Ｌｅｂａｎｅｓｅ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ

The delegation of the Lebanese-Chinese League for Friendship and Cooperation (LCLFC) led by its vice president Massoud Daher visited Beijing， Nanjing and Shanghai from October 9 to 16， 2004 at the invitation of the CPAFFC. During its stay in China， the delegation had working conferences with Wang Yunze， vice president of the CPAFFC， Wu Xijun， president of the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， and Yao Quanfu， executive vice president of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries， called on the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Shanghai International Studies University， and visited places of historical and cultural interest and modern constructions in these cities.

The LCLFC， set up three years ago， works hard to promote the friendly exchanges between Lebanon and China， especially the exchanges and cooperation in the cultural field. Its members include diplomats， doctors， lawyers， scholars， etc. Its president is former Lebanese ambassador to China.

The leader of the delegation Massoud Daher has taught in Japan for many years. He knows very well the Japanese economy and society. This was his fourth visit to China; his past three visits were made in 1999， 2000 and 2001. He said that the bustling scene everywhere in China reminded people of China’s high growth rate of 8% a year. He highly praised the tremendous achievements China has won since it adopted the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world in 1978. Comparing China’s reform and opening up with Japan’s Meiji Restoration， China has achieved modernization in a short time of 20 years， whereas it took Japan more than 100 years; that’s why the world looks at China with new eyes.

Selim Tadmoury， member of the delegation， was Lebanese ambassador to China from 1983 to 1985. Visiting China again after 20 years， he marveled at the earth-shaking changes in China and was full of praises especially for the openness and enlivened thinking of the people. He said， China enjoys economic development and social stability because it has taken a correct road of development in conformity with its own characteristics. Now many countries are worried that China will become another hegemonic superpower. But he believes that the spirit that “peace is to be valued most” carried on from ancient times to the present in China has not only penetrated the life of the ordinary people， but also reflected in the foreign policies of China. The Chinese people yearn for peace and love peace. They are working to build an ideal state of peaceful development and harmonious coexistence.

It was the first time for the other three members of the delegation to visit China. The rich and colourful itinerary left them deep and beautiful impressions. They said， the present China is an open and fast-growing country where goods are in ample supply， the society is dynamic and the people are full of enthusiasm.

During the visit in China in its working conferences with the leaders of the national and local friendship associations， the delegation put forward the following suggestions on future work: The LCLFC plans to hold a Lebanon-China friendship forum in May 2005 in Beirut and invites the CPAFFC to send Chinese scholars in Arab culture， the Middle East issue， Lebanon， the Lebanese-Chinese relations， etc. to attend the forum. The LCLFC also welcomes the Chinese scholars to give lectures in Lebanon on other topics such as Chinese culture， art， literature， ideology， etc. in addition to the above-mentioned topics. The Lebanese side also welcomes Chinese scholars to teach in Lebanon.

The leader of the delegation said， small as it is， Lebanon has 42 universities and is the most open and liberal country in the Middle East， where all sorts of cultures and thoughts contend. The United States， Japan and other countries have opened courses in the universities in Lebanon， teaching their languages and spreading the cultures and ideology of their respective countries. But there is no one from China doing such work. Therefore， the Lebanese side suggested that China should set up an institution such as a cultural centre in Lebanon and send scholars to teach there. While giving Chinese language lessons， they can publicize Chinese culture through the mass media——radio， television and newspapers， by granting interviews， holding lectures and writing articles.

The delegation also watched the excellent performance of Peking Opera and visited the Nanjing Museum and the Shanghai Grand Theatre， all leaving deep impressions on them. The leader of the delegation extended welcome to art troupes of ballet， dance， Peking Opera， local operas， traditional music， acrobatics， etc. to tour Lebanon and exhibitions of historical relics， art works， etc. to be mounted in Lebanon. He said that the LCLFC has the ability to organize and make preparations for these activities. He also expressed the hope that Lebanon and China would closely cooperate in translation and publication.