'Diversity drives progress'

    Updated: 2014-03-28 02:42

    By WU JIAO and LI XIANG in Paris and ZHAO XINYING in Beijing (China Daily)

    Comments Print Mail Large Medium Small

    No one civilization can be judged superior to another, president says

    'Diversity drives progress'

    President Xi Jinping delivers a wide-ranging speech on civilization at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Thursday. [Photo/Agencies]

    President Xi Jinping quoted extensively Victor Hugo, Napoleon Bonaparte and Chinese historian Zuo Qiuming in giving his views on civilization during a major speech on Thursday.

    He stressed that Chinese civilization, along with others, will provide mankind with the right cultural guidance and strong motivation.

    "Civilizations have become richer and more colorful with exchanges and mutual learning," Xi said at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization headquarters in Paris on the third day of his visit to France.

    Such exchanges and mutual learning are an important driver of human progress and global peace and development, said Xi, the first Chinese president to visit the headquarters.

    "A single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden," Xi said.

    He drew on this popular Chinese saying to explain that civilizations have come in different shades and such diversity has made exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations relevant and valuable.

    He also said he had visited both the Louvre Museum in France and the Palace Museum in China, saying, "They are attractive because they present the richness of diverse civilization."

    Xi said he believed all human civilizations are of equal value, that there is no perfect civilization in the world, nor is there a civilization that is devoid of merit. In short, no one civilization can be judged superior to another.

    The ocean is vast, for it refuses no rivers, Xi said, quoting a well-known Chinese saying.

    "Civilizations are inclusive, and such inclusiveness has given exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations the drive needed to move forward," he said.

    If all civilization can uphold inclusiveness, a so-called clash of civilizations will be out of the question and the harmony of civilizations will become reality, the president added.

    Turning to Victor Hugo, Xi said the French novelist once said that there is a prospect greater than the sea, and it is the sky; there is a prospect greater than the sky, and it is the human soul. "Indeed, we need a mind that is broader than the sky as we approach different civilizations," Xi said.

    To better appreciate the value of different civilizations, education's role is unique, he said.

    To illustrate the urgency of developing education, the president quoted Napoleon Bonaparte's saying, "There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run, the sword will always be conquered by the spirit."

    He also shared his views on the relationship between the Chinese Dream and Chinese civilization.

    The Chinese people are striving to fulfill the Chinese Dream of great renewal of the Chinese nation, and as they pursue the dream they will encourage creative shifts and innovative development of Chinese civilization, he said.

    This civilization and others in the world are all the fruit of human progress, Xi said.

    "We need to inject new vitality into Chinese civilization by energizing all cultural elements that transcend time, space and national borders and that possess both perpetual appeal and current value," he said.

    Ramzi Sanbar, a French businessman who listened to Xi's speech, said it was a very good summary of China's culture and soft power.

    "The essence of the speech made for a good mix of the ancient and the new China," he said. "The most interesting parts were the ideas on the diversity of civilizations and that no one (civilization) is superior to the other."

    Before making his speech, Xi met with Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, on Thursday morning and spoke highly of the UN agency's role in advocating cultural diversity and gender equality.

    To support UNESCO's education endeavors, China will offer 75 scholarships every year through the agency to sponsor teachers from African and other developing countries. The number of scholarships used to be 25 a year.

    Also on Thursday, Xi's wife Peng Liyuan was named special UNESCO envoy for the promotion of young girls' and women's education.

    Abhimanyu Singh, director and representative of the UNESCO Beijing Office, said it has conducted extensive cooperation with all parties in China.

    "The UNESCO Beijing Office is also committed to contributing to UNESCO's mission in the region, addressing the social, environmental, economic and cultural dimensions of sustainable development since its establishment in 1984," Singh said.

    France is the second leg of Xi's four-country European tour, which will take him to Germany on Friday.

    Previous Page 1 2 Next Page

    ...
    久久久久久无码国产精品中文字幕 | 无码国产69精品久久久久网站| 无码任你躁久久久久久| 特级做A爰片毛片免费看无码| 无码精品前田一区二区| 亚洲国产精品无码成人片久久| 中文字幕免费高清视频| 亚洲精品无码你懂的网站| 无码人妻久久久一区二区三区| 欧美中文在线视频| 久久99久久无码毛片一区二区| 亚洲日韩国产二区无码| 中文无码喷潮在线播放| 中文字幕有码无码AV| 国产亚洲精品无码专区| 亚洲AV无码乱码国产麻豆穿越| 亚洲成A人片在线观看中文| 中文字幕av高清片| 99久久国产热无码精品免费久久久久| 亚洲精品午夜无码专区| 人妻少妇AV无码一区二区| 中文字幕视频一区| 亚欧成人中文字幕一区| 婷婷色中文字幕综合在线 | 色婷婷久久综合中文久久蜜桃av| 久久久久亚洲AV无码麻豆| 一夲道无码人妻精品一区二区| 久久久久综合中文字幕| 新版天堂资源中文8在线| 天堂最新版中文网| 国产高清中文手机在线观看| 久久无码中文字幕东京热 | 最近中文字幕大全免费视频| 久久中文骚妇内射| 中文字幕无码成人免费视频| 亚洲中文字幕一二三四区苍井空| 亚洲成av人片不卡无码久久| 亚洲无码视频在线| 中文字幕无码毛片免费看| 亚洲av无码乱码在线观看野外| 亚洲 日韩经典 中文字幕|