The ROK: Donating Goods to 12 Chinese Cities
On February 11, the Seoul Metropolitan Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) donated 1,000 sets of medical protective suits, 500 goggles, 90 medical masks, 30 portable thermal imaging cameras and others, with a total value of 600 million won (about 3.53 million yuan), to 12 cities including Beijing and Chongqing. It also said that it would continue to provide masks for civilian use and other materials as appropriate to help China fight against the epidemic.
In a video message, Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon expressed his thanks to Beijing for sending a special mission to help Seoul when the city was mired in the MERS epidemic. He hoped China could overcome the current difficulties as soon as possible, and looked forward to Seoul and its Chinese sister cities helping each other in the predicament and deepening friendship.
On February 15, the Seoul Metropolitan Government began broadcasting short videos supporting China's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic in public buildings such as the City Hall, Gwanghwamun and several other subway stations, as well as elevators of more than 70 relevant institutions. The civilians of Seoul also showed their support. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies put up a banner saying "Stay strong Wuhan, stay strong China." Sungkyun Institute of China Studies of Sungkyunkwan University donated 3 million won (about 18,000 yuan) and sent a letter of sympathy.
According to preliminary statistics, the ROK government and private donations have exceeded 150 million yuan. President Moon Jae-in said that the ROK and China are friendly neighbors, and his country will take China's difficulties as theirs. His country will spare no effort in assisting and coordinating with China to fight the epidemic together, and promote further development of bilateral relations.
The mutual support and assistance between China and the ROK in the face of difficulties reflects the two countries' common cultural background and friendly tradition, and shows the affection of neighborhood and righteousness of friends which enable the two countries to work together to build a global community of shared future.
韓國:向12城市捐贈物資
2月11日,韓國首爾市政府向北京、重慶等12座城市提供1000套醫(yī)用防護(hù)服、500個護(hù)目鏡、90個醫(yī)用防護(hù)面罩、30臺便攜式熱成像攝像機(jī)等6億韓元(約合人民幣353萬元)規(guī)模的援助物資,并表示還將視情提供民用口罩等物資,助力中國抗擊新冠肺炎疫情。首爾市市長樸元淳專門錄制支持視頻,感謝北京市在首爾深陷中東呼吸綜合征(MERS)疫情之際派遣特使團(tuán)給予幫助,希望中國能夠早日戰(zhàn)勝當(dāng)前困難,期待首爾市與中國友好城市在困境中相濡以沫,不斷加深友誼。2月15日起,首爾市政府在市政廳廣場等公共建筑、光化門等數(shù)個人流密集的地鐵站,以及首爾市70多個有關(guān)機(jī)構(gòu)的電梯內(nèi),滾動播放支持中國抗擊新冠肺炎疫情的短視頻。在民間,韓國外國語大學(xué)掛出“武漢加油、中國加油”的橫幅,成均館大學(xué)成均中國研究所捐贈300萬韓元,并發(fā)出慰問信。據(jù)初步統(tǒng)計,韓國政府和民間捐款捐物已超過1.5億元人民幣。韓國總統(tǒng)文在寅表示,韓中互為友好鄰邦,中國的困難就是我們的困難,韓國將不遺余力地提供支援和配合,與中國攜手戰(zhàn)“疫”、共克時艱,推動兩國關(guān)系進(jìn)一步發(fā)展。
中韓兩國面對困難相互支持、相互幫助,反映了兩國之間共同共通的文化底蘊(yùn)、守望相助的友好傳統(tǒng),顯示出攜手構(gòu)建人類命運(yùn)共同體的鄰里情、朋友義。