Your Excellency Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare,

Director Eliot Minchenberg,

Deputy Director Wang Yuegong,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening!

It’s my great pleasure to join you for the opening ceremony of the UN Stamp Launch and Palace Museum Exhibition.

As many of you may know, the Palace Museum used to be the Forbidden City, the home and office for 24 Chinese emperors during China’s Ming and Qing Dynasties from the 15th century to the early 20th century.

Today, this time-honored place stands as a proud symbol and icon of Chinese culture. And this year, we will embrace the 100th anniversary of the Palace Museum.

To celebrate this occasion, and in commemoration of the International Museum Day, the UNPA is issuing a special event sheet of stamps of the Palace Museum, not only to honor the museum’s cultural and historical significance, but also to showcase the enduring charm of Chinese culture to the world.

I was told that the stamps are beautifully designed, featuring ten floral patterns inspired by the museum’s collection. Indeed, the Palace Museum is a treasure island full of cultural relics, housing millions of Chinese artifacts as well as many from abroad. Displayed side by side, these artifacts of diverse origins and styles are quite a sight to behold.

They bear witness to the centuries of interaction and fusion between eastern and western cultures. They also remind later generations that only by embracing openness and inclusiveness, and seeking harmony without uniformity, can we foster peaceful coexistence and synergy among different civilizations.

This spirit is also at the heart of the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, which advocates equality, dialogue, inclusiveness, and mutual learning among civilizations.

Last year, under China’s initiative, the General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution establishing June 10 as the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations.

Here, I’m pleased to announce that next month, we will hold a series of events to celebrate this important occasion for the first time here at the UN. So please mark your calendars!

Today’s event reminds me of a Chinese documentary called “Masters in Forbidden City”. It was a huge hit in China a few years ago and even today continues to captivate audiences around the world on platforms like YouTube and Netflix.

The documentary is about how the experts and craftsmen in the Palace Museum devote their time, skills, and passion to repairing, restoring, and preserving artifacts.

I believe that the same dedication and professionalism is also needed here at the UN when we treat this 80-year-old Organization. Just like those masters in the documentary, we must work together to restore, and more importantly, to revitalize the United Nations for the new era, to help it to make greater contributions to world peace, common development, and civilization exchanges.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A tiny stamp has the power to connect people across vast distances and cultures. Let’s take today’s celebration as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment and redouble our efforts for cultural exchanges at the UN and beyond. And let’s work together for a better UN and for a more harmonious world!

Finally, I wish the Palace Museum a happy 100th  birthday, and wish all of you a pleasant evening!

Thank you.