The United Nations marked its 16th Chinese Language Day on Tuesday at its New York headquarters, offering an immersive cultural experience that blended Chinese poetry and music.
This year's event, "Poetic China: Rhymes and Romance," featured Chinese poetry readings, musical performances, and an exhibition on Chinese characters. More than 400 UN diplomats, staff and international guests attended.
Chinese Language Day is celebrated on April 20, around the time of Guyu (Grain Rain), the sixth of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar.
"The United Nations Language Day was launched in 2010 and covers six UN official languages. According to arguments from domestic experts, the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations suggested that April 20, the day of Grain Rain, be designated as Chinese Language Day. It is very well thought out and contains a lot of cultural heritage including to commemorate Cangjie, the legendary figure believed to have invented Chinese characters," said Zou Heyi, a staff member of the Chinese news group of the Department of Global Communications of the United Nations.
At the opening ceremony of the event, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Fu Cong, said that Chinese is an important bridge that transcends national borders, promotes understanding and builds consensus. It actively conveys the United Nations' position and propositions to the world and makes important contributions to multilateral causes.
Many UN staff and foreign diplomats who like Chinese culture also performed poetry at the event.
"As heaven maintains vigor through movements, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-perfection," UN staff member Zach Danz recited lines from Zhou Yi, or the Book of Changes, an ancient classic of Confucianism.
"This spring morning in bed I'm lying, not to awake till the birds are crying," Guevara Alejandra, representative of the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations, recited lines from a popular Tang Dynasty (618-907) poem by Meng Haoran.
Chinese diplomats also used the DeepSeek artificial intelligence model to create a poem calling on peace and mutual learning among civilizations
"Eighty years through storm and wind we stride, the world now joins in peace side by side. Civilizations chart a course untold, where cultures blend in splendor bright and bold," said Chinese diplomat Zhao Lei.
The event also showcased a performance by the UN singers, who, dressed in traditional costumes, sang the iconic Chinese folk song "Jasmine," and also featured a series of activities such as cultural seminars, calligraphy experience, tea art performances, and exhibitions on Chinese characters.
United Nations marks 16th Chinese Language Day
China will take more effective measures to improve people's wellbeing, especially in education, healthcare, and social security, an official said Thursday in Beijing at a press conference on the interpretation of this year's government work report, which was submitted to the national legislature for deliberation earlier in the day.
Shen Danyang, head of the government work report drafting team and director of the State Council Research Office, said centering on enhancing educational equity and quality, the report made arrangements for education at all educational stages and of all types.
"Regarding preschool education, the policy of free education in the year prior to entering primary school will continue to be implemented this year, which is commonly referred to as free admission to the senior class of kindergartens. So, how can the income reduction of kindergartens be addressed? Subsidies will be provided by both the central and local governments, with the central government taking the lion's share. This year, the funds allocated to support the development of preschool education will increase significantly by 37.8 percent to ensure the implementation of the beneficial policy," he said.
Regarding senior high school education, Shen said the report stated that the supply of regular senior high school places will be increased,
Specifically, for areas with a continuous net inflow of population, a number of regular high schools will be planned and constructed on an annual basis. For regions with a temporary shortage of school places, priority will be given to the renovation and expansion of existing teaching buildings, student dormitories and canteens, he said.
Shen said the report put forward many supportive measures in healthcare.
"For instance, it urged efforts to strengthen coordination in drug use at the grassroots level, which mean improving the list of essential drugs, and optimizing the channels for drug supply and drug use coordination between upper- and lower-level medical and health institutions to make it more convenient for the public to use drugs at their doorstep. Besides, the report has made arrangements for supporting the development of innovative drugs for the third consecutive year. This year, China will strengthen the coordination of supportive policies in an all-round way, further address issues such as the barriers facing innovative drugs entering hospitals, and better meet the diverse medical and medication needs of the people," he said.
In terms of social security, Shen said the report proposed to continue raising the minimum standard of basic pensions for urban and rural residents -- a policy will benefit over 180 million elderly people.
"The central government will allocate 1.25 trillion yuan (about 181.25 billion U.S. dollars) in subsidy funds to ensure the timely and full payment of pensions. In response to the insufficient protection of the rights and interests of people engaging in new occupations, the report proposed to steadily and orderly expand the scale of the pilot program for occupational injury insurance. This year, the policy will cover 31 provincial-level regions across the country and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Meanwhile, enterprises specializing in travel, instant delivery and intra-city freight delivery will be included in the pilot program, which will ensure the safety of more laborers, such as food delivery workers and online car-hailing drivers," he said.
China to improve people's wellbeing in education, healthcare, social security: official
