On April 21, Ambassador Zheng Zeguang visited Francis Holland School in London and delivered a letter of reply on the issue of climate change from President Xi Jinping to the junior school pupils, and attended a ceremony held by the school for the occasion. At the ceremony, Ambassador Zheng read out the full text of President Xi's letter.
In the letter, President Xi writes that Everyone living on Earth is part of a big family, and humanity is one community. Climate change is a common challenge and we humanity must come together to rise to that challenge.
The President stresses that the Chinese nation has always cherished a respect and love for nature. He always places tackling climate change high on his agenda and has always highlighted that clean waters and green mountains are just as valuable as gold and silver -- a notion that has become a widely shared view across China today. China has called on the entire society to look after nature and the environment like people caring for their own eyes, and actively promote green development to build a beautiful China. China is conducting the largest-ever climate campaign. It has produced notable results and will continue to make a great difference.
President Xi mentions that schools of all types and levels in China attach great importance to the education on ecological civilization, adding that Chinese pupils, by starting with small things, have developed the habit of savingenergy and protecting the environment, and learned to live a green and low-carbon life. In the letter, the Chinese president said the British pupils are welcomed to come to China and visit the world's largest wind and solar power stations and man-made forest as well as the beautiful landscapes in China’s national parks. He also encourages the British pupils to communicate with their peers in China, allow the seeds of green development to take root in their hearts and grow up to become active contributors to a beautiful home for humanity.
Ambassador Zheng pointed out, President Xi’s letter expressed his wholehearted care and ardent expectations for the pupils and emphasized the great importance China attaches to climate response and the promotion of international cooperation in this respect. He hoped the pupils will live up to President Xi's earnest expectation and aspire to be champions for green development, envoys for peace and goodwill ambassadors. He also encouraged them to step up exchanges with their peers in China, work for China-UK friendship and join hands to build a better home for all mankind. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, Ambassador Zheng presented the school with books and audio-visual products on the ecological civilization and wildlife conservation in China.
Mrs Elphinstone said Francis Holland School is touched and honoured that President Xi, as the leader of a large country with a population of more than 1.4 billion people, wrote back to the pupils despite his busy schedule. President Xi's letter carries his earnest hope for the young people of Britain and China to tackle the world's problems together, which is very encouraging to the pupils. Both the UK and China are in the same global village. The school will continue to encourage the students to follow the issue of climate change, communicate with the Chinese peers and contribute to the protection of the planet Earth. The pupils and teachers at the school expressed their pleasure to receive President Xi's reply letter and thanked him for his concern and message.
At the ceremony, the Year 4 pupils who wrote to President Xi performed the choral song SOS from the Kids with the theme of protecting the Earth’s ecological environment. After the ceremony, Ambassador Zheng, accompanied by Mrs Elphinstone, toured the school's and watched some teaching activities. More than 100 teachers and pupils at Francis Holland School attended the above ceremony. Minister Counsellor Zhang Jin, Minister Counsellor Zeng Rong and Counsellor Feng Jialiang of the Chinese Embassy in the UK attended the relevant activities.
