Remarks by Ambassador Fu Cong at the CMG Prelude to Spring Festival Gala

2025-01-16 23:00  Print

Your Excellency Ambassador Xie Feng,

Your Excellency Consul General Chen Li,

President Stephen Orlins,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Good Evening!

It's my great pleasure to join you tonight at the Prelude to Spring Festival Gala hosted by the CMG. First and foremost, Happy New Year of the Snake!

The Spring Festival, also known as the Lunar New Year, is the most important traditional celebration in China.It's a time when people exchange their best wishes for peace, harmony, and prosperity. It's also a day when families come together to bid farewell to the past and welcome the new. Across China, there are many traditions to mark this special occasion, such as giving red packets, decorating doors with spring couplets, enjoying family dinners, and, of course, watching the CMG Spring Festival Gala on TV.

While the Lunar New Year continues to enjoy huge popularity at home, it is also becoming a global celebration. Today, nearly 20 countries have officially recognized the Lunar New Year as a public holiday. Around the world, the Festival is bringing people from diverse cultures and languages closer together. Recently, China's Spring Festival was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Once again, this time-honored tradition has been brought into the global spotlight. It offers a unique window for people around the world to learn more about China and the Chinese culture, and also serves as a bridge for exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations.

Dear Friends,

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, another milestone in human history. However, we will be celebrating this momentous event with mixed feelings, as the world is grappling with various challenges and crises. To overcome these difficulties, we should look to the diversity of human civilizations for inspiration and strength. We should rise above our differences—whether in history, culture, social systems, or geopolitical interests—and embrace mutual learning and solidarity. And just like passengers on the same boat, we should work together, using multilateralism to navigate towards a brighter future.

It is with such a spirit that we gather here tonight to celebrate the Spring Festival and the start of the Year of the Snake. In Chinese culture, the snake symbolizes wisdom, smartness, and good fortune. May the Year of the Snake bring the luck and strength we need! Let the spirit of the snake guide us as we face challenges and work together to build a more peaceful and prosperous world. Like the snake, may we be smart, adaptable, and patient in our journey ahead.

Once again, I wish you all a prosperous Year of the Snake filled with good fortune, health, and happiness!

Thank you!