The Most Honorable Sir Howard Cooke, Governor General and Lady Cooke,

Mr. Maurice Tenn, President of Jamaica China Friendship Association,

Members of the Association,

Representatives of the Jamaican Chinese Community,

Friends,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It's the great pleasure for both my wife and I to join so many friends in the celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year -- the Spring Festival. First of all, please allow me to express my most sincere wishes to all of you for a happy and prosperous new year.

I should extend my special appreciation to the Most Honorable Governor General and Lady Cooke, not only for their grace presence today, but also for the genuine friendship that they have shared with us for so many years.

There is one thing making me particularly proud of the Jamaica China Friendship Association. That is yours is the only friendship association in the world with a country's head of state as the patron. That is why your association has been running so well over the years.

My gratitude should also go to the Association's former President Mr. Sam Wong Chen Onn. Under your leadership, the Association played an active role in enhancing friendship between the Chinese and Jamaican peoples.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my congratulations to Mr. Maurice Tenn, a long time friend of China and my Embassy, on his recent election as the President of the Association. I expect the new leadership of the Association including Maurice, two Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer will continue to work closely with my Embassy in our efforts to promote the mutual understanding and friendship of our two countries and two peoples. If you need any help, please let me know.

While opening the Chinese lunar calendar for the Year of Rooster, we are, at the same time, unfolding a new chapter of friendly relations and cooperation between China and Jamaica. The successful visit to Jamaica by H. E. Mr. Zeng Qinghong, Vice President of the People's Republic of China and the launch of the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum co-sponsored by China and Jamaica will no doubt further deepen the traditional friendship and cooperation between our two countries in many fields. Against this backdrop, I am looking forward to more contributions made by the President and members of the Association to enrich the friendship and cooperation between China and Jamaica.

Maurice has asked me to make a brief review of China's achievements in the past years, which is certainly a pleasure for me to do so, because I believe, with so many things happened in the past months, a common ground has already been established which will enable China and Jamaica to benefit each other along the road of smooth economic development and social progress.

China is the largest developing country in the world. The Chinese nation and the Chinese people were long under the spell of poverty in history. Poverty, invariably, gives rise to a desire for change. 26 years ago, led by Mr. Deng Xiaoping, China started the historical process reform, opening-up and socialist modernization drive with a view to achieving strength and prosperity for the country and people. 26 years later, China attained the objectives of the first and second steps of the three-step development strategy in the modernization drive and realized the historic transformation where its 1.3 billion people improved from life with adequate food and clothing to one with moderate affluence on the whole. With per capital GDP exceeding US$ 1,000, the number of rural population living under the poverty line was reduced from 250 million to less than 30 million. The Chinese economy has maintained an average 9.4% annual growth rate for 26 consecutive years. Export and import, only US$ 20.6 billion in 1978, shot up to US$ 1.1 trillion in 2004. The actually utilized foreign investment totaled US$ 562.1 billion in accumulative terms by the end of 2004.

Though China has started to prosper with GDP growing substantially, it is still a national laden with a huge population, a weak foundation and uneven development among its various regions, ranking well below 110th in the world tally of per capital GDP as a result. There is still a long way to go before we achieve modernization and common prosperity for our people. The Chinese Government has identified the development targets of our nation in the first two decades of this century, i.e. to concentrate on building a moderately prosperous society of a higher standard on an all-around way, benefiting well over a billion people; to quadruple our 2000 GDP by 2020, to the tune of US$ 4 trillion, with a per capital GDP of over US$ 3,000; and to turn China into a country that is more developed economically, with a stronger democracy, more advanced science and education, more prosperous culture and a more harmonious society, offering its people an even better life. I am confident that China's development will not only benefit the Chinese people, but also provide a wide-spectrum of growth opportunities for all countries in the world, including Jamaica.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as I have said, the Year of Rooster begins with a very good start. In the Chinese language, rooster is pronounced as Ji, which has the same pronunciation as the Chinese character lucky. So in Chinese culture, rooster promises good luck and new hopes. On the other hand, as rooster is probably the earliest-risen creature in the morning, it also stands for hard working. It is my sincere wish that the friendship of China and Jamaica would be further promoted with the support and assistant from all of our hard working friends in the Year of Rooster. And I wish all your dreams be fulfilled in this Year of Rooster.

Finally, I'd like to give you some more information about the Year of Rooster. Those born in the years of 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993 and 2005 are Roosters. Let me see how many roosters we have got tonight here. People born in the Year of Rooster are said to be deep thinkers, capable and talented. They like to be busy and devoted beyond their capabilities and deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Year of Rooster always think they are right and usually are! Though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. They are most compatible with people born in the Years of Ox, Dragon and Snake. 1997 was the Year of Ox, 2000 was the Year of Dragon and 2001 was the Year of Snake. You know, the Chinese Lunar Calendar is also based on the cycle of the moon. Each of the twelve years of the lunar cycle is named after an animal. So friends born in the Year of Rooster can figure our with whom you are most compatible.

Now I'd like to propose a toast,

To the Most Honourable Governor General and Lady Cooke,

To the health of all of our friends,

To the continuous development of the relations between China and Jamaica,

Kung Hee Fatt Choy!

Cheers!