Attachment 3: Toast by the Chairman of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League Fei Xiaotong during the Welcome Banquet for the Delegation of the Polish Democratic Party (20 April 1988)

{Attach. 3}

Toast

By the Chairman of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League Fei Xiaotong (pronounced Fey Shiaot’oong) during the welcome banquet for the delegation of the Polish Democratic Party (20 April 1988)

Dear vice-chairman of the Polish Democratic Party,

Comrade Marek Wieczorek

Dear comrades, members of the delegation of the Polish Democratic Party

Dear Ambassador Dembowski

Comrades, friends

Today the China Democratic League has an opportunity to hold a banquet to welcome the comrades from the delegation of the Polish Democratic Party led by chairman Marek Wieczorek, vice-chairman of the Party. We feel very honoured and happy about it. First of all, let me on behalf of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League, and of all the members of the Central Committee of the China Democratic league here in the room, welcome wholeheartedly and give best regards to our Polish friends, coming from afar, and wish them health and good spirit during their stay in China.

Comrades, friends – despite the thousands of kilometers that lie between China and Poland, our two nations share a traditional friendship. In the history one would never find a mention of any war between our countries, only the peaceful and friendly contacts occupy the pages of our chronicles. Especially since the 1940s, when our countries’ constitutions underwent a fundamental change, our relations were but mutual help and support. Late Zhou En-lai, prime minister of the State Council, said that the Chinese nation cannot forget two things that Poles did for them: first, after the People’s Republic of China had been formed we encountered an imperialist blockade and the Polish nation lent us a hand, creating together – at a great cost – the Chinese-Polish Shipping Company. Also, when in the early 1960s nine Chinese journalists had been illegally arrested in Brazil, and China had no diplomatic contacts with that country, the whole rescue mission was arranged through the Polish embassy in Brazil. During the last ten years, and especially since the visits of Zhao Ziyang in Poland and of Wojciech Jaruzelski in China, our two countries witnessed the deepening of their friendship once more. We believe that further development of the Polish-Chinese relations and an even stronger friendship between the nations of Poland and China may help alleviate some of the tensions on the global scene and defend the world peace, and also further the socialist cause in both our countries.

The China Democratic League is a political party of the middle and higher class of the chinese intelligentsia coming from milieux of culture, education, science and technology. Our task is to be of service to the modern socialist cause in China and the unification of our fatherland. The China Democratic League and the Polish Democratic Party have a lot in common: both our parties were founded during the antifascist war and both made sacrifices for independence, freedom and liberation of the fatherland; aso, both actively supported the building of modern socialism as well as stability and unity of their states. That is the foundation of the development of friendly relations between our parties. Since 1986, when cordial relations were established between out parties, we participated in numerous contacts and exchanges – especially since the visit which the delegation of the China Democratic League led by the vice-chairman of its Central Committee Qian Weizhang, paid in Poland last July – the friendship between our nations and the understanding between our two parties has grown even stronger. I am convinced that during the current visit of the delegation in our country led by chairman Marek Wieczorek we are going to achieve even better results and success.

Comrades and friends – the recently concluded VII session of the National People’s Congress and the I session of the Political Consultative Conference devised a five-year plan of development and reform, their goals, direction and tasks. We must fight with utmost conviction for the acceleration and deepening of the reform, to replace old structures with the new, to transform our country into a rich, civilized, modern socialist state. We participate in a structure of multi-party cooperation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and we must make continuous efforts to improve that structure in order to build a political system of socialist democracy. Also, we need to strive tirelessly for the peaceful unification of the fatherland.

Our dear Polish friends, tomorrow you are going to leave Beijing and pay a visit in the cities of Canton and Shenzhen – the southern gate of China and our window open to the world. Many solutions are being forged in there at all times. Please, share your much appreciated opinions with us after the trip.

Finally, let me make a toast:

- To friendship and cooperation between China and Poland and their nations

- To friendship between the China Democratic League and the Polish Democratic Party

- To vice-chairman Marek Wieczorek, to all of our Polish friends, and to the success of your visit

- To ambassador Dembowski

- To all the comrades and friends here with us

Bottoms up!

Thank you.