Meeting in Commemoration of 70th Anniversary of the Death of Dr. Norman Bethune

Seventy years ago, a devoted foreign friend of China passed away in tragic circumstances, prompting Chairman Mao Zedong to write: “I am deeply grieved over his death. Now we are all commemorating him, which shows how profoundly his spirit inspires everyone. We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him. With this spirit everyone can be very useful to the people. A man’s ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and above vulgar interests, a man who is of value to the people.”

These words can be found in Mao’s In Memory of Norman Bethune, which highly praised the great internationalist spirit demonstrated by this Canadian doctor and called on the Chinese people to learn from him. Bethune, a household name in China, won more than 4.69 million votes to easily top an online poll by Chinese Internet users to select the nation’s top 10 international friends having made an exceptional contribution to the country in the past 100 years. The poll was jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC, China Radio International (CRI) and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA).

The year 2009 marked the 70th anniversary of the death of Dr. Bethune from blood poisoning. On November 12, the CPAFFC held a meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to commemorate his work. Vice Chairman Chen Changzhi of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Canadian Senator Lowell Murray were present at the meeting. Among the attendees, Health Minister Chen Zhu, CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin, Patrice Cousineau, Counselor of the Canadian Embassy in China, Zhao Yupei, President of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Dr. Ian Bowmer, Executive Director of the Medical Council of Canada, spoke at the meeting. About 200 representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, medical institutes named after Norman Bethune, the Mausoleum of Martyrs in the North China Military Area and other relevant organizations, as well as diplomats of the Canadian Embassy in China, the delegation of the Canadian Fund for International Understanding through Culture and Canadian friends in Beijing were also present.

Having already carried out medical work during the Spanish Civil War, Norman Bethune came to China in the spring of 1938 to assist the struggle in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese people under extremely hard conditions, he treated the wounded and saved many from death until the end of his life. Working in extremely difficult, even primitive conditions, Dr. Bethune neglected an infected cut that led to blood poisoning as he was too busy with his work, and ultimately this led to his death. Although he lived and worked in China for only 18 months, he made outstanding contributions to the cause of liberation of the Chinese people that will never be forgotten. After his death, the Chinese Government built a tomb and a memorial hall for him in Hebei Province.

When meeting with the Canadian guests, Vice Chairman Chen Changzhi said that Dr. Bethune’s deeds had had a positive impact on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Canada, the growth of bilateral relations and people-to-people friendship, so that he occupied a special place in the history of Sino-Canadian relations. Chen noted that it was of great practical significance to promote the development of bilateral relations and enhance friendship between the two peoples by commemorating Dr. Bethune’s memory.

Health Minister Chen Zhu spoke highly of Dr. Bethune’s spirit, his utter devotion to others without any thought of self, his great warm-heartedness toward the people, and his pursuit of perfection of his medical skill, and called on the medical workers of the country to take him as an example―loving and being devoted to their work and serving the people wholeheartedly. He said that China wished to strengthen cooperation in the field of health with all countries of the world including Canada and was striving to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and protect the health of the broad masses of people. CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin said Dr. Bethune has been a symbol of China-Canada friendship. Chinese people cherished his noble character by seeking to learn from him with action and carry forward his spirit. The CPAFFC would, together with Canadian friends old and new, continue to push for the sustained and stable development of nongovernmental friendly relations between China and Canada.

Counselor Cousineau reviewed the course of relations over the past four decades since the two countries established diplomatic ties. He expressed the hope the two countries would build on the progress already made by continuing to increase cooperation and exchanges and make concerted efforts to tackle global issues not only for bilateral benefit but the world at large. He said that the name Bethune was a synonym of Canada in China and that he was deeply touched by Chinese people’s respect for Dr. Bethune. Dr. Ian Bowmer said, Dr. Bethune not only lived on in the hearts of the Chinese people, but had become a symbol of virtue for the Canadian people in seeking perfection, having a passion and a sense of responsibility in work. Dr. Bowmer presented Minister Chen Zhu with a certificate in recognition of Dr. Bethune’s humanitarianism issued by the Medical Council of Canada.

The Canadian side attached great importance to the commemorative activities. The Canadian Embassy in China acted in close coordination with the CPAFFC. Dr. Nelly Ng, President of the Canadian Fund for International Understanding through Culture, organized a delegation consisting of public figures of various sectors to take part in the activities. They included Senator Lowell Murray, former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps, Dr. Ian Bowmer, and representatives of major Canadian museums, science centers and art galleries. They said that they felt very proud to see Dr. Bethune so respected in China. Many personages had made contributions to other countries, but no country other than China held commemorations in various forms to express their cherished memories of the deceased 70 years after his death.

Just as Vice President Li Xiaolin said at the meeting, “Over the past 70 years, the name Norman Bethune has spread far and wide in China. His brilliant image and the stories of his dedication to the Chinese people have been engraved in the hearts of the people. He has become an example for the Chinese people to learn. We are commemorating Dr. Bethune today so as to learn from his internationalist spirit of solidarity and cooperation, his courage and his firm belief in world peace, people’s friendship and common development of humanity.”

Dr. Norman Bethune has built an eternal bridge of friendship between the people of China and Canada.