Valletta city mayor Dr Alexiei Dingli (right) explains at an exclusive interview with CCTV and CRI on May 23, 2012 in his office that Valletta welcomes the various activities organized by the China Culture Center in Malta. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xu Fei]
China and the Mediterranean nation of Malta celebrate 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations this year. Officials of the two countries are working on a series of projects to mark the event including a student exchange program.
According to both the mayor of the Maltese capital of Valletta and the Chinese Ambassador to Malta, the initiative of student exchange programme came out of escalating interest in Chinese culture and tradition in Malta's public.
Mayor of Valletta, Dr. Alexiei Dingli says his city has long been an active supporter of activities organized by the China Culture Center in Malta since it was launched in September 2003.
In a recent meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Malta Cai Jinbiao, Dr. Dingli said Valletta will continue to promote various cultural exchanges and cooperation with China, and he is particularly interested in launching student exchanges.
"I think the first step is culture. And then we go to other sorts of relationships. For example, one of the things which we discussed yesterday which is very much at the heart is the exchange of children: the idea of maybe getting school children to Valletta from China and sending our school children to China."
Chinese Ambassador to Malta, Cai Jinbiao, described his meeting with Dr Dingli as pleasant and recalled his participation as a special guest at a Chinese culture-themed "Open Day" at Saint Anthony, a private school in Valletta.
"I found that several five and six-year old school children were carefully making stages out of paper boxes which would be used later in their dragon and lion dance. By listening to their teachers' instructions, they prepared for that typical Chinese-style dance, accompanied by music. They looked very eager in their attempt to learn the dance. They also showed me their Chinese calligraphy as soon as I entered their classroom. I was deeply impressed that they wanted to learn Chinese culture purely on their own initiative."
Established in 1988, the Saint Anthony School holds an annual "Open Day" event for its 1,000 students from kindergarten to high school. The "Open Day" event this year enabled students to display their hand-made artwork, all with Chinese cultural themes.
Cai Jinbiao added that he has a strong feeling that the local people share this fascination with Chinese culture.
"The Maltese feel very proud to have the first-ever China Cultural Center based in Valletta, which is also the only one of its type launched in the Mediterranean area. It shows their admiration for China as well as Chinese culture."
In fact, this year marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Malta. Dr Dingli and Cai Jinbiao share the belief that culture will serve as a goodwill ambassador to carry forward their mutual friendship.
Valletta city mayor Dr Alexiei Dingli (right) answers questions in his office raised by a team of journalists from some of China's central media organizations on May 23, 2012. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xu Fei]
Valletta city mayor Dr Alexiei Dingli (right) answers questions in his office raised by a team of journalists from some of China's central media organizations on May 23, 2012. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xu Fei]
Chinese Ambassador to Malta Cai Jinbiao explains the general situation in Malta to a team of journalists from some of China's central media organizations on the evening of May 23, 2012. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Xu Fei]
