On November 16, the “Paired Assistance for Rural Revitalization” Launching Ceremony of the Paired Assistance Program for Malipo by the China Public Diplomacy Association was held at Daping Middle School in Malipo County, Yunnan Province. Sponsored by China Public Diplomacy Association and China Foundation for Rural Development, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the People’s Government of Malipo County, organized by Global Times Online and co-organized by Yum China, the “Donation Ceremony of Modern Kitchens to Malipo” was officially launched at the site.
Hu Zhengyue, Vice President of China Public Diplomacy Association; Hu Jian, Deputy Director- General of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Chen Zhigang, Vice President of the China Foundation for Rural Development; Wang Wei, Vice Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Yunnan Province; Lu Bo, Vice Mayor of Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture; Shi Ding, Executive Editor-in-Chief of Global Times Onlineand Wang Lizhi, Chief Public Affairs Officer of Yum China, attended the event.
30 years dedicated to promoting rural revitalization in an all-round way
The year 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Foreign Ministry’s paired assistance to Malipo County, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Since 1992, a total of 230 million yuan has been invested in the poverty alleviation foundation. More than 700 projects in six categories, including food and clothing, education, health, training, integrated village development program and industrial support, have been implemented, effectively lifting Malipo out of poverty and accelerating the all-around rural revitalization.
Hu Zhengyue, Vice President of China Public Diplomacy Association, said in his speech, “The most arduous and onerous task of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way still lies in rural areas. The CPC Central Committee has comprehensively promoted the rural revitalization strategy, prioritized to rural education, and continued improving conditions for compulsory education. Today, we are holding a series of activities such as the “Donation Ceremony of Modern Kitchens to Malipo”, which is a concrete measure to mobilize the efforts of all sectors of society to implement the spirit advocated by the CPC Central Committee.”
Hu Jian, Deputy Director-General of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “The Chinese modernization is the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all. No country has ever encountered such unprecedented difficulty and complexity on the way to modernization as China, with a population of 1.4 billionas a whole. We must maintain firm strategic resolve, pursue progress while ensuring stability, work hard to consolidate achievements in poverty alleviation and push forward the rural revitalization strategy.”
Chen Zhigang, Vice President of the China Foundation for Rural Development, pointed out, “Investing in children’s nutrition is investing in their future. Improvement in nutrition intake is instrumental in eradicating inter-generational poverty.” He also mentioned cooperation with Yum China in carrying out the “One Yuan Donation” program for 15 consecutive years to continuously improve the nutritional status of children in underdeveloped areas. The program has been supported by more than 130 million donors, with a total fundraising of more than 240 million yuan featuring “low threshold, convenient participation and transparent operation”.
As the central media, Global Times Online actively follows the progress of paired assistance and rural revitalization. Shi Ding, the Executive Editor-in-Chief of Global Times Online, said in his speech, “This time, we will not only continue to disseminate high-quality content, but also join hands with all sectors of society to participate in the construction of rural revitalization. In the future, Global Times Online will keep leveraging its advantages in media resources, work with all sectors of society and Chinese and foreign business partners to promote rural revitalization activities worldwide, and better tell stories of rural development with Chinese characteristics.”
“As a witness and beneficiary of China’s reform and opening up, Yum China has maintained steady development over the past 35 years. Adhering to our core value of ‘Always Doing the Right Thing’, we give full play to our unique strengths and have been actively giving back to the society,” said Alice Wang, Chief Public Affairs Officer of Yum China, who also pointed out that the “One Yuan Donation” program had provided 55 million nutritious meals to rural schools, donated modern kitchens to nearly 1,400 schools, and donated digital classrooms to 340 schools.
Empowering rural revitalization and promoting rural children’s healthy growth
At the site, guests, school leaders and student representatives unveiled the “Paired Assistance for Rural Revitalization” Donation Ceremony of Modern Kitchens to Malipo.
Thanks to the donation of Yum China and China Foundation for Rural Development, five schools in Malipo, including Daping Middle School, now have “Modern Kitchens”.
Main kitchen equipment and facilities in “Modern Kitchens” include induction cooker, rice steamer, disinfection cabinet, ventilation fan and operation table. In some rural schools, poorly-equipped kitchens using traditional stoves are inefficient in cooking, leading to energy waste and environmental pollution. In addition, schools in some areas lack necessary disinfection and food storage facilities, which poses hygiene risks.
Standardized and electro-vaporized equipment provides students with hot meals in an economical, efficient, safe and environmentally-friendly way compared with the traditional way of burning coals and biofuels. Meanwhile, it also changes the traditional cooking mode of rural schools, enriching food types and nutrient contents for students.
In addition to “Modern Kitchens”, Yum China also donated winter jackets to the students of Daping Middle School.
In fact, Yum China has long supported the improvement of rural children’s nutrition. Since 2008, Yum China has collaborated with China Foundation for Rural Development to carry out the “One Yuan Donation” program for 15 consecutive years, continuously improving the dietary nutrition of rural adolescents and children, whose healthy growth has contributed to rural revitalization.
It is worth mentioning that Yum China is also concerned about the shortage of programming education resources in rural areas. “Rural Children Digital Classroom Project” escorts the all-round growth of rural students and revitalizes rural development through skilled personnel by computer donations, teacher empowerment, and programming popularization.
Foreign media praise China’s achievements in rural development and poverty alleviation
More than 20 foreign journalists from the China International Press Communication Center attended the ceremony. Several reporters told Global Times Online that this was their first visit to rural areas in China, and they were impressed by the development of Malipo.
Thai Manager Daily reporter Zheng Quanzhi exclaimed, "Modern infrastructure such as kitchens is conducive to the growth of rural students. The development of this school in Malipo is a good example of the success of China’s poverty alleviation strategy.”
Rahul Basharat, a Pakistani journalist, described China’s poverty alleviation efforts as “a miracle that has lifted so many people out of poverty completely”. He believed poverty remains an urgent global issue, especially in Asia and Africa. Although many countries, including the West, have taken different measures, they have not eliminated poverty.
Seeing that social forces such as caring enterprises assist the development of rural areas, Zhang Jiawei, a reporter from Sin Chew Daily, told GlobalTimesOnline that in Malaysia, caring enterprises offer assistance to disadvantaged groups, but such targeted assistance from Chinses enterprises to underdeveloped rural areas are rare in Malaysia. He also said that he would introduce his experience here through the report.
Company: China Public Diplomacy Association
Contact Person: Yu Jiayi
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