Culture Conveys True Feelings;Friendship Warms Our Hearts

A CPAFFC delegation led by Chen Haosu paid a goodwill visit to Japan from October 13 to 19， 2011. It attended a reception celebrating the 55th anniversary of the founding of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association (JCCEA) and made extensive contacts with leading members of the seven Japanese friendship organizations with China and friendly personages of various social sectors.

There were wide-ranging exchanges of views on further promoting people-to-people exchanges， in particular cultural exchanges.

Reception in Celebration of JCCEA’ 55th Anniversary

The JCCEA， founded in 1956， was initiated by Japanese cultural circles for the purpose of ensuring there would never be a repeat of the Japanese imperialists’ war crimes and working for early restoration of Japan-China friendly relations damaged by the war. In the past 55 years， its members， holding a firm belief in Japan-China friendship， and their Chinese friends， withstood all trials， upheld the banner of Japan-China friendship and made valuable contributions to promoting the normalization of diplomatic relations， enhancing friendship between the two peoples and boosting cultural exchanges.

On the afternoon of October 18， the reception in celebration of the 55th founding anniversary was held in Tokyo. Yohei Kono， former Speaker of the House of Representatives; Takashi Tsujii， President of the JCCEA， Koichi Kato， President of the Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA)， as well as representatives of the seven Japanese friendship organizations with China and friendly personages of various circles， totaling about 400 people， were present.

In his speech， Mr. Tsujii expressed his thanks to all the Japanese and Chinese personages and organizations for their long-term support of the JCCEA. He pledged it would carry out the behest of the older generation to safeguard bilateral friendship and trust， pass on this mission to the younger generation and make new contributions to the development of cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Chen Haosu， on behalf of the CPAFFC， extended his congratulations to the JCCEA. Cultural exchanges were heart-to-heart exchanges that transcend national boundaries and language barriers and played a unique important role in removing estrangement and prejudice and enhancing mutual understanding and friendship， he said. The CPAFFC and the JCCEA should give full play of their advantages in cultural exchanges and the tradition of people-to-people exchanges to promote governmental relations through people-to-people contacts and enhance trust through cultural exchanges so as to achieve ever-lasting friendship and common development. This was the common aspiration of the two peoples and also in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples. He continued by saying that there was a heavy responsibility on everyone and a long way to go before completing the task. With the approach of the 40th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations， the CPAFFC was willing to work hard together with the Japanese side to create a bright future of China- Japan relationship.

At the reception， Chinese and Japanese friendly personages came to meet the delegation one after another. The old friends of the CPAFFC chatted about friendship; the Japanese friends received by the CPAFFC expressed their gratitude; the personages who were working at the forefront of Japan-China people-to-people exchanges came up to talk about the activities they were to carry out， seeking support; the overseas Chinese and students working and/or studying in Japan came up for picture-taking. For a while， there was a long queue. What a warm and enthusiastic scene! At this moment， those working for non-governmental diplomacy felt deeply that such warmth did not come by easily， but had been attained through years’ unremitting efforts by friendly personages. We should feel proud of it. We should treasure it for it was a great wealth of people-to-people friendship between the two countries， a driving force for us to continuously propel the development of the cause of China-Japan friendship and an encouragement for us to go ahead.

Meeting with Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs

On October 18， the delegation met with Kazuyuki Hamada， Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs. Chen Haosu once again expressed his sincere condolences on the heavy casualties and great losses of properties caused by 3.11 catastrophic earthquake in eastern Japan. He said， he greatly admired the calmness and firmness displayed by the Japanese people after the earthquake and was very happy to see the noticeable progress of the reconstruction in the disaster-hit areas in the past half a year. He expressed his belief that the Japanese people would surely soon overcome difficulties and rebuild their beautiful homeland. He especially pointed out how， in the earthquake the Japanese people disregarded their own safety and rescued the Chinese trainees in Japan from danger， embodying mutual concern and the great cause of aid and friendship between the two peoples. It was so touching， Chen said.

Kazuyuki Hamada expressed his appreciation to the Chinese Government and people for their spiritual and material support for the Japanese people after the earthquakes. The fact that President Hu Jintao personally went to the Japanese Embassy in China to offer his condolences and Premier Wen Jiabao personally went to the quake-hit areas to offer sympathy and condolences on the occasion of his attendance at the Fourth China- Japan-ROK leaders Meeting greatly encouraged the Japanese people and further enhanced the two peoples’ friendly sentiments towards each other.

Only by correctly understanding history could future Japan-China friendly contacts be restored to the highest level. In history Japan had learned a lot from China. In this new historical period， the two countries could conduct extensive cooperation and exchanges in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection and jointly create a bright future. Since Yoshihiko Noda took office of Prime Minister， the new cabinet had attached great importance to developing Japan-China ties as one of Japan’s most important bilateral relations. The leaders of the two countries， through telephone conservations， affirmed the direction of further developing a bilateral strategic relationship of mutual benefits， and expected that the two countries would take the opportunity of the 40th anniversary celebrations to jointly surmount difficulties facing the development of bilateral relationship and make a significant step forward towards a completely new Japan-China relationship.

Chen Haosu said: “The CPAFFC， as a nongovernmental organization engaged in friendly exchanges， is fully aware of the importance of China-Japan friendship and set great store by the achievements made in this noble cause. Only by learning from each other could there be common progress. The year 2012， marking as it does the 40th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations， offers a fine opportunity to further enhance mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples and the friendly and cooperative relations between our two countries.”

During its stay in Japan， the delegation met with Ryoki Sugita， President CEO of Nikkei Inc.， Teruo Okano， Director of the Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science， and many old friends in cultural circles. The delegation also visited Tochigi Prefecture and made contacts with local personages. Wherever the delegation went， they were warmly welcomed and received by Japanese friends of various circles. Particularly the meticulous preparations and arrangements for the visit made by the friends of the JCCEA showed the Japanese people’s friendly sentiments towards their Chinese counterparts. To express gratitude， Chen Haosu led the delegation to write poems and articles and meet old and make new friends through cultural activities. Thus， this visit can be really called a “trip of culture and friendship”.