ceremony in memory of the Chinese workers who died during the First World War
Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming paid tribute to Chinese workers who died in World War I in Belgium at a memorial ceremony held in Poperinge, northwest Belgium, on Tuesday.
He was accompanied by embassy staff and representatives of the Chinese community in Belgium. Poperinge’s First Alderwoman Mrs Loes Vandromme, Alderman Mr Bryan Vanderhaeghe attended the ceremony.
(Xinhua/Pan Geping)
Ambassador Cao and Mr. Bryan Vanderhaeghe respectively laid a wreath in front of the monument to Chinese workers, made up of three bronze statues, which was raised in 2017 in memory of thirteen Chinese people killed on the night of November 15, 1917 during ‘a bombardment by the German army in the village of Busseboom, two kilometers from Poperinge.
“Today is the traditional Chinese holiday to commemorate the dead – the Qingming Festival is also a time to declare Sino-Belgian friendship,” Cao said in his speech.
(Xinhua/Pan Geping)
“China will work with all countries in the world, including Belgium, to jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and a world of peace, tranquility, prosperity and development,” he said. indicated.
During World War I, 12,000 Chinese laborers came to the Poperinge area to help with cargo handling, road building and munitions handling, and many never returned to China, Bryan recalled. Vanderhaeghe.
“Their stories are not as widely shared as in war films, but they are an extremely precious memory for the town of Poperinge. The people of Poperinge will never forget the contribution of Chinese workers,” he said.
After the ceremony, the delegation went to the local military cemetery in Lijssenthoek to sweep the graves of the 35 Chinese workers who were buried there. They died during or shortly after World War I, most in 1918 or 1919 as a result of the Spanish flu epidemic.
From 1916, more than 140,000 Chinese, aged between 20 and 35, were recruited by the United Kingdom and France to carry out work in support of their military forces on the Western Front, where they worked at the rear or participating in the construction of ammunition depots.