribution to the country's peace and stability.

    "Mandela's death is a huge loss for us. If his governing principles had not been carried out, we would all be in danger. We can say that he was the best protection we had in the country," said Xu Peihua, secretary-general of the police cooperation center in Johannesburg, the first police center for the Chinese community overseas.

    Hundreds of thousands of Chinese run businesses in South Africa, but there has been a great deal of bullying and violence against foreign investors and migrant businesspeople that has damaged foreigners' property and interests, including those of Chinese people.

    "For most people in South Africa, Mandela, who created a stable and democratic country, was the mainstay of the society. We actually are afraid that following his death, violence will increase and conflicts between different communities will be even worse," Xu added.

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    性无码专区无码片| 中文字幕欧美日本亚洲| 无码人妻丰满熟妇区BBBBXXXX | 波多野42部无码喷潮在线| 日本乱中文字幕系列观看| 日韩国产精品无码一区二区三区| 天堂√最新版中文在线天堂| 国产50部艳色禁片无码| 中文无码人妻有码人妻中文字幕| 亚洲 另类 无码 在线| 无码国产69精品久久久久网站| 亚洲国产日韩欧美在线a乱码日本中文字幕高清 | 亚洲国产av无码精品| 亚洲av永久无码精品国产精品| 中文字幕日韩一区| 全球中文成人在线| 久久精品无码一区二区日韩AV| 日韩人妻无码精品久久久不卡| 亚洲日韩中文字幕日韩在线| 亚洲天堂中文字幕| 久久精品中文字幕无码绿巨人| 久久受www免费人成_看片中文| 日韩AV无码不卡网站| 久久无码人妻精品一区二区三区| 免费精品无码AV片在线观看| 亚洲精品无码高潮喷水在线| 亚洲日韩在线中文字幕综合| 亚洲欧美日韩中文字幕二区| 欧美日韩不卡一区二区三区中文字| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文字幕久久| 日韩亚洲不卡在线视频中文字幕在线观看| 成在线人免费无码高潮喷水| 成人无码午夜在线观看| 久久久无码精品亚洲日韩按摩| 超清纯白嫩大学生无码网站| 成人午夜福利免费专区无码| 国产精品无码v在线观看| 蜜臀精品无码AV在线播放| 久久青青草原亚洲av无码| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文视频| 永久免费无码日韩视频|