Chinese peacekeepers in Sudan received United Nations Peace-keeping
Medals on Thursday in honor of their great contributions to peace
and the reconstruction of the country.
To celebrate China's Spring Festival, the traditional Chinese
New Year, UN officials made special arrangements to advance the
medal-awarding day two months ahead of the return of the third
contingent of Chinese peacekeeping troops to their homeland.
Ashraf Qazi, the UN chief's special representative in Sudan, and
Lt. Gen. Jasbir Singh Lidder, commander of the UN Mission in Sudan
(UNMIS), awarded peace medals to the Chinese peacekeepers at a
ceremony in the southwestern city of Wau.
Qazi said the Chinese peacekeepers are the most popular among
the local people, praising Zhang Yong, political commissar with the
Chinese contingent, and 19 other officers and soldiers as true men
of peace.
In addition to the peace medals, the UN officials conferred
honors to Chinese engineering, medical and transport units for
their special contributions.
As part of the UNMIS, China joined the peacekeeping operation in
the Wau region in May 2006. The third contingent arrived in
September 2007.
(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2008)
