BEIJING, Jan. 28 -- Chinese Spring Festival holiday, from January 21 to 27, 2023, marks the Chinese New Year, being the most important traditional festival for all Chinese across the world. During this period, the Chinese peacekeeping forces, naval escort taskforce and troops stationed at the PLA Djibouti Support Base held a series of celebration activities to express their blessings to the motherland, and their pursuit of peace with distinctive actions while sticking to their posts.
As the only construction engineering company in the Sector Eastern of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the Chinese peacekeeping engineering contingent to Mali has to undertake extremely heavy engineering construction tasks. The peripheral defense facilities of Super Camp in Gao have been out of repair for a long time, posing serious security risks. During the Chinese Spring Festival, Bian Long, deputy leader of the Chinese peacekeeping contingent, insisted on carrying out construction with his team members. "Although the Spring Festival is a festival of family reunion for the Chinese, we have no regrets to stick to our posts overseas for the sake of peace," he said.
Brigadier General Chok Bahadur Dhkal, Deputy Force Commander (DFC) of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), visited the Chinese peacekeeping force camp in person during the festival, observed the demonstration of the mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operation, and expressed appreciation for the contribution made by the Chinese contingent to peace and stability in the South Lebanon region.
On January 21, the Chinese New Year's Eve, Lieutenant General Marcos De Sá Affonso Da Costa, Force Commander of the MONUSCO, attended the garden party and art show for the Spring Festival organized by the Chinese peacekeeping engineering contingent, and extended sincere wishes and blessings to the Chinese peacekeepers and their families.
The 13th Chinese peacekeeping engineering and medical contingents to South Sudan jointly held a gala with the theme of "Ushering in New Year Overseas, Happy Chinese New Year", and invited the civil director of Wau Base in South Sudan, the commander of the Sector West of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the representatives of friendly foreign peacekeeping forces to celebrate together.
The Chinese PLA Djibouti Support Base also held a cultural exchange activity with the theme of "An Opening-up China for Win-win Cooperation" during the Spring Festival, showcasing the foreign exchanges and cooperation of the Chinese base.
In addition, at about 4:00 a.m. on January 24, the Chinese fishing boats "Fuyuanyu 805" and "Fuyuanyu 808", escorted by the 42nd Chinese naval escort taskforce, arrived at the safe area through the high-risk waters off the Gulf of Aden, and spent an unforgettable Spring Festival in the Gulf of Aden, thousands of miles away from the motherland.
