China's top envoy expressed in an honored, historic visit here his longing for a lasting friendship with Bohol despite a rich sea dispute that has formed a diplomatic landmine between his country and the Philippines. Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua invoked enduring bond to achieve full exchanges of sustainable development impacts in all fields of common interest to the Chinese and Boholano people. Speaking on the 160th Bohol Day commemoration led by Gov. Edgar Chatto and Vice Gov. Concepcion Lim, the diplomat from the giant Asian neighbor “sincerely longed that our friendship will last forever, our cooperation will be forever.”

He thanked the province thru the governor for his “kind invitation” to speak and grace the anniversary of the province's founding a century and six decades ago on July 22, 1854. President/Chief Executive Officer Napoleon Nazareno of PLDT and Smart keynoted the commemorative program at Bohol Cultural Center, which was highlighted by the switch-on rite for the P700 million Bohol Domestic Fiber Optic Network (Bohol DFON). Jianhua “certainly expected” more mutual exchanges to be in place, particularly in tourism and agriculture, and other areas of cooperation explored between China and Bohol. ohol and China's Jiangxi are sister provinces, a pact that has begotten a child sisterhood between two magnificent mountains---the former's wondrous Chocolate Hills and the latter's mystic Mt. Lushan. The Chocolate Hills which have baffled scientists and Mt. Lushan, a world heritage and a world cultural landscape, are both charter members of the World Famous Mountains Association (WFMA).

Jianhua's visit was his first to the province, but “Bohol is no stranger to me.” He said the Chocolate Hills in Carmen and Loboc River are “popular and well-known” among Chinese tourists who, Chatto told him, have been a major market for Bohol tourism. “The Chinese like the beautiful sceneries and friendly people of Bohol. I am sure there are more Chinese tourists coming to Bohol and this is going to be a great boost to the development of Bohol,” the visiting dignitary said. The ambassador assured his government “is doing its best to support” more Chinese tourists who are coming to Bohol, citing their 17% increase in the Philippines last year.

Accompanied by Philippine Special Envoy to China Carlos Chan, Jianhua described his rare brief stay in Bohol as “one visit of discoveries,” with the “land of natural beauty, smile and great hospitality” leaving him lasting impressions. The China-Bohol relation encompasses exchanges not just in tourism but such other fields as agriculture, investment promotion, education, technology and human resource development. The ambassador said agriculture in his country is an industry developed in the past 5,000 years, and “we have experiences and advantages which we would like to share to Bohol.” Thankful for the ambassador's “opening of the door to us for stronger cooperation,” Chatto and Jianhua discussed agriculture, tourism and disaster management in a luncheon meeting following the envoy's courtesy call.

HEART FOR THE PAINED

While the host country and his own turn their heads away from each other over territorial claims, the Chinese official of goodwill give the Boholanos a look of sympathy straight to their eyes. He condoled the people of Bohol for the hundreds of lives vanished during the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in October 15 last year. The ambassador said flatly he came “not to argue” but rather “enhance friendship and expand cooperation.” He extolled the resilience of the Boholanos and their province's gaining recovery, for which the Jianhua gave Chatto's iconic leadership in a most critical time a pat on the back. The embassy official recounted a devastating China earthquake that killed thousands in 2008 and how the Chinese people have since then recovered. Disaster risk management is one area of meaningful mutual exchange that can be advanced, according to the ambassador who encouraged Bohol to send a task group to train and learn from the Chinese experience. The Chinese embassy in the Philippine intends to continue supporting welfare exchanges between Bohol and not just Jiangxi but with other Chinese provinces, the ambassador said. (Ven rebo Arigo)