ＵＳ Ｃｏｎｇｒｅｓｓｍｅｎ ａｎｄ ＵＰＳ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， a delegation composed of US Congressmen James Clyburn， John Shimkus， Denis Moore， and Robert Simmons， and UPS (United Parcel Service) senior staff paid a visit to Beijing and Hebei Province from October 23 to 28， 2003. The main purpose of this visit was to donate and build a computer lab for Xibaipo Hope Primary School of Hebei Province. In Beijing， Wu Bangguo， chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress， met with the delegation.

In 2002， with the assistance of our Association， UPS successively donated a school， a computer lab with 50 computers and a playground to Zunhua， Hebei， and invited two delegations of local government officials， farmers and students to visit the U.S. Through the series of exchanges， UPS has forged deep friendship with the Chinese people. This year， UPS again donated a computer lab and 30 computers to the Xibaipo Hope Primary School in Hebei Province.

All the building materials， tools and equipments were shipped to China from the States. Four congressmen and their wives， together with over 60 senior UPS staff members， coming from 11 countries， gathered in the sacred revolutionary base of Xibaipo. It was hardly 5 o'clock in the morning when they started the construction of the lab. At noon they took snack by turn at the work site. They worked till 6 in the evening. Some people even continued after it was getting dark. They were no experts at construction; however， everyone worked with great vigor and enthusiasm. It took only one day and a half for them to finish the construction of the lab and the installation and test of the computer system.

At the completion ceremony of the computer lab， Mr. Lu Changsuo， magistrate of Pingshan County said， what UPS has built is not merely a computer lab; it is a bridge of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples. In his speech， Mr. Mike Eskew， president of UPS， said that although UPS delegation members donated a computer lab and worked hard to build this project， what they gained was much greater than what they had given， for they reaped friendship. He expressed that he would like to make further contribution to China-US relations by bringing more US Congressmen to visit China. Mr. Eskew also gave awards to the students who won in the composition contest of the Hope School. The young winner read out his composition at the ceremony， expressing his gratitude to the \"American uncles and aunties\" in his naive language with sincere feelings. He was accorded a prolonged and warm applause. Some were even moved to tears.

When visiting the Xibaipo Revolutionary Museum， Congressman Clyburn said that through this visit he came to know the great history of China. \"China and the US are both proud of our past; however， what is more important for us is the future，\" stressed he. He expressed the hope that the computer lab donated and built by UPS would bring more opportunities and better future to the Chinese kids. Congressman Shimkus said that the Chinese kids were very lovely and friendly and that he cherished the genuine people-to-people friendship. If our bilateral exchanges could be conducted in this manner， there would be no problem at all between China and the U.S. Congressman Moore expressed his deep feelings by saying that as soon as he set foot on China， he fell in love with China and the Chinese people， especially the Chinese kids whom he said \"stole his heart\". He wished that both the China-US relations and his friendship with the kids could enjoy a prosperous future.

At the reception held at the CPAFFC， Congressman Simmons said in his remarks that he defined politicians as citizens who took positive actions. \"'By this definition， all the people who participated in this project are politicians， because you all actively reach out to attend to the unmet needs of people from different countries and cultures. Politics is the art of making friends， so that all the people here are engaged in politics\"， said he. He especially thanked Mme. Li Xiaolin， vice president of CPAFFC， by giving her the title of Honorary Congressman. Mr. Arnie Wellmen， senior vice president of UPS said affectionately， the simplicity， kindness， sincerity， friendship， passion， and fortitude of the Chinese people have once and again touched everyone who has been to China.

Mr. Wu Bangguo， chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress， met with the delegation after they finished the construction of the computer lab and returned to Beijing. He expressed his welcome to the four congressmen and their wives. He praised them for building the computer lab for Xibaipo Hope Primary School with their own hands and thanked them for supporting China's education in poverty-stricken areas.

The Chairman pointed out， the China-US relations are in a good period of development. Both China and the US are permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations， and， therefore， we should approach the bilateral relations in a global perspective. The development of China-US relations will promote peace and stability of the world. Although differences in culture， history， system and social traditions exist between our two countries， there is more and more cooperation in the fields of anti-terrorism， anti-smuggling， prevention of proliferation of nuclear weapons， crackdown on trans-border crimes， the Iraq issue， the Korean nuclear issue， etc.， which is not only in line with the interests of our two countries， but also conducive to world peace and stability. Chairman Wu stressed， understanding is the basis for China-US cooperation and trust. He welcomed more US senators and congressmen to come to visit China and expressed appreciation of UPS for its long dedication to the development of China-US relations. In particular， he considered it very meaningful to donate a computer lab to Xibaipo， as it occupies a very important historical place in China.

On behalf of the US side， Congressman Clyburn said， during the trip to Xibaipo he came into contact with the great Chinese people and Chinese kids and visited ordinary families of local farmers， all of which has enhanced his understanding of China. Building a computer lab there is very important， but making friends and conducting exchanges are even more important. He hoped that the computer lab would open up a more prosperous future for the Chinese kids.