Remarks by Ambassador Huang Xilian at Talk With Taikonauts event
2022-11-02 22:16

Remarks by Ambassador Huang Xilianat Talk With Taikonauts event

(1:45 p.m on November 1, BGC Shangri-La Hotel)

Her Excellency Madame First Lady  Louise “Liza”  Marcos,

Honorable Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao,

Honorable Deputy Director General of the Philippine Space Agency Dr. Gay Perez,

Honorable Director IV of DepEd Bureau of Curriculum and Development Dr. Jocelyn Andaya,

Dear Teachers and students,

Good afternoon!

Welcome to the Talk With Taikonauts event. First of all, I wish to thank First Lady “Liza” Marcos for her warm and enlightening message to this event. I was particularly impressed by her pronounciation in Chinese of 中菲友谊万古长青, meaning “Long Live China-Philippines Friendship ”. Not many people may know this but I am a big fan of astronauts and science fiction. When I was a child, I often stared at the deep sky, dreaming of driving a spacecraft and exploring the mysteries of space just like an astronaut. Unfortunately, this wish of mine has not been fulfilled thus far. Today, I am very happy to be able to interact with the Chinese astronauts in the Tiangong Space Station together with teachers, students, and friends from all over the Philippines, which can be regarded as a partial realization of my childhood wish.

The Chinese people's long-cherished space dream can be traced back thousands of years. The paintings of fairy lady Chang'e’ flying to the Moon and the “Flying Apsaras” in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are just some examples of the Chinese people’s beautiful imagination of outer space. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China's aerospace industry started from scratch, innovated independently, and made remarkable achievements. From the successful launch of the first artificial satellite "Dongfanghong-1", to the "Chang'e 5 lunar probe", "Zhurong Mars rover", and "Chinese H-Alpha Solar Explorer Xihe", Chinese spacecrafts have made successful appearances on the Moon, Mars, and the Sun. From Shenzhou 1 to Shenzhou 14, China has also a number of "firsts" on manned space areas. Yesterday, the Mengtian lab module was successfully launched, marking the conclusion of the construction of China's Tiangong Space Station. That makes today's event of even greater significance.

Outer space is the common wealth of humanity and it is the pursuit of mankind to explore, develop, and utilize it peacefully. China advocates for joint efforts with nations around the world to build a community with a shared future for humanity and to enhance international exchange and cooperation in outer space on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, peaceful use, and inclusive development. China has signed 84 space cooperation agreements or memorandum of understanding with 34 national space agencies and 4 international organizations. We have also signed space cooperation outlines with 9 national space agencies and participated in 18 international organizations. Additionally, China has responded to foreign emergencies with more than 110 observation requests made, which strongly supported the international humanitarian cause. At the multilateral level, the Chinese government actively facilitates the construction of the "Space Information Corridor" under the “Belt and Road” Initiative, promotes the construction of remote sensing satellite constellations along with the space agencies of other BRICS nations, and supports the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organizations in building joint multitasking small satellite constellations. The China Space Station is the first of its kind, open to all UN member states. To date, there are 9 projects from 17 countries and 23 entities that have been included in the first batch of selected projects for the China Space Station science experiment.

The aerospace industry is an important manifestation of national strength and also greatly promotes national development. At the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) which concluded in Beijing on October 22,President Xi Jinping emphasized that China will move faster to boost China's strength in aerospace and significantly increase its scientific capabilities. Achievements in space technology have supported emerging industries such as new energy and new materials, enabled new business models to grow such as smart cities and unmanned driving, which have made great contributions to the development of Chinese society and economy. The Philippines also attaches great importance to the aerospace industry. In 2019, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) was established and is now promoting the MULA satellite program. I noticed that recently President Marcos met with the Director General of PhilSA and the Secretary of DOST, with the wish to build the largest satellite in the Philippines within the next three years. On our end, China is willing to share the achievements of aerospace development with the Philippines in various forms and discuss strengthening exchanges and cooperation in the field of aerospace science and technology, in order for the power of science and technology to benefit the people of both countries. Facts have proven that exploring the vast universe is not only the common dream of mankind, but also promotes inclusive development that benefits the world.

Cosmic exploration and scientific research is endless, requiring the concerted efforts of all human beings. You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. I hope that the young generation of China and the Philippines dare to diligently pursue their dreams and work together to realize the space dream of the two countries and mankind! Finally, I wish the Talk With Taikonauts event a complete success!

Thank you and Mabuhay!


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