Ｏｐｅｎｉｎｇ Ｃｅｒｅｍｏｎｙ ｏｆ Ｐｉｎｇ Ｐｏｎｇ Ｄｉｐｌｏｍａｃｙ Ｐｈｏｔｏ Ｅｘｈｉｂｉｔｉｏｎ ａｎｄ Ｃｏｎｆｅｒｒｉｎｇ Ｔｉｔｌｅ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ｊａｐａｎ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓ

I In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship， the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA)， the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA)， the Japan-China Friendship Association of Aichi Prefecture (JCFAAP) and the Chinese Consulate General in Nagoya jointly held the Photo Exhibition of Ping Pong Diplomacy—China- Japan Friendship in Beijing on November 14， 2008. At the invitation of the CJFA， Atsushi Goto， president of the JCFAAP and his party totalling 15 people specially came to Beijing for the photo exhibition and related activities.

On the morning of November 14， the opening ceremony of the exhibition was held at the CPAFFC. Jing Dunquan， vice president of the CPAFFC and the CJFA; Yu Bin， vice president of the CTTA; Atsushi Goto， president of the JCFAAP; Zhuang Jiafu， Liang Youneng， Hu Bingquan， Cen Huaiguang and Liang Geliang， retired players of the Chinese National Table Tennis Team， and university students in Beijing were present at the occasion.

In his speech at the opening ceremony， Jing Dunquan said， in 1971 Koji Goto and his friends of the Japan Table Tennis Association resolutely invited the Chinese ping pong delegation to the 31st World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya， despite all sorts of obstacles and disturbances， and thus， set up the stage for China’s world famous Ping Pong Diplomacy， realizing its undertaking of using the “small ball” to push forward the “big ball” that shocked the world and laid an important foundation for the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations. The 50 precious photos of the history displayed at the exhibition vividly reproduced those historical moments of the Ping Pong Diplomacy between China and Japan. Jing Dunquan continued， as an old Chinese saying goes: “When you drink water， remember the well digger”. In today’s situation as the Sino-Japanese relations are enjoying good progress， we should bear in mind the significant contributions made by the pioneers of the two countries to exploring and pushing forward the bilateral relations. Now， the Sino-Japanese relations have arrived at a new historical starting point and are faced with important new opportunities and wider space for development. The CJFA hopes to work together with all its friends in concerted efforts to achieve the goal of realizing peaceful coexistence， passing on friendship from generation to generation， carrying on cooperation of mutual benefit for common development.

Yu Bin and Kyuhei Muraoka also delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. Vice Presidents of the CJFA Wang Xiaoxian and Jing Dunquan， Yu Bin， Kyuhei Muraoka， Atsushi Goto， and Takeshi Mori， former staff of the JTTA who witnessed the 31st World Table Tennis Championships， cut the ribbon for the photo exhibition. On display were photos of the historical moments of the Ping Pong Diplomacy including Premier Zhou Enlai meeting with Koji Goto， Premier Zhou Enlai meeting with members of the Organizing Committee of the Asia-Africa Table Tennis Friendship Tournament， Koji Goto talking with Chinese players Zhuang Zedong and Lin Huiqing， Chinese players Zhang Minzhi and Liang Lizhen talking with Japanese audience.

After the ribbon cutting， Vice President Wang Xiaoxian， on behalf of the CJFA， conferred the honorary title of China-Japan Friendship Envoy on Atsushi Goto， son-in-law of Koji Goto， in recognition of his active role in promoting the development of China-Japan people-to-people friendship， the sports exchanges between the two countries and the friendly relationship between Jiangsu Province and Aichi Prefecture over the years.

Atsushi Goto thanked the CJFA for receiving the title. He said， besides the former officials of the JTTA and players who experienced the 31st World Table Tennis Championships， he also brought his daughter， son and daughter-in-law， his granddaughters who were college students， and his 2-year old grandson with him for this visit. He wanted to foster in them friendly feelings towards China through getting to know the country and the history of Ping Pong Diplomacy， so that they would always remember the hard-won friendship between China and Japan and pass on the friendship between the two peoples from generation to generation.