China News Service, Toronto, June 17th, title: Warren Bethune: Why do Chinese still have deep feelings for Bethune
China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong
“We don’t visit Dr. Norman Bethune’s grave every year.” Warren Bethune, chairman of the Toronto branch of the Canada-China Friendship Association, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency in Toronto. “On the journey of exploring his history. , The deeper you understand him, the more you can see why the Chinese have a deep respect and enthusiasm for him. The journey continues, and so does the memory."
Warren Bethune, chairman of the Toronto branch of the Canada-China Friendship Association, was interviewed by a reporter from China News Agency in Toronto.
Photo by Yu Ruidong
Feel the emotion beyond the language barrier
The Bethune family is actually quite large, with many branches.
Warren said that he and Norman Bethune (hereinafter referred to as Norman) are distant relatives in terms of blood relationship, but they are very close in terms of important core values.
Today, Warren often attends various related activities as a representative of the Bethune family.
In the 1970s, after the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Canada, many books, movies, and magazine articles about Norman appeared in Canada, introducing this figure who was regarded as a bridge between the two countries.
Warren, who was a teenager at the time, became interested in this distant relative.
In the following decades, he kept walking in Norman's footsteps, and now he regards Norman as a special family member, "We think about his passing, and think about his life."
In 2007, the newly married Warren went to China for the first time to visit his wife's family.
The Chinese relatives gave this member of the Bethune family a warm welcome.
When they went to the village where Norman had lived, without prior notice, the villagers who learned that the members of the Bethune family came to greet them spontaneously. Some of them had dealt with Dr. Bethune when they were young. .
The emotion of transcending the language barrier left a deep impression on Warren.
Warren Bethune, chairman of the Toronto branch of the Canada-China Friendship Association, was interviewed by a reporter from China News Agency in Toronto.
Photo by Yu Ruidong
Warren's father couldn't help crying at that time, because he was moved by Norman's contribution in China and the Chinese remembered and grateful for him.
Warren not only learned that Chinese primary school students are still learning Norman's deeds, but also heard a Chinese entrepreneur attribute his success to the inspiration of Bethune's spirit.
What impressed him was a famous painting of Doctor Bethune meeting Mao Zedong in the cave that he saw in the memorial hall.
He said that in the picture, they showed respect for each other.
Warren said that Western countries have tried to dominate the Chinese.
Norman “empowered” the Chinese by imparting his medical knowledge and skills, gave them hope, and encouraged continued development to this day.
This is just as Mao Zedong said, "A foreigner has no self-interested motives and regards the liberation of the Chinese people as his own."
Warren Bethune, chairman of the Toronto branch of the Canada-China Friendship Association, was interviewed by a reporter from China News Agency in Toronto.
Photo by Yu Ruidong
"If you are willing to risk your own life and devote yourself to the liberation of others, nothing is greater than this; if other people are willing to risk their own lives to enable you to complete your work, nothing is nobler than this. "Warren interpreted the spirit of Bethune in this way.
He believes that this is why China does not treat Dr. Bethune simply as a Westerner, but as a selfless person who sympathizes with China's liberation cause.
This is why people still miss him deeply, and why China can achieve development and change in a constructive way.
Warren Bethune pays his respects in front of Dr. Bethune's tomb in the Martyrs Cemetery of the North China Military Region in Shijiazhuang, Hebei in September 2017.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Establish more intersections in the economic and cultural fields
Today's China-Canada relations are facing difficulties.
Warren believes that seeing is believing.
If ordinary Canadians have the opportunity to visit China, their overall impression of China will be positive.
He also learned that the business, education, and cultural circles are all continuing to promote bilateral exchanges.
In the face of the new crown epidemic, China and Canada have also given mutual support.
He believes that the two sides need to establish more intersections in the economic and cultural fields.
As the head of the Toronto branch of the Canada-China Friendship Association, Warren said that the association needs to let people of all backgrounds understand the importance of Norman and his contribution to China, and learn more about Canada-China relations.
Warren Bethune poses in front of Bethune's portrait at the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War Memorial in September 2017.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
He said that the association is seeking to expand exchanges between Canadians and Chinese people and strengthen existing bilateral relations.
"I hope that when I hand over this position to other people in the future, things will be better than they are now. Canadians and Chinese people will naturally regard each other as friends.
Warren said that the huge leaps he has witnessed in China within 10 years are remarkable and amazing.
Today, China has achieved the largest scale of poverty alleviation in history, and China and the Chinese Communist Party have reason to be proud of this.
China has continuously improved the quality of life of its people in the fields of housing, transportation, education, etc.
When people talk about concepts such as artificial intelligence and renewable energy, they are actually talking about improving people's lives.
Warren said that the West also has a history of pride. The West and China should open up and learn from each other. The goals that different social systems should have are to take care of people's basic needs, expand exchanges between people, and promote peace and development. (Finish)