Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ａｃｔｉｖｉｔｉｅｓ ｉｎ Ｂｒｉｅｆ

Attending 2nd Sino-US Friendship Cities Conference and

SCI Annual Conference

Invited by the Sister Cities International (SCI) of the United States， an 8-member CPAFFC delegation headed by its secretary general Luo Qin and 8 local delegations from the provinces of Jilin and Shaanxi and cities of Jilin， Suzhou， Yangzhou， Wuyishan， Yuyao， and Shaoxing， with a total of over 50 people， attended the Second Sino-US Friendship Cities Conference and the 49th SCI Annual Conference in Spokane of Washington State， the United States from July 27 to 30.

On the afternoon of July 27， the opening ceremony of the conference was held by the Spokane River. More than 100 national flags of the countries that have established friendship-city relations with the United States were placed on the rostrum. The president of the Spokane City Council and the SCI President made opening remarks of welcome. The local overseas Chinese association and art troupes performed Chinese folk songs and dances and marshal art.

The Sino-US Friendship Cities Conference convened on July 28. Over 100 people from the Chinese and American sides participated in the conference. Secretary General Luo Qin， in his welcoming address， talked about the achievements in the development of friendship cities between China and the United States in recent years， the adjustments of China’s policy concerning the twinning of friendship cities as well as problems existing in the work of friendship cities. He hoped that the two sides would make concerted efforts and contribute more to the development of friendship cities between China and the United States.

Jilin City that has twinned friendship-city ties with the host city Spokane drew much attention at the conference. Its vice mayor Cai Yuhe spoke at the conference.

The conference proceeded in the form of panel discussions and breakout sessions， which mainly focused on the following topics: economy development through sister city partnerships， partnering to promote education， environmental issues and sustainable development， showcase of exchange programmes， and improving intercultural communication. The Chinese participants spoke at every session.

Sherman Banks， president of the SCI and Dr. V. Lane Rawlins， president of Washington State University Spokane， Jia Xiudong， counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in the U. S.， Luo Qin， secretary general of the CPAFFC， were present at the closing banquet held on the evening of July 28. The conference concluded in an atmosphere of warmth and friendship. (Ba Cuicui)

Ko Kujirai’s Oil Painting Exhibition for Sino-Japanese

Friendship Held in Beijing

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War against Japanese Aggressions， Ko Kujirai’s oil painting exhibition for Sino-Japanese friendship was held at the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC from August 8 to 14.

When the Japanese artist， Ko Kujirai， visited the northeast of China in 1988， he went to the former place used by the Unit \"731\" of the Japanese army for testing its chemical weapons on human bodies in Harbin and the spot in Pingdingshan where the bloodiest slaughter of local civilians took place. He was extremely shocked. Immediately he started working to put these histories into his paintings. This time， the oil paintings on display are the best ones to which the artists had devoted his heart and energy for years， all themed on the history of Japanese aggression against China， revealing the atrocities including arson， murder， looting and theft committed by the Japanese troops in China.

Through the exhibition， the artist wanted to tell the visitors that there are still many people in Japan who have learned a lesson from the war of aggressions， unlike part of the leadership who have learned nothing at all; they are determined to live peacefully and friendly with all the neighbouring nations in Asia， especially the Chinese people.

Japanese Chorus’ Performance Tour of China

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti–Fascist War， the well-known writer Seichi Morimura and the famous composer Shinichiro Ikebe headed an over 200-member Japanese chorus with their mixed chorus suite The Feast of Devil to China， which gave two themed concerts on August 24 and 26 in Nanjing and Beijing respectively. Zhang Kehui， vice-chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC， Chen Haosu， president of the CPAFFC， Chen Yongchang， vice president of the CPAFFC and leaders of relevant departments watched the performance on August 26 at the Beijing Concert Hall.

The mixed chorus suite The Feast of Devil， based on the documentary writing of the same title by the Japanese well-known writer Seichi Morimura， brought to light the heinous crimes committed by the Unit \"731\" of the Japanese army and the Japanese militarists in China. In order to make the truth known to more and more Japanese people， the writer adapted it into the form of chorus while the famous composer Shinichro Ikebe created the music， which finally became the chorus suite The Feast of Devil， first performed in Kobe in 1984. Since 1995， the suite has been successfully performed in more than 20 prefectures of Japan， all of which evoked resounding response.

In 1998， the chorus gave its performances in Harbin and Shenyang during their first visit to China. This year， they came to China again for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti–Fascist War.

The concerts were jointly held by the CPAFFC， the Beijing Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. (Zhang Yaqin)

60th National Day of Socialist Republic of Vietnam Marked

The CPAFFC， the China-ASEAN Association and the China-Vietnam Friendship Association (CVFA) jointly held a reception on August 30 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Vice chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC Luo Haocai was present at the reception. President of CPAFFC Chen Haosu and Vietnamese ambassador Tran Van Luat made speeches.

In his speech， president Chen Haosu said， for 60 years， under the leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party， the Vietnamese people won great victories in the Anti-French War and the Anti-U. S. War， realizing the national reunification， and had made great achievements in the ensuing socialist construction. He highly praised the Sino-Vietnamese friendly and cooperative relations and the traditional friendship between the two peoples and said， together with the Vietnamese comrades， we are ready to make concerted efforts to strengthen cooperation， and contribute to the long-term stability and continuous development of Sino-Vietnamese good neighbourly friendship and overall cooperative relations.

