Mr. Chairman,
Thank you for giving me this opportunity at the close of this fifth session to say a few words. I would like to start by thanking you for your kind remarks yesterday. It has been a personal privilege for me to work for the great country of China for so long, and I think that all on the international side who are connected with the China Council consider it a privilege and a very important responsibility to be asked to give views on vital issues affecting a quarter of the world population.
I would like to take this opportunity to refer also to our old friend, Professor Qu Geping, who fought like a tiger in Beijing to get the Council established; and also Mr. Xie Zhenhua, who was the key person in pushing through all the practical arrangements. We are indeed fortunate to have such leadership on the Chinese side. There are a lot of people associated with the Council that nobody ever refers to, and I would like to take this opportunity of mentioning two of my old friends who played key roles - Mr. Xia Kunbao and Mr. Zhang Chongxian, who have been working on Council matter for many years.
I think it is also important to say we have had the most remarkable support from our Vancouver-based personnel, and I believe that the success of the Working Groups and all the practical results they have achieved have been very much due to Mr. Earl Drake and his people in Vancouver who have made this whole idea a practical reality.
Mr. Chairman, a very interesting question is "Why is the Council succeeding?" I would like to mention a few points which seem to me critical in design and operation, which may explain why it succeeds as it does.
Based on recording and without approval from the speaker.
The first point, which is an advantage but is also a difficulty, is that the Council balances the opportunity to have high-level contact with the Chinese Government with the opportunity to work on concrete practical problems and it is this combination of the practical work on real issues and the privileged access to the Chinese leaders which in my opinion helps make this Council effective.
Secondly, the Council has continued for five years, and continuity is in itself important, because we all know from experience that any Government when confronted with a problem can just wait till the problem goes away. This Council doesn't go away. It comes back next year. I believe it is the continuity of the proposals and the pressure that makes an impact on large government organizations.
The third point, Mr. Chairman, is that we are privileged to have on the Chinese side very senior and busy representatives of a whole range of key ministries. In any real Government, the problem of coordination is perhaps the most difficult problem. The fact that these busy ladies and gentlemen will sit for two days and work together with us is a very important part of the reasons why the Council's proposals are implemented and not rejected by the Chinese Government.
I think it is important also to say the openness shown by the Chinese side, and the friendship they have shown to the foreign members, is what makes the Council work. It is because of the willingness to be open, frank and relaxed in discussions that has made it worth working on these issues.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, another reason this Council has worked in China, but might not work elsewhere, is that the Chinese Government is pragmatic. You are prepared to listen to advice, and if you get good advice, you are prepared to implement it. In other countries, they may get good advice but are not so prepared to implement it. And it is therefore a heavy responsibility for all the international members to understand there is serious risk that, if we give advice, the Chinese Government might actually take it. That is something which we must bear very much in mind: that the fate of 1.2 billion people may be slightly influenced by something we say. I am sure that we all worry very much about that.
Mr. Chairman, we are not here simply because of China. We are here because we are citizens of the world. What happens to China is so important that it affects all of us and all our children as well. I believe therefore that this common effort of international cooperation with China is of an importance in world affairs which is really quite considerable. We all thank the Chinese Government for their initiative, and for their willingness to be open to international advice.
Finally, I would like to say that ideas go nowhere without leadership and vision, and you, Mr. Chairman, have shown both of those qualities. I would also like to say that Mr. Marcel Masse played a very important role, not only in quickly providing the necessary financing, by finding ten thousand dollars here and there so that this idea did not die the death of a thousand cuts, but by ensuring that Ca nada stepped in and turned what would otherwise have been a nice idea into practical reality. So when Marcel informed us he was leaving, we were all very worried, because we didn't know who would come to replace him. I would like to say to Huguette Labelle that she has performed her functions astonishingly well. I am sure I am saying this to the satisfaction of the international side, and I believe I am right in saying this to the satisfaction of the international side, and I believe I am right in saying so certainly to the satisfaction of the Chinese leadership. The leadership of the China Council has over the past five years create d something really important.
I congratulate you Sir, and your colleagues, and I hope that the next five years will be even more successful. Thank you.