Tibetan People Having Happy Life, Slovenian Parliamentary Leader"Through the visit to Tibet, I have seen the Tibetan people have the right to fully express their religious beliefs, and they are having a happy life," said Jelko Kacin, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Slovenian Assembly.In an exclusive interview with Xinhua here Tuesday, Kacin said that he was "really impressed" by China's achievements and the advancement in Tibet during the ten-day official goodwill visit to China. Kacin, who is visiting China for the first time, said that he had "friendly and fruitful" discussions with Jiang Chunyun, vice- chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), and Zeng Jianhui, chairman of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as other Chinese officials. Kacin said that among the trips to different Chinese cities, Lhasa impressed him the most, as he had not had much understanding about Tibet before. He said that he could obviously see that the Chinese central government attaches great importance to the development in Tibet. He noted that the temples in Lhasa are well maintained and refurbished, expressing the belief that with the further improvement of the infrastructure, Tibet will be more and more open to the outside world like the rest of China, and will attract more tourists. No matter how other people talk about it, "Tibet has made enormous achievements," said Kacin, who is here as guest of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee. On bilateral relations, Kacin, also chairman of the Slovenia- China friendship group of the Assembly, said that the relationship with China will always be one of the most important bilateral relationships of his country. Slovenia and China have maintained frequent exchange of high- level visits in recent years, which have deepened mutual understanding and friendship, Kacin said. He said that Slovenia will join the European Union very soon and will be happy to serve as a "bridge" between China and the EU. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the friendly relations between Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital, and Chengdu, the capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province. Kacin said that he hopes the two cities will take the opportunity to promote bilateral contacts and cooperation, especially in the trade and economic sector. Speaking about his trips to Shenzhen and Zhuhai, two coastal cities in Guangdong Province, Kacin said it is "shocking" to see the excellent environment and the rapid economic development in the coastal region in south China. "There is no such case in other parts of the world, and the present situation of Shenzhen and Zhuhai convincingly promises China's future," Kacin said. He reiterated that his country will continue to stick to the one-China principle, and said the Slovenia Olympics Committee will certainly support Beijing's bid for hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. Kacin said he hopes the two countries will learn from each other in their development and believes there will be more cooperation between business people of the two sides. |
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