Ｓａｎ Ｍａｒｉｎｏ－Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏｎ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ

Ｙａｎｇ　Ｙｉｎｇｚｉ

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the San Marino-China Friendship Association (SMCFA), a 26-member delegation of the Association headed by G. F. Terenzi, president of the SMCFA and former captain regent of San Marino, visited China from May 16 to 28.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu met with the delegation on May 16. During the meeting, President Terenzi invited Chen Haosu to visit San Marino in 2008 to start a series of activities in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the SMCFA. The CPAFFC conferred the honorary title of Friendship Ambassador on President Terenzi in recognition of his contributions to enhancing friendship between San Marino and China.

President Terenzi who served as captain regent (head of state) of San Marino for three terms has actively promoted the exchanges and cooperation in the political, economic, cultural and other fields between San Marino and China. The SMCFA he founded has been a cooperative partner of the CPAFFC for years. In the 20 years since its founding, the SMCFA has organized a series of activities to increase friendship and mutual understanding between the two countries and the two peoples. It has carried out friendly exchanges in various areas with the CPAFFC and warmly received Chinese delegations many times. At recommendation by President Terenzi, San Marino Postal Authority issued commemorative stamps for the occasions of the 50th anniversary of the CPAFFC and the 55th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China.

On the morning of May 19 before leaving Beijing, President Terenzi specially came to the mourning hall set up for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake in the CPAFFC to mourn for the dead. He wrote in the visitors book: “On the day of national mourning, the SMCFA delegation joins the Chinese people in expressing our profound condolences for the victims of the Wenchuan earthquake.”

The delegation arrived in Xian on the same day.The members of the delegation were deeply moved by the scene of the national mourning observed at 14:28 when people stopped whatever they were doing for a three-minute silence while sirens and vehicle horns wailed in grief. They started to raise money among themselves and handed over their donations to the Shaanxi Provincial Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to forward to the quake-hit areas. President Terenzi said, he was greatly shocked by the earthquake. He had confidence in Chinese Governments ability to handle the disaster relief and admired the Chinese peoples tenacity. He added, the amount they donated was not much, but it represented their feelings.