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Invited by the CPAFFC， a seven-member delegation of the Seychelles-China Friendship Association（SCFA） led by its president Mr. Terence Mondon paid a goodwill visit to Beijing， Hangzhou， Yiwu and Shanghai from May 9 to 16， 2005. Wang Yunze， CPAFFC vice president， Zhong Shan， vice governor of Jiangsu Province， and Yao Quanfu， executive vice president of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， respectively met with and entertained the delegation. The two sides exchanged views on how to promote economic and trade relations and carry out cultural and sports exchanges between the two countries. The delegation also visited the Beijing Sports School， the Zhejiang Vocational Academy of Art， the Yiwu Small Commodity Market and the Shanghai Pudong New Area.

Speaking Highly of China’s Efforts in Building

Material and Spiritual Civilization

Miss Molly Roselie， first vice president of the SCFA， and Mr. Floyd Nallet Amby， member of the SCFA Executive Committee， successively studied in the Beijing University of Physical Education in 1988 and 1994. Mr. Mondon， president of the SCFA， and other members of the delegation visited China for the first time. During their stay in China， rows of newly built skyscrapers and busy cranes on construction sites left deep impressions on them. Mondon said， “At such a fast speed of construction， I am afraid that I won’t be able to recognize this place if I come again next year!”

The government of the Seychelles adheres to the high welfare policy. The members of the delegation showed great interest in China’s policy on old people， children and women. Li Shuming， member of the Standing Committee and director of the Financial and Economic Committee of the Pudong District People’s Congress， said， after retirement， the old people can live on their pension and enjoy a secured life. In October this year， Shanghai will organize a series of activities centreing on the old people. The members of the delegation said， old people are the wealth of humankind. It is the responsibility of society to create a rich and colourful living environment for the old people， and let them do what they can in their old age. China has maintained and carried forward the fine tradition of respecting and caring for the old people， which also reflects that China has done a good job in social security.

The delegation also showed interest in the Chinese workers’ living and working conditions， women work and implementation of the education policy. When they were told that every year Shanghai held the international summer camp， they said that they would try to create conditions to let Seychelles children spend their summer vocation in China.

Learning Experience from CPAFFC and

Trying to Do More Work

Jointly promoted by Mme. Sylvette Pool， minister of local governments， culture and sports， and Mr. Vincent Meriton， minister of social affairs and employment， the SCFA was founded on July 13， 2004. This was the first time that the SCFA was invited to send a delegation to China.

CPAFFC Vice President Wang Yunze briefed the delegation about the aims of the CPAFFC and its work in the past 50 years. In Zhejiang and Shanghai， the delegation also had exchanges with the local friendship associations.

Mondon said， with its experience accumulated in the past half century， the CPAFFC together with local friendship association across China has established close and long friendly relations with all kinds of organizations in the world， made great contributions to promoting friendly and cooperative relations between China and other countries， especially the African countries and has really played a role of bridge. He said， the SCFA， a recently founded association， should learn from the CPAFFC. The SCFA has a great aspiration to become an important link in the people-to-people relations between the two countries.

The delegation expressed their thanks to the CPAFFC for arranging for them a thoughtful itinerary. The delegation members said， through the visit， they got a deeper and more direct understanding about China and more substantive ideas on how to promote the exchanges between the two countries in the fields of economy， trade， culture and sports. After returning home， they would tell the Ministry of Local Governments， Culture and Sports and the departments concerned about what they saw and heard in China， and through the media publicize their visits in China to inform people of various social circles of China’s cultural and sports exchanges with other countries and economic and trade development so as to let various social sectors to have a better understanding about China and the SCFA and expand the influence of the SCFA.