As the third time of changing the Chinese peacekeeping forces to Sudan
rounded off smoothly in late June, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA)
haa accumulatively committed over 10,000 persons/times of military peacekeepers
to 18 UN peacekeeping missions so far. Kui Yanwei, deputy director of the
Peacekeeping Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defense, was interviewed
on China's participation in the UN peacekeeping operations recently.
Scale and influence of PLA's participation are
constantly expanding
"The PLA's participation in the UN peacekeeping operation has gone through
a course of constant development of growing out of nothing and expanding from
small to large," explained Kui Yanwei.
Looking back to the course, Kui Yanwei noted that China has been
continuously expanding its commitment and scale in taking part in the UN
peacekeeping operations step by step---starting from committing military
observers only to staff officers and peacekeeping force in organic units, from
designating regular military officers to military officers working in the UN
peacekeeping department and senior military officers stationed in the mission
zones, and from sending out temporary peacekeeping personnel to organizational
units or groups. In the current peacekeeping operations led by the UN, China
outnumbered all the other permanent members of the UN Security Council in the
number of forces committed and is swelling its clout more and more in the UN
peacekeeping affairs.
They are blue-helmet warriors and likewise messengers
of friendship
Kui Yanwei went on to say that so far the Chinese peacekeeping detachments
to various mission zones have built and rebuilt 7,500 kilometers of roads and
200-odd bridges, received and treated nearly 50,000 patients/times,
accumulatively covered about 4.7 million kilometers in transporting people and
materials, and removed and defused nearly 10,000 mines and various kinds of
unexploded bombs.
Aside from loyally performing the peacekeeping missions entrusted by the
UN, the Chinese blue-helmet officers and men also tried their best to help the
local people to develop production and raise living standards. Kui said that in
each peacekeeping mission zone, the Chinese peacekeeping engineering detachments
would spare time to build roads and bridges, thus improving the state of the
local infrastructure, the transport detachments would send vehicles to assist
the local government to transport a great deal of materials and help the
displaced people to return back to their homes, while the medical detachments
would make their rounds of visit to the local people and help the local
hospitals to train medical personnel, thus effectively easing up the difficulty
of the local people to see doctors. In addition, the "Chinese speed" and the
never-failing "Chinese smile" have become a symbol of the Chinese image. As a
result, these Chinese blue-helmet officers and men are no longer mere
peacekeeping forces but also messengers of friendship.
Their dynamic role in peacekeeping is visible to
all
"As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China shoulders great
responsibility for the peace and security of mankind," said Kui Yanwei.
Regarding the false comments and views clamored by a few of Western politicians
and media on China's stand on the Darfur issue of Sudan, he noted that the
active participation in the UN peacekeeping operations is a concrete expression
for China's support to the UN and its peacekeeping operations, and therefore,
deserves no distortion and misunderstanding.
By Lv Desheng
(June 30, PLA
Daily)
Editor: Chen Jie
