Page 7 - ON BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

SPEECH AT THE KÖRBER FOUNDATION

few. Many Chinese, myself included, get a lot of enjoyment from their
works, are struck by the power of their thought, and through them, have
deepened our understanding of the world and of life.
As a German saying goes, “Mountains never meet, but people
do.” The Chinese and the Germans have a long history of exchange
and share a profound friendship. On this occasion, I can’t but recall a
German gentleman widely respected and loved in China. His name was
John Rabe. Over 70 years ago, Japanese troops invaded the Chinese city
of Nanjing and launched what was to become the massacre of more
than 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians. As the killing raged on, Mr.
Rabe contacted a dozen other foreigners who were in Nanjing at the
time and set up the Nanjing Safety Zone. They managed to shelter over
200,000 Chinese people. Mr. Rabe kept a detailed record of the massacre
in his diary, which has become an important source for studies on this
period of history. In 1996, the John Rabe House was jointly opened by
China and Germany in Nanjing. Last winter, a project by the Nanjing
government to restore Mr. Rabe’s grave in Berlin was completed. In
China, we cherish Mr. Rabe’s memory as a man who demonstrated great
compassion for life and acted on his aspiration for peace.
I recall another German friend, named Norbert Görres, who was
a grape grower. Between the year 2000 and 2009, he and his assistant
Hans-Werner Beu visited Zaozhuang in Shandong Province a total of
17 times to help local farmers improve their grape growing and grafting.
Norbert also gave a local winery the right to use his family business’s
centuries-old brand at no cost. Norbert and Hans paid for the tuition
fees of eight local students from poor families. In 2007, Hans was
suddenly diagnosed with cancer. But he didn’t forget the two students
he was supporting through school, and before he died he asked Norbert
to give RMB 2,000 to the students to enable them to finish senior high
school. When, on August 1, 2008, Norbert gave the money to those two
students, everyone present was moved to tears.
These are just two of the many touching stories of friendship
between the Chinese and German people. Over the years, a great many
Germans have personally contributed to the growth of Sino-German
relations and to China’s reform and opening up.
The 21st century is a century of cooperation. The more open

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