Ambassador Tran Van Luat， reviewing the past glorious 60 years， expressed his sincere gratitude to the Chinese Communist Party， Chinese Government and its people for providing immense support and aid in various aspects for the revolutionary cause of Vietnamese people. Talking about the Sino-Vietnamese relations， he said， to develop good-neighbourly， all-dimensional， long-term and stable cooperative relations geared to the needs of future is in the fundamental interests of both countries， and beneficial to the regional peace， stability， cooperation and prosperity.

CVFA President Zhao Dongwan， Vice Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee Liu Hongcai， Vice President of CPAFFC Wang Yunze， leaders of relevant ministries and departments under the Central Committee of CPC， mass organizations， representatives of media in Beijing and diplomats of the Vietnamese Embassy and their wives， totaling about 80， attended the reception.

57th National Day of DPRK Celebrated

The CPAFFC and the China-Korea Friendship Association (CKFA) jointly held a reception in the auditorium of the CPAFFC on September 8 to celebrate the 57th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). CKFA President Li Shuzheng， CPAFFC Vice President Chen Yongchang， Korean Ambassador Choe Jin Su， leading members of relevant departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the International Department of CPC Central Committee， the Ministry of National Defense and the CPAFFC， and diplomats of the Korean Embassy in China， totaling about 80， were presented at the reception.

In his speech， Vice President Chen Yongchang said， China and Korea are friendly neighbours joined by mountains and rivers and there exists a long and traditional friendship between our two peoples. Especially since entering the new century， we have seen continuous high-level exchanges of visits and communications between our two countries， which have played an important role in advancing China-DPRK relations in the new century. To consolidate and develop China-DPRK friendly and cooperative relations is the unswerving principle of the Chinese Party and Government. Together with the Korean comrades， we will continue to make concerted efforts to enhance Sino-Korean friendship and advance the friendly and cooperative relations between our two countries.

Reception Marks 45 Years of China-Cuba Diplomatic Ties

The CPAFFC and China-Latin American Friendship Association jointly gave a reception on September 29 at the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cuba. Present at the reception were Cheng Siwei， vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and president of the China-Latin America Friendship Association， Yang Jiechi， vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， Ma Wenpu， head of the International Department of CPC Central Committee， leading members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the Ministry of Commerce， the Ministry of National Defense， the Ministry of Culture， the International Department of CPC Central Committee， the All-China Federation of Trade Unions， the All-China Women’s Federation and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League， and the Institute of Latin-American Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， the China-Cuba Friendship Farm and the China-Cuba Friendship Primary School. Minister of Government of Cuba Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz， Cuban Ambassador to China Alberto R. Arufe and his wife， other diplomats of Cuban Embassy and Cuban comrades altogether 70 guests.

In her speech， Vice President Li Xiaolin said， Cuba was the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with China. The Chinese Government and people value the Sino-Cuban friendly relations very much. Through the concerted efforts made by both sides， we have had frequent high-level exchanges， and deepened mutual understanding. The friendly and cooperative relations between China and Cuba in all fields have developed in an all-round way and achieved satisfactory results.

In his speech， Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz said， since the establishment of diplomatic relations 45 years ago， people of our two countries respected and supported each other. Cuba has given unremitting and consistent support to the one-China policy and China’s just cause of national reunification. The relations between our two countries in all fields have reached an advanced level. He thanked the CPAFFC for its great effort to develop the friendly relations between China and Cuba.

At the reception， Vice Chairman Cheng Siwei and Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz put commemorative postmarks on stamps designed to commemorate the 45th anniversary. Teachers and students of the China-Cuba Friendship Primary School gave excellent performances at the celebration

Reception in Celebration of 45 Years of China-Canada Diplomatic Ties

The CPAFFC gave a reception on the afternoon of October 13 at the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Canada. Vice Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi， CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin and Canadian Ambassador Robert Wright attended the reception. Vice President Li Xiaolin and Ambassador Wright made speeches. Over 60 people were present at the reception. They included leading members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the Ministry of Commerce， the Ministry of Railways， the Administration of Quality Supervision， Inspection and Quarantine and other departments， former Chinese Ambassadors to Canada， the diplomats of the Canadian Embassy， officials of the Canada-China Business Council (CCBC) and representatives of the Canada-China Friendship Society. Before the reception，the Department of Cultural Exchanges of the CPAFFC and the CCBC jointly held an opening ceremony of the Stamps Exhibition in commemoration of the 35th anniversary in the Friendship Museum. （Ba Cuicui）

Fifteen Years of China-Singapore Diplomatic Ties Marked

The CPAFFC held a reception on October 16 at the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC to mark the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore. Vice Chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee Gu Xiulian attended the reception， at which CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin and Singaporean Ambassador Chin Siat Yoon spoke. President of the China-Singapore Friendship Association Xu Kongrang， leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the Central Committee of the Chinese Youth League and other relevant departments， President of the Singa-Sino Friendship Association Sia Yong and diplomats of the Singaporean Embassy in China， totaling about 80 people， attended the reception.