Deputy Prime Minister Hon Prasad, Hon Ministers, Members of Parliament,

Overseas Chinese,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear friends,

Happy Chinese New Year!

It is a great pleasure to be here with all of you at the “Happy Chinese New Year Folklife Festival”. In three days, we will welcome Chinese New Year, which is also known as the Spring Festival. First of all, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji, I would like to extend my new year greetings to all Fijian friends and overseas Chinese in Fiji. Wish you all a prosperous Year of the Snake, good health and all the best! Wish the “Happy Chinese New Year Folklife Festival” a complete success!

There is a Chinese saying goes, “The Spring Festival takes precedence of all festivals, and spring is the first of four seasons.” The Spring Festival is the oldest and most important traditional festival in Chinese culture, a time to bid farewell to the old year and ring in the new. During Spring Festival, Chinese people put up couplets, cut window decorations on red paper and hang lanterns at home, and go to the streets to watch lion dances, visit temple fairs and guess lantern riddles. These activities embody hundreds of millions of Chinese people’s feelings for their homeland, and have become a collective memory passed down from one generation to another.

Today, to let Fijian friends feel the warm atmosphere of Chinese New Year, we have brought the Temple Fair, a traditional folklore event, to Fiji. Here, you can enjoy the exhibition of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage such as shadow puppetry, paper-cutting, fans and lanterns, and witness the launching of the Chinese Zodiac stamps for the Year of the Snake. You can savor authentic Chinese cuisine with friends, while enjoying the wonderful performances presented by Chinese and Fijian artists on the spot. I am sure this temple fair will be a manifestation of the close bond between the Chinese and Fijian people, and will convey the beautiful vision of mutual understanding and lasting friendship between the two countries.

Nowadays, Spring Festival is not only a festival for Chinese people at home and abroad, but also for people around the world. I am very pleased to see that on December 4 last year, Spring Festival was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Spring Festival has become an important cultural link between China and the world. It will further convey the concepts of Chinese civilization of harmony, concord and peace, and disseminate the common values of humanity, such as family harmony, social inclusiveness, and the harmonious coexistence between human and nature, thus contributing to the exchanges and mutual understanding among different civilizations in the world. At this moment, more than one billion people around the world are celebrating Spring Festival in various ways. Spring Festival folk activities have reached nearly 200 countries and regions, gradually becoming a global cultural event.

Dear friends,

As you may know, China has a unique way of counting years, using twelve animals as Zodiac to represent each year. Last year was the Year of the Dragon, and this year is the Year of the Snake. Snake, in traditional Chinese culture, symbolizes agility, wisdom and vitality. This Year of the Snake is a milestone year for China and Fiji. It marks the 50th anniversary of China-Fiji diplomatic ties, as well as the 170th anniversary of the arrival of Chinese people in Fiji. In the past 50 years, under the strategic guidance of both leaders, China-Fiji relations has stood the test of time, and has become a good model of friendly cooperation between China and the Pacific Island Countries. At present, China-Fiji relations stand at a new historical starting point, at a crucial moment of building on past achievements and forging ahead. China will work together with Fijian friends to recall the aspirations of establishing diplomatic ties, deepen mutual respect and beneficial cooperation, promote people-to-people exchanges, and move forward towards a community with shared future for China and Fiji.

In closing, I would like to offer a brand-new interpretation of the snake to convey my best wishes for China-Fiji relations and every guest here, which is:

S for solidarity, China and Fiji will firmly support each other on issues concerning core interests;

N for new horizons, we would like to bring our bilateral relationship to a new high, and work together for the next flourishing 50 years;

A for advancement, we will work together to promote the prosperity of both countries;

K for kaleidoscope of opportunities, we will provide more opportunities for practical cooperation in various fields;

and E for enduring friendship, we are ready to work with Fijian friends to make China-Fiji friendship be passed on from generation to another!

谢谢！Vinaka vakalevu!