Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ ｆｏｒ Ｇｅｒｍａｎｙ－Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ｄｏｎｎｅｒｓｂｅｒｇ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｃｈｉｎａ ａｎｄ Ｃｏｕｎｔｅｓｓ ｖｏｎ Ｂｏｒ

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， an 11-member delegation of the Association for Germany-China Friendship (AGCF) Donnersberg， Rheinland-Phalz， Germany headed by Countess Monika von Borries paid a goodwill visit to Beijing， Xi’an， Fujian and Shanghai from April 6 to 18. In Beijing the delegation attended a ceremony at which the CPAFFC conferred the title of Friendship Ambassador upon Countess von Borries. In Yao County near Xi’an， the delegation paid a visit to the poor children who were financially supported by the Association. In Fujian Province that has friendship ties with Rheinland-Phalz State， the delegation visited Fuzhou， Xiamen and Quanzhou.

Countess Conferred Upon Title of Friendship Ambassador

The Association for Germany-China Friendship Donnersberg， Rheinland-Phalz State， founded in 1988， is a non-governmental friendship organization with China. The Association organizes all kinds of activities to publicize Chinese culture， such as holding public lectures about China， small-size exhibitions， and get-togethers to celebrate traditional Chinese festivals. To promote understanding and friendship between the two peoples， it has also organized many German friends to visit China， and warmly received Chinese friends visiting Germany. It also helps the Chinese students studying in Germany and gives financial support to the poor children in Yao County， Shaanxi Province. In 1998 after the Yangtze River floods， it donated money to the flood-hit areas. For a long time， the Association has kept close personnel contacts and cultural exchanges with the CPAFFC.

On the evening of April 7， the CPAFFC conferred the title of Friendship Ambassador upon Countess von Borries. Present at the ceremony were Wang Shu， president of the China-Germany Friendship Association (CGFA)， Huan Guoying， vice president of the CGFA and the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament， Wolfgang Kessler， cultural attaché of the German Embassy in China， as well as representatives from the Chinese Foreign Ministry， Cultural Ministry and China Radio International. In his speech at the ceremony， CPAFFC president Chen Haosu spoke highly of the contributions made by Countess von Borries over the years to the cause of Germany-China friendship. He said， she is an old friend of the Chinese people. Out of her profound friendship with the Chinese people， she has gathered around her a great number of German people friendly to China， and through her unremitting efforts Rheinland-Phalz State and Donnersburg County have turned into a garden of Germany-China friendship. In her speech， Countess von Borries expressed her thanks to the CPAFFC for conferring such a high honour upon her. She said， today all the countries in the world are closely interrelated and interdependent. Since the beginning of history， humankind for the first time has a feeling of “living in the same world”. Hence， we should realize that we have a more important task to accomplish than to be hostile to each other. Friendship should be formed by the people. The contacts and exchanges between our two associations are the best way to form friendship between Germany and China， two countries thousands of miles apart.

Paying a Visit to Poor Children in Yao County

On April 9， the delegation went from Xi’an to Yao County (now it has been renamed as Yaozhou District of Tongchuan City)， and visited Liulin School. Liulin School and Bolanden School of Donnersberg are sister schools. For a long time， AGCF Donnersberg has given aid to Liulin School in many aspects such as donating computers， setting up the Germany-China Friendship Library， aiding financially 14 poor students in Liulin District. Before the delegation’s visit to China， AGCF Donnersberg again donated 2000 Euros to help 20 poor students. Altogether 34 students have got financial aids from the Association. Three members of the delegation said they would give regular financial aid to 3 poor students in the future.

In Fujian the delegation visited Fuzhou， Xiamen and Quanzhou. In Xiamen the delegation had a talk with the Xiamen Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries about the possibility of forming friendship ties between Xiamen and Trier (hometown of Karl Marx). In Fuzhou， the delegation paid a visit to the Fuzhou Art Teachers School， the sister school of Montabaur Music School of Germany. Since Rheinland-Phalz State and Fujian Province established friendship ties in 1989， the two provinces have been in close contacts with each other. Fuzhou University has set up a China-Germany artists' studio and is preparing to set up the department of German language.

In Shanghai the members of the delegation greatly admired the fast speed and achievements of Shanghai’s economic development. Riding on the maglev train built with German technology was an interesting experience to the members of the delegation during their visit to China.