The Republic of Mauritius is an island country in eastern Africa, where the unique scenery, every beach, sea, grass and tree exudes a romantic and seductive atmosphere, so it also attracts many travelers from all over the world to come to vacation every year. Mark Twain wrote of Mauritius in his Journey through the Equator: "God created Mauritius and then created the Garden of Eden in the image of Mauritius." ”
The official currency used by the Republic of Mauritius is the Mauritian rupee. The Mauritian rupee, as the country's iconic business card, has printed Chinese Chinese on coins, and people who have not understood the causes and consequences are quite puzzled.
What is the relationship between the African island nation of Mauritius and China? How friendly is this country to China?
When it comes to the land area of Mauritius, it is really not as good as a county in China. The local tourism industry is a major pillar of Mauritius' economic development, and the annual tourism operating income continues to grow steadily. In fact, the name of Mauritius comes from the name of a prince in the Netherlands. Its history of development is a history of colonial wars.
Geographically, Mauritius is located in the southwestern direction of the Indian Ocean. As a volcanic island nation, Mauritius is surrounded by coral reefs that sway like a piece of jasper embedded in a kaleidoscope of flowers.
Mauritius Island has many peaks and peculiar landforms, and the whole land is mainly composed of Mauritius Island and many other small islands, and there are many Chinese living on the island. It is also with the help of the Chinese that Mauritius has achieved real poverty alleviation.
The Mauritian rupee puts "Chinese printed on coins"
As mentioned above, the Chinese have led Mauritius to achieve economic freedom. This person is Zhu Meilin. Zhu Meilin was born in Mauritius in 1911, in fact he was an authentic Chinese, and his ancestral home was in Meizhou, Guangdong. His father was a small businessman who ran a grocery store and usually sold simple food and daily necessities.
When Zhu Meilin was twenty years old, she took over the business of a small shop from her father and directly opened the shop opposite the central market with a huge family traffic, and the business began to become more and more prosperous. I have to say that Zhu Meilin is an extremely intelligent figure. He knows how to judge the situation and know what the people in this place lack the most and what they need the most.
In 1942, Zhu Meilin was elected chairman of the local Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He did not forget that he was a Chinese. Adhering to the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation of benevolence and charity, Zhu Meilin accumulated virtue and good deeds in the local area, and under the leadership of Zhu Meilin, mauritius set up the first Chinese Chinese defense team.
Zhu Meilin united the local Chinese into a huge team to help each other in economic, political and other aspects. During World War II, this team also played an important role in the war against the Japanese invaders. At that time, most of the local shops in Mauritius were opened by Chinese, ensuring the daily grain and oil needs of Mauritius and the normal supply of life. With such foresight and leadership, Zhu Meilin has also been appreciated by the Mauritian government.
In 1947, due to his outstanding political ability, Zhu Meilin was elected as the first Chinese legislator in Mauritius, and he participated in the political activities of Mauritius as a Chinese representative. In 1968, Mauritius finally declared its independence. For Mauritius, while this is a good start, the reality is not as optimistic as one might expect. Due to the fact that the local economic structure of Mauritius is too simple and the industrial development is not perfect, the local employment rate is very low.
Under Zhu Meilin's huge network of interpersonal relations, he found a large number of investors at home and abroad to inject development funds into Mauritius, founded enterprises in the textile industry, heavy industry and other aspects of the local area, saved Mauritius from crisis several times, and made outstanding contributions to the economic development of Mauritius. As a result, the status of the Chinese has risen and been highly respected.
In 1991, Zhu Meilin died of illness at the age of 80. In 1999, the Government of Mauritius issued a 25-rupee banknote bearing the head of Chu Meilin in commemoration of Chu's contribution to the region. Zhu Meilin is the only Chinese representative whose head is printed on foreign currency. In addition, the name of a street in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, is also named after "Chu Mei Lin".
So far, the status of the Chinese in Mauritius is quite high. It is reported that at least one of the cabinet members of the Mauritian government is a Chinese leader, and the majority of the members of the Parliament are Chinese. Mauritius has the largest Chinese street in Africa, with a total of 40,000 Chinese.
How friendly is Mauritius to China?
In mauritius, the beautiful "paradise town", Chinese figures can be seen everywhere. There are many hard-working Chinese businessmen, as well as authentic Chinese restaurants, the sound of mahjong is heard from time to time on the street, and the Chinese New Year is also a local statutory holiday in Mauritius. Mauritius has always had a special affection for China.
The Chinese ambassador to Mauritius has publicly stated:
"During his tenure in Mauritius, his greatest feeling was friendliness. This is a deepest emotion of the local people, deeply rooted in the history and emotions of the two places, without any interest.
Mauritius is visa-free for China, and if you come to Mauritius, you don't have to worry about language communication here, because Chinese elements and Chinese signs can be seen everywhere, as if this is another city in China. Not only that, but the daily Chinese communication of some local people is stress-free, as if Chinese is their second language, and Mauritius and China are as close as a family. ”
In recent decades, Mauritius, through its own efforts, has managed to transform itself from a small, single backward country into the attractive holiday destination it is today, with the help of the Chinese government.
Over the past 40 -odd years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the two sides have always adhered to the basic principle of equality and mutual benefit, and have achieved fruitful results in economic and political cooperation. Many large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the Jinfei Development Zone and the Bagatel Dam, which are participated by Chinese enterprises, are a strong witness to the mutual benefit and win-win situation between the two sides. Mauritius is not only a place to linger on earth, but also a multicultural diversity that the world will enjoy.
Relations between China and Mao have a long history, with Chinese from China accounting for two percent of the local population, most of whom are hakka from Guangdong.
The arrival of the Chinese has also brought many aspects of Chinese traditional culture, customs, language and cuisine to Mauritius. In the future development, Mauritius and China will also work together to create a better future for the two peoples.