Foreign news

The Unforgotten War: President Xi urges Chinese people to carry forward spirit of ‘War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea’

Published

4 years ago

October 24, 2020

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the Chinese people to learn from the spirit demonstrated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Speaking at a ceremony to mark seventy years since China’s involvement in the war, he said China will never allow any forces to violate or separate its territory. Wu Guoxiu has more from the meeting in Beijing.

Paying tribute to the 190-thousand Chinese soldiers who lost their lives on the Korean Peninsula seventy years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping says it is through their sacrifice that the independence of the newly established People’s Republic of China was safeguarded.

XI JINPING Chinese President “The imperialists no longer dare attempt to invade New China by force. New China has truly gained a firm foothold. This battle brought safety and peace to our homeland, and fully demonstrated the steel will of the Chinese people, who do not fear violence.”

In June 1950, US-led UN forces quickly pushed beyond the Yalu River, right up to the northeastern border of China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

When the DPRK requested China’s help, Beijing sent the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army to the Korean Peninsula to help its neighbor and protect its own national security. Seventy years later, some of the veterans of that war sat in the front row in the meeting.

The Chinese leader said the sacrifices made by the Chinese soldiers and everyone else who contributed to the war effort will never be forgotten. He called on the Chinese people to carry forward the spirit demonstrated in the war.

XI JINPING Chinese President “The road ahead will not be smooth. We have to bear in mind the hard journey and great victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. We should have the courage to fight, be good at fighting, keep moving forward despite difficulties, and forge ahead with perseverance, so as to push forward the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.”

Seventy years ago, the Chinese army was mainly infantry based. Now China has a modern army with different branches and departments. President Xi stressed the need to keep building a strong military to defend the nation. He said the Chinese army is a force in defence of world peace. But he warned China will never allow any force to violate its sovereignty.

XI JINPING Chinese President “China never seek hegemony or expansion and firmly opposes hegemonism and power politics. We will never allow our national sovereignty, security and development interests to be undermined. We’ll never allow any forces to violate or separate our sacred territory. If a situation this serious ever happens, the Chinese people will absolutely meet it with head-on blows!”

Looking to the world, President Xi said trying to blackmail and pressure other countries leads nowhere. He said the Chinese nation will never cower before threats, or be subdued by suppression. He added China is ready to work with the world’s people to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

WU GUOXIU Beijing “The event has invited both veterans and students. Seventy years ago, some of the soldiers who went to the battlefield were in their teens. Today’s event has been aimed at respecting history and strengthening patriotism. Wu Guoxiu, CGTN, Beijing.”

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Foreign news

French Envoy Seeks Collaboration With NAN To Boost Seamless Relationship

Published

2 hours ago

February 5, 2025

The Gleamer

The new French envoy to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, on Wednesday called for collaboration with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) toward strengthening the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.

Fonbaustier, who is the French ambassador to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, NAN’s Managing Director, in Abuja.
The ambassador said that his purpose of visiting was to pay tribute to the MD, and to seek collaboration in three areas with a view to promoting stronger, seamless and fruitful partnership between both countries.

He added that Nigeria and its people were hospitable, especially to the foreigners and ambassadors alike.

He added that Nigeria was a country with so much energy, strength, stamina and so many talents.

In Nigeria, with the population of this size, it is inevitable that the elites of the country are very outstanding, “and there may be a Franco/Nigeria moments now”, he jokes.

According to him, France and Nigeria can collaborate more and learn from each other.
“I could feel it particularly during the state visit of President Bola Tinubu which took place in November 2024.

“I was there and I could see the intensity, the strength and the scope of the partnership, and I am here to scale up that partnership in all sectors.

“I am coming here for three reasons, first, to pay a tribute to the NAN MD and his team for the quality of this agency. We can testify that the contents that you publish are very factual, and also very well set up and structured.

“You do fact checking and you really do try to provide the community with quality information. I think, as a French ambassador, I can recognise that as part of a living democracy,” he said.

The French ambassador said the second reason for the visit was to intimate the NAN MD of France’s eagerness to go on partnership with NAN saying he hoped for assurance of a seamless, fluid and easy relationship.

He said that his third reason stemmed from his observation that NAN recently signed some partnership framework agreements with Egypt and China, saying “it may be time to think of balancing this partnership with others”.

“Especially with French, and to talk with Agence France-Presse (AFP) to see if there’s ground for a closer relationship between NAN and AFP.

“Which is also a recognised agency like yours, and I bet you the sky will be the limit to the collaboration, ’’he said.

Responding, the NAN MD informed the envoy that the agency was African’s biggest news content provider on account of its size.

Ali gave the envoy a little details of the agency’s operation and its outreach, saying “as our continent’s biggest news content provider, we have offices nationwide and in selected African countries.

“We have offices in countries such as South Africa, Cote d’ivoire, Addis Ababa, and then we have offices also beyond the shores of Africa. We have in New York and we are the only resident wire service in the United Nations.

“At a time in the past, the agency had 11 foreign offices, including Moscow, and presently, we are trying to re-open some of our shut offices, especially in London.
“We value partnership and understanding that we have with similar news organisation such as Reuters and, incidentally, we have a long standing relationship with AFP which you just raised.
“I know for years we have exchange of news between NAN and AFP but it’s a cooperation that we will like to strengthen and with your greater involvement,’’ he said.

The MD commended the ambassador for reaching out and engaging with some Nigerians communities to douse the tension of the allegation made by the Nigeriens.

He also lauded the envoy’s leadership and visibility to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, “which has helped to douse the perception and misconceptions about France, especially in the Sahel”.
“I think you have helped to reverse some of this perceptions. I thank you for the kind words that you said about the agency and about our management.

“We also see partnership as an important tool in checking the spread of fake news.
“We’ve seen instances where fake news has done great deal of damage, and with the coming of social media it has done even greater damage.

“Our country is facing a lot of challenges, one of which is the increasing insecurity, and the social media has been used by those who do not want to see our country to prosper,” Ali said.
He further said that NAN was a credible news agency that always fact check to correct the wrong narratives by those who are in the business of causing troubles.

He also told the envoy that the agency has its content in the Nigerian indigenous languages, starting with Hausa and it would proceed to Yoruba and Igbo languages later, “then later in future to French.

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