Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Attends “Chinese Connection—Top Ten International Friends of Ch

Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn made a special visit to Beijing to attend the “Chinese Connection—Top Ten International Friends of China” awards ceremony on December 8， 2009. Jia Qinglin， Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， met with her， along with other foreign friends， to present her with commemorative badge， while Wang Taihua， Director of the State Administration of Radio， Film and Television， presented the certificate. Gu Xiulian， Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress and President of the China-ASEAN Association，also took the opportunity to meet and entertain her.

Jia Qinglin met the international awardees. Before the awards ceremony， Chairman Jia met Princess Sirindhorn and other awardees and their representatives. He said that the year 2009 marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC. The Chinese people had not forgotten great support given by friends from various countries in regard to the founding and ongoing construction of New China. The online selection activity “Chinese Connection—

Friends of China” had received a positive response from the Chinese people. This fully reflected the Chinese nation’s traditional virtues of treasuring friendship， being grateful and not forgetting old friends. On behalf of the Chinese Government and people， he extended sincere gratitude to all those involved.

China could not develop without the support and help of foreign friends from various countries， neither could the world prosper and develop in the absence of China， he stressed. As globalization continued to develop rapidly， peoples around the world needed all the more to help each other and boost cooperation to promote peace and development. The Chinese people were willing to work together with everyone to contribute toward building a harmonious and beautiful world.

Princess Sirindhorn praised the Chinese people for not forgetting old friends. The Thai princess noted she had visited China four times in 2009， but， when she learned she had been selected as one of the “top ten international friends of China”， she was very happy and decided to make yet another visit to receive the award personally as it was of extraordinary significance. She was greatly moved to receive the honor given by the Chinese people， and， at the awards ceremony， on behalf of all the recipients， she delivered a speech in Chinese to express thanks. She said the event showed the Chinese people never forget the old friends who had extended a helping hand over the years. The awardees were always remembered by the Chinese people. Regarding the award recipients， she said: “I have learned about their deeds from books and other channels and feel that they are all respectable people. I am very much proud that I have been selected among them.” She continued: “Most of the voters in this online selection are young people， while some of the selected are those who made contributions to the founding of New China half a century ago. This shows that China has done a good job in carrying through its tradition (of remembering old friends).”

The Thai Government regards the award as an expression of the Chinese people’s friendly sentiments towards the Thai people.The Thai Government attached great importance to the award. When meeting a Chinese press delegation on November 17， Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the choice of Princess Sirindhorn as one of the most acclaimed international friends of China would further promote friendly relations between the two countries and show that China and Thailand “are as close as one family”. The 83rd birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej fell on December 5 when all kinds of celebrations were held across the country. Sirindhorn as a member of the royal family had a tight schedule. To ensure she could attend the awards ceremony while not affecting domestic activities， the Thai side provided a special plane so that she could fly to Beijing and return on the same day. It also sent a group of journalists accompanying her to cover the event.

Backgrounder

The activity “Chinese Connection—Top Ten International Friends of China” The CPAFFC， China Radio International (CRI) and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs jointly sponsored the awards activity in commemoration and recognition of international friends making great contributions to the founding and construction of New China. The activity was carried out on the website， “CRI online”. Altogether 56 million eligible votes were collected in the voting from August 31 to October 10. Through online polling and experts’ appraisal， 10 international friends from 50 candidates were selected. They were: Dr. Norman Bethune， John Rabe， Juan Antonio Samaranch， Edgar Snow， Dr. Joseph Needham， Israel Epstein， Rewi Alley， Dwarkanath Kotnis， Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Morihiko Hiramatsu. Princess Sirindhorn was selected with a large number of votes for her decades-long efforts to publicize Chinese history and culture to the Thai people and outstanding contribution to promoting cultural exchanges between Thailand and China and friendship between the people of the two countries. On December 8， the three host organizations held a grand awards ceremony at the Great Hall of the People and invited awardees and representatives or relatives of the awardees to attend.

Brief Introduction of Winners

Dr. Norman Bethune， Canadian (1890-1939)， doctor and medical innovator who treated wounded in the Spanish Civil War—developing first battlefield blood transfusion system—and then came to China to do the same work with the Eighth Route Army in liberated areas. His tireless work eventually cost him his life as he neglected a cut and died of blood poisoning.

John Rabe， German (1882- 1950)， a businessman best known for his efforts to rescue the Chinese people during the Nanjing Massacre committed by the Japanese imperial troops in 1937. He provided shelter for， and was eventually credited with saving 250，000 civilians.

Juan Antonio Samaranch， Spanish (1920)， honorary lifetime president of the International Olympic Committee and a tireless supporter of the idea of China hosting the Olympic Games.

Edgar Snow， American (1905-72)， journalist who journeyed to the Red Army base area Yan’an in 1936 to become the first Westerner to interview Chairman Mao Zedong. This formed part of his famous book Red Star Over China. At the height of the McCarthy era in the U.S.， he was accused of being a Communist and was forced into exile， living in Geneva and making occasional journeys to China to gather material for more books.

Dr. Joseph Needham， British (1900-95)， academic and Sinologist known for his research on the history of the development of Chinese science. He spent almost 50 years writing a milestone masterpiece Science and Civilization in China. He is known as Li Yuese in China.

Israel Epstein， Polish/Chinese (1915-2005)， born in Warsaw， became a journalist in China in his teens and wrote about many of the events of the tumultuous decades preceding the founding of the PRC. Helping to found and edit the magazine China Reconstructs (changed later to China Today) he eventually became a Chinese citizen and one of the few non-Chinese members of the Chinese Communist Party.

Rewi Alley， New Zealander (1897-1987)， a writer， educator and social activist， moved to China in 1927. He stood together with the Chinese people through adversity， working tirelessly to set up small industrial cooperatives mainly in rural areas and establish technical schools in the wilderness. He remained in China until his death writing many books on life in China and in support of the development programs of the CPC. He worked indefatigably for world peace and friendship among the peoples.

Dwarkanath Kotnis， Indian (1910-1942) physician， a member of an Indian medical team sent to China in 1938 to help those wounded in the anti- Japanese struggle waged by the Communist Eighth Route Army. Working as a front-line doctor often for 72 hours at a stretch， he finally succumbed to epilepsy at the age of 32.

Maha Chakri Sirindhorn， Thai (1955)， second daughter of the King of Thailand， often referred to as the “Princess of Technology” or the “Princess of Information Technology”， due to her interest and expertise in applying science for the country’s development. Having developed a keen interest in Chinese culture， she has worked for many years to promote cultural ties between her country and China.

Morihiko Hiramatsu， Japanese (1924)， Governor of Oita Prefecture from April 1979 to April 2003. In that position， he initiated the “One Village One Product” movement for regional development， which became much copied by developing countries throughout the world. Since 1980s he visited China a dozen times helping promote the movement and his efforts achieved noticeable success in improving the life of farmers in some areas. He has worked for many years to promote Japanese-Chinese friendship.