CPAFFC Delegation in the Philippines

The signing of a cooperative agreement on comprehensive cooperation was one of the main fruits of a visit made to the Philippines Feb. 28-March 3 by a goodwill delegation led by Luo Qin， Secretary General of the CPAFFC.

The participants in the program are the China Service Center for Friendship and Cooperation with Foreign Countries and the South EastAsia-China Economic and Cultural Center.

The invitation for the visit came from the Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU).

During their stay， the delegation met with Alfredo S. Lim， Mayor of Manila， Benjamin Defensor， Chairman of APEC Counter-Terrorism Task Force， as well as leaders of friendship-with-China organizations and enterprises， and made study tours of enterprises and educational institutions. Leading members of the China Service Center for Friendship and Cooperation with Foreign Countries in the delegation held a working meeting with the South East Asia-China Economic and Cultural Center that led to the signing of the framework agreement.

Manila Mayor Meets the Delegation

Accompanied by Mr. Lorenzo Ku， Honorary Chairman of the APCU， the delegation paid a call on Mayor Alfredo S. Lim at the City Hall on the afternoon of March 2 where they were greeted by a 100-strong band playing both Philippine and Chinese music.

The high-spirited， 80-year old mayor， warmly welcoming the delegation members， recalled he had visited China several times and seen many changes each time. He said that he was happy to see the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and the continued improvement of people’s life. He added that contacts between the Philippines and China had existed for thousands of years and Chinese Filipinos had made great contributions to their country’s development and the friendship with China.

Luo Qing briefed the Mayor on the work of the CPAFFC and told him that， entrusted by the Chinese Government， the CPAFFC coordinates and oversees the work of establishing friendship-city relations between localities in China and their counterparts in other countries. The CPAFFC hoped to strengthen cooperation with Mayor Lim in this regard. The latter showed interest in forging relations of friendship and cooperation with Tibet when he learned that Lhasa， the region’s capital， had not yet established friendship-city relations with any localities in the Philippines.

Mayor Lim took the delegation to visit a photo exhibition on the history of Manila and presented a Golden Key of Manila to Luo Qin， who responded by giving the Mayor his calligraphy work with the words: Everlasting is the friendship between China and the Philippines.

Signing a Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Cooperation

On the evening of February 28， about a hundred representatives of various circles gathered at a reception jointly hosted by the APCU， the Philippines-China Economic and Trade Council， the South EastAsia-China Economic and Cultural Center and the Association of Volunteer Fire Chiefs and Firefighters of the Philippines (AVFCFP). Present were Benjamin Defensor， Chairman of the APEC Counter-Terrorism Task Force; Edgar B. Aglipay， Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Philippine Retirement Authority; and leading members of friendship organizations.

Mr. Lorenzo Ku， Honorary Chairman of the APCU， gave a brief introduction to the friendship organizations at the reception and expressed his confidence in ASEAN-China cooperation. He noted the launching of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area not long ago， and said， it is the third biggest FTA in the world covering the largest population and embracing developing countries. He believed that with the gradual elimination of tariffs， Chinese and ASEAN enterprises would see faster growth with the FTA serving as a convenient platform.

Luo Qin spoke highly of the close relations between the CPAFFC and the APCU and the Symposium on China-Philippines Friendship Cities born of the successful cooperation between the two organizations. He said， the CPAFFC is committed to promoting exchanges and cooperation in the political， economic， cultural， trade and other fields between China and other countries and willing to cooperate with more friendly organizations and personages to contribute to furthering the understanding and friendship between the Chinese and Philippine peoples.

Friendship Envoy Lorenzo Ku

Mr. Ku is also Chairman of LK Global and the Textile Producers Association， and President of the Association of Volunteer Fire Chiefs and Firefighters of the Philippines， Inc.

Born into a well-to-do business family of Chinese origin 70 years ago， he learned a love for China from his father. To develop friendly relations， he， together with people of the same ideal， founded the Philippines-China Sports Association and the Association for Philippines-China Understanding successively in the early 1970s. He has done a great deal to advance the cause of friendship between the two countries and created many firsts: in 1972， when China and the Philippines had not yet established diplomatic relations， he started trade contacts by bringing to the Philippines many Chinese industrial products. In 1976， he was put in charge of the reception of a Chinese delegation headed by Vice Premier Li Xiannian， the first Chinese leader to visit the Philippines. He was the chairman of the first meeting celebrating the National Day of the PRC. In 1987， he organized the first delegation of members of the House of Representatives to visit China， referred to as “ice-breaking visit”. In 1988， Luzon Spinning Mills， the first joint venture with an investment of US$5 million， was built in the Philippines. In the latter half of 1989， he hosted a delegation of the Chinese National People’s Congress led by its Vice Chairman Yao Guang， and in 1991， he called on the Chinese community in the Philippines to donate for the victims of the Yangtze River floods， raising over 1 million RMB on the first day.

Ku has also made great efforts to develop friendship-city ties between the two countries. With his help， Henan Province， Fushun City and Suzhou City were twinned with counterparts in the Philippines. To promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of education， he and some famous Philippine institutes of higher learning including Ateneo University set up the LK Global University City.

Association of Volunteer Fire Chiefs and Firefighters

A large-scale volunteer firefighters’ day was held in Manila on February 28. At the headquarters of the AVFCFP， more than 100 fire engines parked in lines and hundreds of volunteer firefighters were ready to go. The delegation visited the headquarters and listened to the briefing by Mr. Ku. Then， the fire engines embarked on a two-hour parade in the city. The delegation followed the motorcade which was led by Mayor Alfredo S. Lim and Lorenzo Ku in an open car.

The “three valuable acts”， namely， setting up volunteer fire brigades， donating to build schoolhouses in rural areas and giving free medical services to poor people carried out by the Chinese community are well-known in the Philippines.

In the 1950s and 1960s， the social status of Chinese Filipinos was low. Whenever there was a fire they could hardly get timely help from the government-run fire brigades. The Chinese Filipino volunteer fire brigades were set up to meet an urgent need. In 1976， volunteer fire brigades in various localities joined together to form the Association of Volunteer Fire Chiefs and Firefighters of the Philippines， Inc. The AVFCFP has built fire stations and purchased firefighting equipment out of the fund contributed by the Chinese Filipinos and offers 24-hour voluntary service.

The fire brigades have seen rapid development in the past 30 years. In Manila alone， there are more than 2，000 volunteer firefighters. The purpose of the AVFCFP has changed from self-assistance to rescuing others. When there is a report of fire， fire brigades will set off immediately. They enjoy high reputation among the people. Many volunteer firefighters have been injured， some even laid down their precious lives during rescue operations.

In 1993， the Philippine President issued a certificate of merit in recognition of the outstanding contributions made by the AVFCFP for saving people’s life and property.

LK Global University City

On March 2， Lorenzo Ku took the delegation to visit the LK Global University City， about an hour’s drive from Manila. It has a shopping mall with a supermarket， a bowling center， a billiard hall， and cinemas.

Mr. Ku holds that knowledge is power. Therefore， a few years ago he started to build the University City to accommodate the needs for English language learning by Chinese students and Chinese language learning by people from other countries. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sent a congratulatory message for the University City， saying that this would further strengthen trade and cultural relations between the Philippines and China.

The short visit ended. The friendship forged on the trip with personages of various circles will grow with each passing day. We will remember the great contributions made by overseas Chinese to increasing friendship between the people of China and other countries. Their spirit of striving for ceaseless self-improvement is a constant inspiration.