CPAFFC President Lin Songtian:Carry forward the Olympic spirit,deepen cooperation between friendship cities

Chen Ke

O n Jan 14， CPAFFC President Lin Songtian gave an exclusive interview on CCTV’s Chinese International Channel and the CCTV News Channel on the significance and main features of the Beijing Winter Olympics Friendship Cities Cooperation and Development Forum， its theme and the Olympic spirit and people-to-people ties， among other topics.

Lin said the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympics left the world with a splendid， deep impression. In 21 days， Beijing would host the Winter Olympics and become the world’s only city to have hosted two Olympic Games. Friends of China are delighted about this， Lin noted. However， he said， some people in the world do not want to see big and joyful events happen in China， so they make noise.

Justice prevails in the world. On Dec 2， 2021， the 76th UN General Assembly adopted a resolution for a truce during the Beijing Winter Games. A total of 173 countries participated in the resolution， the highest number of coun- tries to propose a truce for the Winter Games. International friendship cities of Beijing and Hebei all asked for proper ways to show their support for the Beijing Winter Olympics. Taking the opportunity， the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries proposed holding the forum with the two regions’ international friendship cities as participants.

Lin said it was a great pleasure to see more than 70 cities from 23 countries on four continents attend the forum both online and offline to express their strong recognition of China and their firm support and best wishes for the Beijing Winter Olympics. According to Lin， the forum had three characteristics：

First is the high level of the participants. Wang Yi， a Chinese State councilor， made a video recording for the opening ceremony. Gu Xiulian， vice-chair of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress（NPC） attended the ceremony on site and delivered a keynote speech. Chen Jining， mayor of Beijing， and Wang Zhengpu， acting governor of Hebei province， who were studying at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee， asked for a leave from the school to attend the ceremony and give speeches. Ivan Melnikov， first vicechairman of the Russian State Duma， and Heinz Fischer， former president of Austria， attended and delivered speeches online， cheering for China.

The second characteristic is the large-scale participation. In addition to the main session in Beijing and subsessions in Hebei province and Zhangjiakou， there were 58 overseas subsessions. More than 200 participants in 72 provinces and cities in 23 countries attended the forum， online and offline.

Third is the wide range of representation. Participants came from 13 Olympic host cities in 23 countries on four continents， including Russia， Germany， France， Greece， Austria， Italy， Bosnia and Herzegovina， Japan and South Korea. Their actions demon-strated that any attempt to manipulate the Olympic movement politically is against the Olympic spirit， displeases the people and will never succeed.

With regard to the forum’s theme， Lin said， “Snow and ice sports， known as rich people’s sports， are not China’s strong suit. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core， China has not only won the bid to host the Winter Olympics but also pledged to encourage 300 million people to participate in snow and ice sports. We are glad to see that today ice and snow sports have sprung up in all parts of China， from the northeast to the northwest and to Hainan， Guangdong and Fujian. Hundreds of millions of youths can directly experience the joy of ice and snow sports.”

The Beijing Winter Olympics has not only enriched the Chinese people’s sports activities， improved their health and satisfied their longing for a better life but also boosted huge consumption and industry. China and Europe are strongly complementary to each other in the ice and snow sports industries. With the theme “Meet at the Beijing Winter Olympics and seek cooperative development”， the forum designed four subtopics： Olympic preparations and social development， Olympic spirit and people-to-people affinity， smart city and innovative development and joint response to difficulties and postepidemic cooperative development. It is hoped that friendship cities will serve as a platform for local cooperation between China and other countries， share experience in hosting the Olympics and innovate development concepts， carry forward the Olympic spirit and commit to mutual benefit and common development.

At present， the globalization of the world economy is suffering a countercurrent. Some countries， regardless of their own domestic problems， engage in unilateralism and resort to isolation and confrontation. Lin expressed hope that the forum would promote the common values of peace， development， equity， justice， democracy and freedom of all mankind； share the new development concept of innovation， coordination， green and shared benefits； make joint plans for post-epidemic cooperation； and overcome difficulties together and achieve common development. These ideas have received a positive response and praise from all parties.

On the Olympic spirit and peopleto-people ties， Lin noted， the Olympic spirit embodies mutual understanding， friendship， unity and fair play. The Olympic motto is “Faster， Higher， Stronger — Together”. The Olympics is a grand gathering of sports and spiritual pursuits for the entire human race. Its unique charm is that people from all over the world， regardless of nationality， color， cultural background， values， philosophies or social systems， can enjoy the happiness of fair and competitive sports together and cheer for the sportsmanship of challenging oneself and making progress.

The tradition of the Olympic truce dates to ancient Greece. But today some countries lack respect and understanding of history and culture. They interpret the Olympic spirit arbitrarily and with many illusions.

The successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics will not only be a world-renowned sports event for the enjoyment of the people of the world but will also build a platform for exchanges and provide an important opportunity for Eastern and Western civilizations to learn from each other. Through online and offline interactions， people of all countries can contribute to the great achievements of mankind.

It is also hoped that the forum will be a platform from which international friendship cities will enhance mutual understanding， align development strategies and， under the guidance of the Olympic spirit， deliver more fruits of cooperation， bring more benefits to people of all countries， deepen peopleto-people ties between China and other countries and build a more united， harmonious and beautiful future.