19 January 2023

Distinguished Mr. Feng Lei, Chinese Dean of the Confucius Institute at the UWI Mona,

Dear teachers and students,

Good afternoon!Waa Gwaan!?

It gives me great pleasure to celebrate the Spring Festival with you here. This is the most important traditional Chinese festival. You are the first visitors to the Embassy in 2023. First of all, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy and in my own name, I would like to extend my warm welcome to you.

2023 is the Year of the Rabbit. Rabbit is adorable in China. As one of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals, rabbit holds rich cultural implications. It is meek, innocent and lively, and thus carries the auspicious message of luck, happiness and success. It is smart, agile and good at jumping, and thus embodies the  good quality of dexterity, resourcefulness and audacity. In the Chinese language, “rabbit” and “way” share the same pronunciation, so rabbit also portends every success in a bright way ahead. Given this, I trust that 2023 will be a happy, lucky and successful year for all of us. I would also love to take this chance to extend warm greetings and best wishes to you. I wish you and your families and friends a very Happy Spring Festival and every success in the Year of the Rabbit!

In China, when we celebrate the Spring Festival, we also say we celebrate a brand new year. The Spring Festival represents family reunion, harmony and happiness, all of which define the very essence of the Chinese culture and resonate with the common wishes of the humanity. Therefore, the Spring Festival always goes down well around the globe. I know your passion for the Chinese culture and love for the Spring Festival and other traditional Chinese festivals. Therefore, the Embassy and the Confucius Institute co-host this event for you to profoundly immerse in every aspect of the culture of the Spring Festival. After the event, I believe you will love the Spring Festival and the Chinese culture even more.

“If the young people are strong, the country will be strong”. All of you who join us today represent the future and hope of Jamaica. Last year witnessed the successful convening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which draws an overarching plan and practical path for building China into a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. A prosperous, strong and open China will create more opportunities and bring more tangible benefits to countries and peoples around the world, including Jamaica and all of you. I hope you could also learn Chinese and know more about China and its culture while pursuing your study and sharpening your skills so as to be better equipped talents who could contribute a lot to Jamaica’s construction and development and be more competitive on the global arena.

The three teachers from the Confucius Institute and my colleagues will introduce some of Chinese culture and tour you around some traditional Spring Festival symbols such as Spring Couplets, Chinese knots and the Fu character. You would also have a chance to make dumplings and taste yummy Chinese food. I hope you will have a memorable afternoon when the seeds of promoting the development of bilateral relations and people-to-people exchanges between China and Jamaica are planted. I also hope one day you will all become the ambassadors who could inherit and consolidate China-Jamaica friendship.

Going forward, the Embassy will continue to play the role of bridge and bond, hold more similar activities and invite friends from all walks of life to participate and feel the charm of Chinese culture. We will also go out of the Embassy and communicate with Jamaican friends more often to deepen their understanding of China and China-Jamaica relations. Through these activities, we wish to promote interactions between our two peoples, bring China-Jamaica strategic partnership to a new level and build a China-Jamaica community with a shared future in the new era.

The venue for today’s event is named “Rejuvenation Hall”. I firmly believe, as long as we bear our dreams with our feet down to earth, our Chinese dream, the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, will surely be achieved. And Jamaica’s goal of “Re-igniting a nation for greatness” will also be achieved. While our countries are marching towards prosperity, everyone of us will also realize our dreams and write our own shining chapter!

Lastly, I wish all of you a happy Chinese New Year and your family good health. Wish China and Jamaica long-term peace and prosperity! Wish the friendship between China and Jamaica last forever!

Thank you all!