China News Service Toronto, June 17 Title: Warren Bethune: Why Chinese still have deep feelings for Bethune
China News Service reporter Yu Ruidong
"We don't visit Dr. Norman Bethune's grave every year." Warren Bethune, president of the Toronto branch of the Canada-China Friendship Association, said in an interview with a China News Agency reporter in Toronto recently, "In the journey of exploring his history, the more I understand him, the more I can see why Chinese have deep respect and enthusiasm for him." The journey continues, so does the remembrance. ”
Warren Bethune, president of the Toronto branch of the Canada-China Friendship Association, was interviewed by a reporter from China News Agency in Toronto. Photo by Yu Ruidong
Feel emotions that transcend language barriers
The Bethune family is actually quite large, with many branches. Warren said he was distantly related to Norman Bethune in terms of blood ties, but close in terms of important core values. Today, Warren often attends various related events as a representative of the Bethune family.
In the 1970s, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Canada, there were many books, movies, magazine articles, etc. about Norman in Canada, introducing this figure who was regarded as a bridge between the two countries. Warren, then a teenager, became interested in the distant relative. In the decades that followed, he followed in Norman's footsteps and now sees Norman as a special relative, "We think about his passing, think about his life." ”
In 2007, newlywed Warren went to China for the first time to visit his wife's family. The Chinese family warmly accepted the member from the Bethune family. When they went to the village where Norman had lived, without prior notice, the villagers who learned of the visit of members of the Bethune family spontaneously came out to greet them, some of whom had dealt with Dr. Bethune in their youth. Emotions that transcended the language barrier impressed Warren.
Warren's father also couldn't help but shed tears at the time, because he was moved by Norman's contribution to China and Chinese remembered and grateful for him.
Warren not only learned that Chinese elementary school students are still learning about Norman's deeds, but also heard the inspiration of a Chinese entrepreneur who attributed his success to Bethune's spirit.
He was also impressed by a famous painting of Dr. Bethune and Mao Zedong meeting in a cave in the memorial hall. In the picture, he said, they show respect for each other.
Warren said the West had tried to dominate Chinese. By imparting his medical knowledge and skills, Norman "empowered" Chinese, gave them hope, and encouraged development that continues to this day. This is as Mao Zedong said, "A foreigner, without any selfish motive, regards the cause of the liberation of the Chinese people as his own." ”
"If you are willing to risk your own life to devote yourself to the cause of the liberation of others, nothing is greater than this; and if others are willing to risk their lives to enable you to do your work, nothing is nobler than this." Warren interprets the Bethune spirit in this way.
This, he argues, is why China does not see Dr. Bethune simply as a Westerner, but as a selfless man sympathetic to China's liberation cause. This is why he is still deeply remembered today, and why China was able to achieve development and change in a constructive way.
Warren Bethune was hoisted in September 2017 in front of the tomb of Dr. Bethune in the North China Military Region Martyrs' Cemetery in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province. Courtesy of respondents
Establish more intersections in the economic and cultural spheres
Today's China-Canada relations face difficulties. Warren believes that seeing is believing. If ordinary Canadians had the opportunity to visit China, their overall impression of China would have been positive. He also learned that business, education and culture are all continuing to promote bilateral exchanges. In the face of the new crown epidemic, China and Canada have also given each other support. He believed that the two sides needed to establish more intersections in the economic and cultural fields.
As the head of the Toronto chapter of the Canada-China Friendship Association, Warren said that the association needs to let people of all backgrounds understand the importance of Norman and his contribution to China, and understand more bits and pieces of Canada-China relations.
Warren Bethune Chinese in front of the Statue of Bethune at the Anti-Japanese War Memorial in September 2017. Courtesy of respondents
He said the association was seeking to expand contacts between Canada and the Chinese people and strengthen existing bilateral relations. "Hopefully, in the future, when I hand over this position to someone else, things will be better than it is now, and the Canadian people and the Chinese people will naturally see each other as friends."
Warren said the huge leap he witnessed in China in 10 years was remarkable and amazing. Today, China has achieved the largest poverty alleviation in history, and China and the Chinese Communist Party have reason to be proud of it. China has continuously improved the quality of life of its people in the fields of housing, transportation and education. When people talk about concepts such as artificial intelligence and renewable energy, they are actually talking about improving people's lives.
Warren says the West also has a history of which it is proud. The West and China should be open and learn from each other. The objectives of different social systems are to accommodate the basic needs of the human person, to expand exchanges between people and to promote peace and development. (End)
Source: China News Network