Chinese Youth Delegation’s Visit to France

Two areas of northeastern France had a unique opportunity in February to appreciate the symphonic musical skills and basketball abilities of some talented Chinese schoolchildren. This helped open a new doorway of knowledge for many local people who knew little of China despite its headline-dominating economic advancement in recent years.

At the invitation of the Secdours Populaire Francias (SPF)， a 52-member Chinese youth delegation led by He Jifeng， Director General of the Department of European and Asian Affairs of the CPAFFC， made a 15-day visit to the Nord-Pas de Calais region as well as the French capital Paris running from February 9 to 23. Among the 52 members， 38 were students aged between 13 and 18 from the Golden Sail Symphony Orchestra of Beijing No. 22 Middle School， along with its basketball team.

The SPF established ties with the CPAFFC in June 2007. The two organizations have cooperated successfully in many projects， such as providing aid to the Sichuan earthquake-hit areas， youth exchanges for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games， and the China-France Friendship Water Cellar project.

The SPF founded in 1945 is a non-profit national philanthropic organization in France. It carries out development and training projects globally and gives emergency aid to people affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters. It has more than 500 employees and nearly 10，000 volunteers. Each year， it receives endowments in cash and kind worth 90 million and 250 million euros respectively donated by over a million donors. Headquartered in Lille， capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region， it has branches all over the country.

The Nord-Pas de Calais region is an old industrial base and is now faced with a difficult task of economic revitalization. The people there are not very well off， and many young people are unemployed. Yet， there seemed a high sense of optimism， as Madam Michelle Demessine， Vice Mayor of Lille， observed: though the regional weather tends to be almost permanently overcast， yet the people there have the brightest smiles in France. Some stories from the visit will help illustrate this.

Our delegation arrived at Beaupres School in Haubourdin City at 10 p.m. on February 9. This is a vocational boarding school a 20-minute drive from Lille city center. As it had just snowed， the road was slippery and the group arrived about 90 minutes late. When we got off the bus， feeling hungry and looking drowsy， we surprisingly found that some 20 students led by a teacher of Chinese had braved the cold wind to stand at the school gate waving， cheering and shouting hello in Chinese. At that moment the travel fatigue vanished.

The visit to Nord-Pas de Calais region went off without a hitch. Everyday we had a tight schedule. In every small city we visited， a grand welcome ceremony was held in the city hall. On February 15， the Golden Sail Symphony Orchestra of Beijing No. 22 Middle School held a concert in the Fernand Leger Culture Center in Douchy-les-Mines. The music of Happy Spring Festival with rich Chinese flavor and an excerpt from the classic opera Carmen known to all French people drew warm applause. Near the end， the Mayor of Douchy-les-Mines went on the stage and gave an enthusiastic speech. He presented a large bunch of flowers to Ning Jiacheng， one of the violinists， for that day happened to be the boy’s 16th birthday. Then， the mayor invited the audience of about 100 people to sing a birthday song for Ning， which was a very sincere and moving gesture.

The northern branch of the SPF also arranged several basketball matches and exciting street basketball games for the basketball team. On the French side， there were some professional seeded players as well as local amateur players. Everywhere the Chinese players went， they would catch people’s eyes. Fabrice Lecomte and Natalie Lecomte， a couple in charge of basketball team services in the SPF， accompanied the Chinese team to all matches. Wang Shen， a member of the basketball team， felt very cold while playing outdoors as the zipper of his overcoat was broken. Learning this， Natalie told us that her mother was a dressmaker and immediately telephoned her to come to the basketball field. It rained and was very cold that day.Natalie’s mother left after having fixed the zipper of Wang Shen’s overcoat before we had a chance to thank her.

Here we should particularly thanked another French friend—Manu Lesschaeve， who accompanied us all along on our visit. He is on the staff of the Lille municipal government， a volunteer of the SPF and also a musician. When we were in Lille， he not only took care of our food and accommodation and arranged every day’s activities， but also gave performances together with the Golden Sail Symphony Orchestra. He was warm-hearted and full of vigor. His optimism and humor affected every member of the delegation. In 2008， he came to China as a participant in an exchange project organized by the CPAFFC and the SPF. After returning home， he composed a song entitled China to express his impressions of this mysterious country full of vitality. He presented this item together with the Golden Sail Symphony Orchestra to warm applause from the French audience. I still remember quite clearly how he tirelessly bustled around and poured his heart and soul into the stage performance.

Everywhere we went during the visit， we experienced friendship and warmth. The staff of the SPF， the drivers who drove the bus for us and volunteers at the concerts and games gave up their holidays to make a contribution to the exchanges between Chinese and French youth. The “help” advocated by the SPF is not simply “giving”. When you get selfless help from others， you should also give sincerely and donate your own skills and knowledge in return. This kind of concept of help starting from the angle of humanity turns “charity” into dedication and makes human relations more affectionate and solid. The students of the Golden Sail Symphony Orchestra and the basketball team of Beijing No. 22 Middle School， through their activities， brought joy to the children who did not have family members accompanying them during the vacation， and raised money for the earthquake-hit areas in Haiti. Through these activities， they from their personal experience came to know the meaning of unity and mutual help and felt happy when helping others. This will be an inexhaustible wealth that they can go on use all their life.

During their stay in France， the Chinese youth delegation visited 12 cities in northern France and attended eight official receptions held at the city halls. The Golden Sail Symphony Orchestra gave seven benefit performances in five cities to a total audience of 8，000 people. The basketball team staged 13 benefit matches with French basketball fans in seven cities. The members of the delegation had a joint rehearsal with the students of a French musical school and held sports exchanges with the students of Lille 1 University and took part in such activities as making dumplings and celebrating the Chinese Spring Festival together with French friends. The members of the delegation were interviewed several times by la Voix du Nord， Nord eclair and Grand Lille Television. The interviewed students from their personal experience expressed their keen wish for China-France friendship and also displayed to the French public the mental outlook of modern Chinese youth.

Before the end of our visit， SPF President Laupretre said that， despite the increasing elevation of China’s international standing， yet many French people still knew little about China. The exchanges between the French and Chinese youth have not only promoted communication between youths， but also enhanced mutual understanding and friendship between the people of the two countries.