2015年CRI UN China Peacekeeping Exhibition

 

The celebration of a milestone¹. For the past 25 years China has been working with the United Nations to build peace and security around the globe.

And kicking off this week-long exhibition put on by China's UN mission- Ambassador to the United Nations Liu Jieyi says the timing² is significant for the world's governing body.

"This is a special year for the United Nations. A year of the 70th anniversary of the organization. It is a time for stocktaking and also for forward looking."

And that's exactly what this photo exhibition hopes to achieve. Dating back to 1990, some 64 paintings and photos hang from 6 foot high dividers in a subterranean³ section of the UN's New York headquarters.

Some 30 thousand Chinese men and women have served in 24 peacekeeping missions over the past 25 years. And taking a guided tour of the exhibit- the UN's Undersecretary General for Communications and Public information Christina Gallach- says it's vital to honor the 10 Chinese men and women who lost their lives in the line of duty.

"It is important that we are all aware of the sacrifices that are made and how necessary is it to have quality troops contributing to the ever more demanding peacekeeping landscape."

China is currently ranked 9th when it comes to total UN peacekeeping contributions. And despite nearly 3,000 troops currently engaged in UN operations China's President Xi Jinping pledged at this year's United Nations General Assembly to go further.

As well as a planned $1 billion donation to the UN peace and development fund, China vows⁴ to train 5000 foreign peacekeepers and up its own permanent peacekeeping force to 8,000 troops.

Critics say this is a bid to exercise soft power but China's ambassador to the UN Liu Jieyi says these peacekeepers work for the international community.

And with China being the biggest contributor of troops from the UN's permanent Security Council members- he says they are just setting a precedent⁵.

"We would hope that all countries would follow the example of the current big troop contributing countries and contribute to the UN peacekeeping operations."

The ambassador describes this renewed commitment to the UN as Chinese peacekeeping 2.0. With the hope that this new push will have a lasting⁶ success in ending global conflicts.

For CRI, I'm William Denselow at the United Nations in New York.

1 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

2 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

3 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

4 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

5 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。