CPAFFC Delegation Visits Brunei and Malaysia

A CPAFFC delegation led by its vice president Wang Yunze paid a friendly visit to Brunei and Malaysia from October 16 to 26, 2003 at the invitation of the Chinese ambassador to Brunei and Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM).

It was the first delegation sent by the CPAFFC to Brunei with the aim of opening up new areas of people-to-people contact between China and Brunei. Its visit to Malaysia was the first contact between the CPAFFC and the Soka Gakkai Malaysia for discussing cooperation. Therefore, it was an exploratory trip.

The delegation visited Brunei from October 17 to 20, during which CPAFFC Vice President Wang Yunze called on Hamid Haji, acting permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jumet, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, and Awang Haji Saji, chairman of the Municipal Board of the capital Bandar Seri Begawan, and visited the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese School in the city.

When meeting with the delegation, Hamid Haji said, since Brunei and China established diplomatic relations, their official relations have developed smoothly and the friendly exchanges and cooperation in various fields have been carried out step by step. The frequent contacts between the high-level leaders of our two countries in particular have enhanced understanding and mutual trust between the two sides. Bilateral relations are now in a period featuring friendship, stability and development. China plays an important role on the international stage and a positive and constructive role especially in the Korean nuclear crisis, for which the Government of Brunei expresses its appreciation. China, with a vast territory and diversified development of its various regions, offers a lot of business opportunities. The CPAFFC can play a bridging role in the establishment of a closer bilateral relationship and help the chamber of commerce and enterprises of Brunei understand and enter the Chinese market. He expressed the belief that there would be broad prospects for cooperation between Brunei and China.

Mr. Jumet said, culture plays a very important role in promoting the exchanges between the peoples. Cultural exchanges, whether official or unofficial, can all enhance harmony among the peoples and ensure security. He expressed his willingness to cooperate with the CPAFFC in youth, sports and cultural exchanges.

During his meeting with the delegation, Awang Haji Saji made positive appraisal of the Brunei-China friendly relations. He said, exchanges and cooperation between local governments constitute an important part of bilateral relations. He will go to Kunming in the coming December to attend the East Asia Mayors' Forum cosponsored by the CPAFFC and the Yunnan Provincial People's Government. The goal his city wants to achieve is to become a local government organization in a true sense so as to conduct better exchanges and cooperation with cities of other countries.

The delegation visited Malaysia from October 20 to 26. It paid courtesy calls on Soka Gakkai Malaysia and the Malaysia-China Friendship Association (MCFA) and visited Malacca and other places.

The delegation had several meetings with the SGM, exchanging views on future exchanges between the two organizations. They set the goal for their organizations to achieve in the coming year. SGM President Koe Teng Hong gave a brief introduction of his organization. The SGM is a member of the Soka Gakkai International. It was founded in 1984 and its purpose is to promote the concept of peace through culture and education. There are at present 23 SGM centres, big and small, in the country with a membership of 50,000. Though being a religious organization, the SGM has transcended religion and started to carry out cultural exchanges in the 1990s. China has splendid culture and a long history. The SGM would like to publicize Chinese culture to the Malaysian people so as to enhance mutual understanding and promote friendship.

When meeting with the delegation, Tan Kai Hee, secretary of the Malaysia-China Friendship Association, reviewed the experiences of the MCFA in the past 11 years since its founding. Being a nongovernmental organization, the MCFA has to raise funds for its own expenses. Its members are from the political, business and other circles of Malaysia and Datuk Seri Mahathir, former Malaysian prime minister, is the patron of the Association. The MCFA, by holding activities of great impact such as "Malaysia-China Friendship Evening" for marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Malaysia and China, etc., has contributed to the promotion of Malaysia-China friendship. He spoke highly of China's foreign policy during the meeting, saying that China's present policy of building a good-neighbourly relationship is in line with the traditional moral concepts of loving peace and being kind to your neighbours upheld by the Chinese people. Malaysia has been occupied by Portugal, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Japan. Zheng He of China, who led an army of 20,000 strong and sailed westward across the ocean seven times, reaching Malaysia each time, never occupied an inch of Malaysia's territory. Moreover, he helped Malaysia resolve its dispute with ancient Ayutthaya Kingdom. Facts have proved that a strong China will not pose threat to its neighbouring countries, but is an important force of peace.