Ｇｅｒｍａｎ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄ Ｋａｒｌ－Ｈｅｉｎｚ Ｇａｓｓ Ｒｅｃｅｉｖｅｓ Ｔｉｔｌｅ ｏｆ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ａｍｂａｓｓａｄｏｒ

Spring was very much in the air in March in Beijing. Gentle breezes caressed the blooming white magnolia and green grass in the compound of the CPAFFC. On March 30， friends from the German business circles got together with Wang Shu， president of the China-Germany Friendship Association (CGFA)， Lu Qiutian， president of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs， Mei Zhaorong， former Chinese ambassador to Germany， Yang Jianhua， major general of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)， Ren Dequan， deputy director of the State Food and Drug Administration， Herbert D. Jess， former minister of the German Embassy in China and the incumbent German ambassador to Malaysia， council members of the CGFA and personages from other circles in the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC to attend the ceremony to confer the title of Friendship Ambassador upon German friend Mr. Karl-Heinz Gass. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Vice President Liu Zhiming were present at the ceremony.

Mr. Gass is an entrepreneur and an old friend of the Chinese people. Twenty-four years ago， he occasionally met Gen. Yang Dezhi， the then chief of the general staff of the PLA. This encounter opened the door of China for Mr. Gass. In the ensuing visits to China Mr. Gass came to understand this ancient but vigorous country and got to know many Chinese friends. It has become the main pursuit of his life to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and German people. In the past 20-odd years， he has put a lot of energy and money into this endeavour and left clear footprints on the road of China-Germany friendship.

In the 1980s， Mr. Gass initiated and actively worked for the establishment of the Association for Germany-China Friendship Donnesberg (AGCFD). Since then the AGCFD has become one of the most active friendship-with-China organizations in Germany. It has enhanced the German people’s understanding of China’s ancient culture and its rapid development toward modernization as well as Chinese people’s yearning for peace and friendship by holding lectures， mounting small-scale exhibitions， organizing cultural and art performances and festival celebrations， publishing journals， dispatching delegations to China， and other activities.

In promoting the exchanges between the people of the two countries， the AGCFD， though limited in financial resources， played host to many Chinese delegations and enthusiastically introduced to them the beautiful landscape of Germany and the life and custom of its people， which demonstrated the German people’s love for China and the Chinese people. Mr. Gass wrote a book Freundschaft für China (Friendship with China)， in which he expressed the aspiration of the German people for friendship with the Chinese people.

Mr. Gass’ feelings for China and the Chinese people are sincere， lofty and consistent. In the development of bilateral relations， he has been working untiringly to promote friendship regardless of changes in political climate.

When the Chinese people suffered from natural calamities， he and others in the AGCFD called on its members to make donations. The fund they raised， out of their sincere love for the Chinese people was passed on to the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs through the CPAFFC.

Encouraged by him， some German friends who visited China on a study tour discovered ruby reserves in China’s remote province， filling a gap in China’s geological prospecting and mining. He also actively pushes for economic and technological cooperation between China and Germany， helping more than 70 German enterprises including those in the metallurgical， machine-building， pharmaceutical， mining， water supply and sewage discharge， environmental protection industries find cooperation partners in China.

Mr. Gass has visited China 185 times and stayed over 1，000 days in Kempinski Hotel in Beijing. This feat requires great efforts even for a healthy person to accomplish， let alone Mr. Gass who holds the certificate of serious disability issued by the German government. His dedication to the cause of friendship with China regardless of his health condition commands our highest respect.

In recognition of the contributions Mr. Gass has made to promoting friendship and cooperation between China and Germany， President Chen Haosu， on behalf of the CPAFFC， conferred the title of Friendship Ambassador upon him. A warm applause broke out when Chen Haosu put the badge on and handed the certificate to him.

In his speech， Mr. Gass said: “The efforts I made to enhance understanding and cooperation between the people of Germany and China have won me this title， to which I express my profound gratitude. I not only regard this title of Friendship Ambassador as a great honour， but also as a responsibility which I am very happy to take. As long as my health permits， I will actively and tirelessly work to fulfill this responsibility. Therefore， I look upon today’s honour as the award for my work in and for China， not as a glorious full stop.”