The Honourable Delroy Chuck, Member of the Parliament and Mrs. Chuck

Mr. Dalton Yap President of the Chinese Benevolent Association and Mrs. Yap,

Mr. Exley Ho President of the Chinese Cultural Association and Mrs. Ho,

Mr. Sam Lyn Shim President of Chinese Freemason Society and Mrs. Shim,

Mr. Sam Wong Chew Onn President of Jamaica China Friendship Association and Mrs. Wong Chew Onn,

Distinguished Chinese Business Leaders,

Fellow Chinese,

Friends

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tonight, we gather here to celebrate the Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese Lunar New Year.

In China, instead of asking your age, people may ask you questions like "What do you belong to?" Please don't think that you are expected to answer, "I belong to the US." or "I belong to Jamaica." You are supposed to belong to one of the twelve animals based on a 12-year cycle with each animal representing one year. The year we are in now is the Year of the Goat, and the coming Chinese New Year, which starts on January 22, is the Year of the Monkey.

As the most important festival of the Chinese nation, the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is a time for family reunion. No matter how far away from home they are, people will always manage to return home during the festive season for a happy reunion with their dear ones in the family.

Here in Jamaica, my Embassy, which represents China, is regarded as the home of Jamaican Chinese far away from their motherland. So please allow me, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy, to welcome you home and wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!

Before we cross the threshold of the Year of the Monkey, let's take a look back on the Year of the Goat. In this eventful year, China has enjoyed economic growth, national unity and social stability. Led by their new leadership with General Secretary Hu Jintao at the core, the Chinese people successfully overcame the adverse impacts of the SARS epidemic and maintained the vigorous momentum of economic growth rate at 8.5 per cent. The country's GDP has exceeded 1.4 trillion USD, 8.5 time that of 25 years ago when reform and opening-up policy was first introduced. The historic launching of the spacecraft "Shenzhou V" symbolized the country's breakthrough in science and technology. China has also impressed the world with continuous pursuance of the independent and peaceful foreign policy. By actively participating in the international cooperation including the solution to Iraqi and Korean unclear issues, China has been playing a more constructive role in world affairs.

The Year of the Goat has also witnessed stronger bilateral ties between China and Jamaica. The official visits to Jamaica of Vice Premier Mme. Wu Yi and Foreign Minister Mr. Li Zhaoxing have enhanced mutual trust between leaders of both countries. Sharing more and more common grounds and mutual interests, China and Jamaica have been supporting each other in the international arena. Our bilateral trade volume has surpassed 200 million USD, making Jamaica China's the largest trading partner among the English-speaking Caribbean countries. The Sino-Jamaican economic and technological cooperation has also made big strides. The exchanges and cooperation between us have achieved gratifying results and expanded into new areas. One latest example is China's offer of training sessions to Mr. Nigel Webb, Jamaica's most prominent table tennis player to prepare him for the Olympic Trails in Chile next month. This, we believe, will initiate more sports exchanges in the near future. All these give us good reason to believe that the year of the Monkey will see further development of all-round cooperation between our two great nations.

The Year of the Monkey has a special meaning for the Jamaican Chinese community as the year marks the 150th anniversary of the Chinese first arrival in Jamaica. These Chinese pioneers, who left their home country in 1854 for the unknown island called "the land of wood and water" in the Caribbean, brought with them almost nothing but fine traditions of the Chinese people: hard working, diligence, honesty, discipline, treasuring family values, readiness to help others, and a strong sense of social responsibility, etc. Today, as descendants of these pioneers, many of you have become successful businessmen, politicians, doctors, teachers, poets, singers and photographers, to name only a few, making outstanding contributions to the social progress and economic development of Jamaica. You have been recognized as the best citizens, best colleagues, best friends and best neighbours. As the Chinese Ambassador, I often hear commendation about you by people of other ethnic groups, and therefore, I am really proud of our fellow Chinese in this country, and I am really proud of the Chinese community in Jamaica.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to express my best wishes to the Chinese new immigrants who have come to Jamaica in recent years. In the Chinese community, you are small in size and still in the initial stage to start your business or other careers. While creating your new life on this foreign land, you have also made contributions to the Jamaican society as well as to the enhancement of the mutual understanding of the Chinese and Jamaican peoples. I hope that you will learn from those more established fellow Chinese in the community and be more integrated with the diversified culture of Jamaica by adhering to the fine traditions of the Chinese people. I wish you good luck.

Tonight is also an occasion for us to express our strong confidence in China's complete unification. It is not only an aspiration of the Chinese people across the Taiwan Straits, but also of all the Chinese the world over. The Chinese community in Jamaica has always been very supportive of the One-China policy pursued by the Jamaican government. For this, I'd like to express my high respect and sincere thanks to each and every one of you in the community.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Bidding farewell to the Year of the Goat, we will soon usher in the Year of the Monkey, "Monkeys" are lovely, clever and resourceful. It is my wish that all the Chinese in Jamaica, visible or invisible, will give full play to their wisdom and creativeness in the New Year to fulfill your dream of having a better life and to build a stronger and more prosperous Jamaica.

Now, I'd like to propose a toast,

To the health of all the guests present here tonight,

To the prosperity of the Chinese community,

To the further development of friendly relations and cooperation between China and Jamaica,

Gan Bei! (Cheers!)