[Jointly celebrating the joyous Spring Festival]

As spring awakens, all creatures on earth have come back to life. On February 7, 2007, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming held a reception for the Chinese residing in the DPRK to greet the spring of 2007 at the Chinese Embassy. Representatives of the Chinese living in DPRK attended the reception. Quite a few of them came from far-away places of the country.

In his welcoming speech, Ambassador Liu extended the most cordial greetings and New Year wishes to the Chinese present at the reception and through them to all the Chinese residing in the DPRK. Looking back on 2006, Ambassador Liu said that under the leadership of the Central Committee of the CPC with Comrade Hu Jintao as the General Secretary, the Chinese people of all nationalities scored tremendous successes that attracted the attention of the world. He pointed out that the new year is an important year for carrying out in an all-round way the scientific concept of development and building a socialist harmonious society, and that the people in the whole country are going all out to achieve excellent successes to greet a successful convocation of the 17th CPC Congress. Ambassador Liu praised the Chinese residing in the DPRK for their love for the country and the hometown and their care for the construction of the motherland in a modernization drive and for the great cause of the reunification of the motherland. He expressed the hope that the Chinese living in the DPRK will continue to carry forward the fine tradition of the Chinese nation and will live amicably with Korean people and make their due contributions to the development of DPRK and to the continuous friendship between the Chinese and DPRK peoples.

Ambassador Liu said that the motherland is extremely solicitous for the Chinese living abroad. The Embassy will continue, with the aim of "people foremost" and "diplomacy for the people", to serve the Chinese living abroad with all sincerity and earnestly safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

[Caring for the development of the relations between the PRC and the DPRK]

Liang Zuojun, Vice-President of the Central Committee of the Federation of the Chinese Residing in DPRK, said in his speech that in the past year, the economic strength and the overall national strength of the motherland have been further raised and China's international prestige has grown with each passing day. China has made major contributions to the safeguarding of world peace and to the common development. Though living oversea, the Chinese residing in the DPRK are closely related to the motherland in their hearts, and feel proud for every achievement scored by the motherland. Vice-President Liang indicated that the Chinese residing in the DPRK will continue to improve the overall quality, conscientiously abide by the DPRK law, live amicably with the local people, carry forward the fine tradition of the Chinese nation of unity and mutual help and of self-respect and self-improvement, play as always the role of a bridge and a bond for the friendship between China and DPRK.

From beginning to end, the reception was brimmed with strong detachment for hometown or village and affection among family members and was permeated with joyful festive atmosphere. The guests and the Embassy staff chatted cheerfully about the great achievements scored by the motherland in recent years, and said that the economic prosperity, social progress and people's happy life of the motherland made the Chinese living abroad feel extremely happy and proud. They looked forward heartily to a more prosperous, richer and stronger motherland, an early realization of the reunification of the motherland and realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Before the reception, the guests watched a Chinese feature film entitled "Get together with you".