Chinese escort taskforce holds cultural exchanges in Djibouti

BEIJING, July 31 (ChinaMil) -- The 14th escort taskforce of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLAN) organized officers and men to visit the Djibouti City Stadium for cultural exchanges with members of the local table tennis association on the afternoon of July 28, 2013, local time.

Taskforce commander Yuan Yubo, representing the officers and men of the taskforce, presented souvenirs and sports goods, such as Chinese paintings, Chinese knots, cultural-toned shirts, basketballs, soccer balls and others, to Farah, president of the Table Tennis Association, as well as other members of the association. He also introduced them the Chinese traditional culture.

Later on, officers and men from the Chinese escort taskforce performed programs of Chinese traditional culture and had a friendly table tennis match with the members of the association.

A local girl, who once learnt Chinese at the Hunan Normal University of China, said that: "I feel especially happy to join the friendly match today with Chinese navy friends from so far away. I've ever received table tennis training in China. Those days spent in Changsha, capital city of China’s Hunan Province, have left me a very deep impression. Today, I'm meeting with Chinese friends again in Djibouti. It makes me feel particularly heart warmed. I am also very happy to have watched a lot of amazing Chinese martial arts performances."

Farah, president of the Table Tennis Association of the Republic of Djibouti, said that: "This is our first face-to-face contact with the Chinese navy. Our previous impression of the Chinese navy was their escort mission in the waters off the Gulf of Aden to safeguard peace in the waters, fight against piracy and the like. Today, not only are we holding cultural exchanges together with each other, the Chinese navy even brought us gifts. We are very grateful to the Chinese navy for their help. We hope that the relationship between China and Djibouti will become better and better."

Wu Haihua, political commissar of the taskforce, said that: "The cultural exchanges with the Djibouti Table Tennis Association aimed to spread Chinese culture and help Djibouti people have a better understanding of Chinese culture."

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