Wang Chunwan, Ambassador of Mauritius to China, ancestral home of Chengjiang Fugui, Meixian County, Guangdong, was born in Mauritius in 1958, and has served as Director of the Mauritian Tourism Bureau, Minister of Public Service, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Minister of Social Integration and Economic Growth of Mauritius, etc., and officially arrived in Beijing in July 2020 to take up the post of Ambassador of Mauritius to China.
His tall figure and personable demeanor were the first impressions left by Ambassador Wang Chunwan to reporters. "Have you ever returned to your ancestral hometown of Meizhou, Guangdong?" As soon as the reporter asked, the ambassador opened the conversation: from the ancestral house in Meizhou, he recalled the experience of his ancestors who crossed the sea to settle in Mauritius, and then talked about the stories of his hometown that he had heard from his parents over and over again since he was a child...... Following Ambassador Wang Chunwan's thoughts through the past 100 years, the legendary stories of Chinese people who have endured hardships in foreign lands have emerged one after another.
After several generations of hard work, the Wang Chunwan family has been deeply rooted in Mauritius, but an inseparable nostalgia has been passed down from generation to generation. For Ambassador Wang Chunwan, nostalgia is pinned on small mooncakes, and every Mid-Autumn Festival, it is an unchanging tradition for a family to sit together and eat mooncakes.
In 2017, Wang Chunwan visited the Meizhou Ketianxia Scenic Area
The distinctive imprint of Chinese culture in Mauritius is a proof of the Chinese wandering in a foreign land, and also a "spiritual bridge" that connects the hearts of the two peoples. "Mauritius has a great respect for ethnic and cultural diversity, and not only the Chinese value the inheritance of Chinese culture, but also the Mauritian people are very fond of Chinese culture. Ambassador Wang Chunwan said that Chinese noodles, fried rice and dim sum have been integrated into the daily diet of Mauritians. Every Chinese New Year, Mauritians celebrate the holiday just like the Chinese.
Mauritians not only eat Chinese food and celebrate Chinese festivals, but also print Chinese portraits in currency. The 25 rupee note shown to reporters by the embassy staff showed the photo of Zhu Meilin, a Hakka family member in Meizhou, Guangdong. Chu has developed a small retail shop into a large business group spanning all sectors of Mauritian society, standing up to Mauritius in times of national crisis, earning the respect and love of Mauritians. When Mauritius declared independence in 1968, Chu was also appointed Minister of Finance.
It is understood that 90% of the overseas Chinese in Mauritius are Hakka people, and they have played an important role in the development of Mauritius. The Hakka people in Mauritius are mainly from Meixian County, and the first generation of Hakka people came to Mauritius a long time ago, most of them opened grocery stores, and they are very trusted by the local society because of their hard work and hard work.
With the development of society, most of the Hakka people are engaged in business nowadays, and many large companies and factories have been opened in Mauritius, and the Hakka people have good business ability, high living standards, high consumption levels, and their local social status in Mauritius is quite high. In addition, many Hakka descendants also work in many professions with very high social status, such as doctors, judges, lawyers, teachers, accountants, engineers, or work in government departments.