On the morning of March 29, Beijing time, and on the evening of March 28, Panama time, in order to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan, the "Panama Canal Untold Story - Erased History" New Book Sharing Meeting, jointly sponsored by the Chinese Embassy in Panama, the Panamanian Embassy in China and the Chang'an Avenue Reading Club, and undertaken by the Guangdong People's Publishing House, was held through online meetings. At the conference, Dr. Marisa Lasso, a Panamanian historian and author of The Erased History, spoke online with scholars in the field of Latin American studies in China to discuss forgotten and erased historical writing outside the mainstream Western discourse system. Gan Lin, Panamanian Ambassador to China, Gonzalez, Minister of Culture of Panama, Mr. Wei Qiang, Chinese Ambassador to Panama, Xiao Fenghua, member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Southern Media, and President of Guangdong People's Publishing House, attended the meeting.
"Erased History" new book sharing session Panama main venue
At the meeting, Envoy Wei Qiangqiang made an opening speech, highly praising the pioneering historical research value of Dr. Lasso's book and its great significance for deepening the people-to-people ties between China and Pakistan. He pointed out that the Chinese nation, which has a history of more than 5,000 years of civilization, gradually degenerated into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society after the Opium War in 1840, with great powers running rampant and mountains and rivers broken. In order to save the nation from peril, countless people with lofty ideals ran and shouted and sought a way out, but they all ended in failure, until the Communist Party of China came into being, leading the Chinese people to struggle in blood, changing the heavens and the earth, and moving irresistibly toward the goal of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is precisely out of the similar historical experience of being bullied by foreign powers in modern times that the people of Chinese have always expressed deep sympathy and firm support for the Panamanian people's efforts to pursue national independence and defend national dignity, and have vigorously expressed solidarity with Pakistan in their heroic struggle to reclaim sovereignty over the canal, and today sincerely develop their relations with Pakistan in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Under the guidance of this principle, cooperation in various fields has developed smoothly and people-to-people friendship has deepened since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan in the past five years, and it is hoped that the academic circles of the two sides will continue to strengthen exchanges, learn from each other, and jointly promote cooperation.
Chinese Ambassador to Panama Wei Qiang delivered a speech
Subsequently, Xiao Fenghua, member of the Party Committee and deputy general manager of Southern Media and president of Guangdong People's Publishing House, delivered a speech. He said that this is a unique new book sharing meeting, which is a cordial exchange between the two countries across thousands of miles. Dr. Lasso's book describes a strange and familiar story for Chinese readers, showing chinese readers how similar the fates of human beings are even on the other side of the ocean! He stressed that Guangdong People's Publishing House is committed to becoming a cultural leader rooted in Guangdong, serving the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and looking at the world, and has been insisting on introducing excellent book works from all over the world for many years, paying close attention to academic trends in Latin America, Africa and other regions, striving to explore voices that have been ignored and forgotten by mainstream discourse, and creating a new coordinate system for Chinese readers to understand China and the world with a more diversified global vision. He said that Guangdong and Panama have an indissoluble relationship. Historically, many overseas Chinese in Guangdong have participated in the construction of the Panama Canal, and Huadu District of Guangzhou City is the main source of overseas Chinese in Panama. The Guangdong People's Publishing House published this historical work on the Panama Canal, which is fate and even more inevitable to history.
Xiao Fenghua, member of the Party Committee and deputy general manager of Southern Media and president of Guangdong People's Publishing House, delivered a speech
At the meeting, Dr. Marisa Lasso had a cordial academic exchange with Hu Xilin, the translator of the Chinese Simplified edition of "Erased History", and Chinese scholars. Dr. Lasso first introduced her books and research experience to Chinese readers, recalling the story of the changes in the Panama Canal Zone told by her father, showing the rich and excellent historical and cultural landscape of Panama, and how the United States changed the landscape of the Canal Zone in order to control the Panama Canal, relocated hundreds of thousands of residents, and completely erased the history of the region. The translator Hu Xilin paid tribute to the author, who believes that the author has made painstaking efforts to create this book, not only consulting a large number of laws and regulations, a large number of letters retained by the parties, but also in-depth investigation of litigation testimony, local history and archival records, which is an excellent work that opens the reader's eyes.
Dr. Marisa Lasso made a statement
Wang Peng, secretary general of the Center for Central American and Caribbean Studies at the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, analyzed the historical similarities between China and Pakistan, and believed that the book presented a clear Panamanian perspective on the process of modernization, made a strong criticism of the narrative of Westernism, and denied the West's behavior of pretending to be advanced and arbitrarily interfering in the so-called backward areas. Associate Professor Cui Zhongzhou of the Center for Latin American Studies of Southwest University of Science and Technology evaluated the work from a historical point of view, pointing out that the current historical research on the Panama region is still very scarce, and Dr. Lasso's rich information and works that are different from the Western orthodox view of history have important academic significance and positive publication value. The history of the book presents readers with a typical case of "Western narrative", unveiling the veil obscured by Westernism and forcing people to face the real history. Wei Zhou, a well-known writer who wrote a book review for the book "Erased History", said that this book allows the world to re-examine the history of Panama, and through the excavation of the historical practice of Panama's modernization, it shows more possibilities for achieving modernization, and China and Pakistan have many similarities in this regard, and modernization depends on the initiative of their own people to absorb, transform and adopt, rather than fully accept the experience of other countries.
The "Erased History" new book sharing session will be broadcast live
Panamanian Ambassador to China Gan Lin delivered a speech
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Gan Lin of the Panamanian Embassy in China made a concluding speech on the conference, saying that "Erased History" can be published in China thanks to the efforts of many partners to promote cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan, and the works of Panamanian writers have been translated into the fastest Chinese, and he expressed his gratitude to the Guangdong People's Publishing House, the publisher of the Chinese. He said that the first batch of Chinese immigrants in Panama came from Guangdong Province, and the Panamanian people are still proud of the Guangdong people's participation in Panama's development and construction, and the book "Erased History" also emphasizes the important role of the Guangdong people in Panama's development. He stressed that everyone has the right to understand history, and even if it is denied by hegemonism, it still has the right to understand history. From the perspective of the people and the perspective of the victims, the book "Erased History" shows the huge price paid by the Panamanian people for development and progress, and is a work that critically understands the history of Panama and challenges the current mainstream concept of the Western that whitewashes the Taiping. In conclusion, he said that academic and cultural exchanges are an important pillar for maintaining bilateral relations, and firmly believes that the solid relationship between the two countries must be deeply rooted in mutual understanding, and the new book sharing meeting opened the curtain for the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan, and injected new vitality into the friendly development of the two countries by enhancing the understanding of the history and culture of the two countries.