China News Service, Lima, September 29 (Reporter Lin Chunyin) Passing through the archway of Chinatown in Lima, the capital of Peru, and walking on the floor tiles with Chinese zodiac signs to the end of the street, Peru's oldest and most influential overseas Chinese association, the Peru China General Administration of Public Benefits, has been standing here for 140 years.
"Tonghui means 'trade and benefiting workers'." Luo Jiewen, chairman of the Peru-China General Administration of Tonghui, said that since its establishment, the General Administration has shouldered the important mission of uniting overseas Chinese, assisting compatriots, safeguarding the interests of overseas Chinese, and serving society.
This feeling of family and country was particularly vivid during the Anti-Japanese War. At a time when the nation was in danger, the overseas Chinese in Peru, who were far away across the ocean, tried their best to support their ancestral country. The General Administration of Tonghui twice launched nationwide fundraising to organize overseas Chinese to raise military pay. Luo Jiewen introduced that the overseas Chinese in Peru remitted about 1 million US dollars to the country at that time to support the Anti-Japanese War with practical actions.
In the past ten years, as the number of Chinese overseas Chinese going to Peru for business, work and life has increased, the problems they have encountered have also become more diverse. Some people have just arrived and don’t understand the language; some people encounter difficulties in business and life; and some people encounter unexpected changes in a foreign country. The General Administration of Tonghui helps with communication, coordination and assistance, and has become a window for many overseas Chinese to seek help when they encounter difficulties.
Luo Jiewen said that the important function of the "Chinese Aid Center" is to help overseas Chinese who encounter difficulties and are isolated and helpless overseas. "From safeguarding the rights and interests of Chinese workers and overseas Chinese in the early years to serving new and old overseas Chinese today, the groups of people and specific matters we face are constantly changing, but the tradition of helping those in need has continued."
Over the past 100 years, the role of the General Administration of Tonghui has gradually expanded from serving overseas Chinese to promoting people-to-people exchanges between China and Peru. In recent years, the General Administration has participated in welcoming visiting secretaries from the Chinese naval fleet and the "Peace Ark" hospital ship, and has participated in activities to commemorate the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
Today, Chinese society has been deeply integrated into Peru. Rogervin said that there are more than 2.5 million people of Chinese descent in Peru. Overseas Chinese are widely respected locally and live and work in peace and contentment.
The cultural context still flows among the books in the General Administration. In the rows of glass bookcases, Chinese books are neatly displayed on a large scale. From martial arts novels to biographies, from legal documents to Spanish dictionaries, there are many types. There are also overseas Chinese magazines sent from China and Chinese newspapers published in Peru. They are not only displayed in an orderly manner, but also bound into volumes.
This year coincides with the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Peru. At the recent celebration of the 140th anniversary of the establishment of the General Administration of Tonghui in Peru, Chinese Ambassador to Peru Song Yang said that since its establishment, the General Administration of Tonghui has made positive contributions in helping overseas Chinese integrate into local society, safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests, and promoting economic, trade and cultural exchanges between China and Peru. It is a witness to the deepening of people-to-people friendship between the two countries.
