Remarks by H.E. Cui Tiankai, Chinese Ambassador to the US, At the Reception for the Mid-Autumn Festival

各位来宾、侨胞、留学生们、朋友们：

　　大家晚上好！

　　欢迎大家出席中国驻美国使馆举办的中秋联谊招待会，共同庆祝中华民族的传统节日中秋节。首先，祝各位来宾及广大旅美侨胞中秋快乐，阖家团圆，万事如意！

Distinguished Guests, 

Compatriots,

Students,

And Friends,

Good evening!

I would like to welcome you all to the reception at the embassy and to celebrate with us the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese festival. First of all, I wish all of you a joyous reunion and every success!

　　“万里无云镜九洲，最团圆夜是中秋”。中秋节也称“团圆节”，这一天全家人聚在一起分食月饼，讲述嫦娥奔月、吴刚伐桂的传说，吟诵“但愿人长久，千里共婵娟”的诗句，表达人们对团圆美满的祈盼追求，寄托游子对亲人的思念和乡愁。中国人对团圆和统一的期盼，与中华文化“四海一家”、“天下大同”的理念一脉相承，积淀着中华民族最深沉的精神追求，为中华民族生生不息、为国家发展壮大提供了强大的精神支撑。

As a Chinese poem goes, "In the Mid-Autumn night hangs the bright full moon; with family reunion we ask no greater boon". The Mid-Autumn Festival is a day of reunion. On the evening of this day, family members would gather together to share mooncakes and tell the legends associated with the Festival, such as Chang'e flying to the moon and Wu Gang chopping the laurel. Over the recital of the verses like "May all of us remain long in this world, and share the moon even though thousands of miles apart", people would express their yearning for reunion and nostalgia for their families and hometowns. The Chinese people's aspiration for reunion and reunification goes in the same vein as the ideas of harmony and "all under heaven belong to one family" in the Chinese culture. This is the most profound part of our cultural identity that sustains the continuous development of China as a country and as a nation.

　　再过24天，我们将迎来新中国成立70周年华诞。这70年是中华民族发展史上不同寻常的70年，中国人民在中国共产党领导下筚路蓝缕，自强不息，用几十年的时间走完了发达国家几百年走过的工业化道路，进行了深刻的经济社会变革，从一穷二白到世界第二大经济体，综合国力和国际影响力实现历史性跨越，彻底改变了鸦片战争以来中华民族积贫积弱的历史面貌。今天，中国已经让7亿多人口摆脱贫困，对世界经济增长的贡献率年均达到30%。久经磨难的中华民族实现了从站起来、富起来到强起来的伟大飞跃。我们比历史上任何时期都更接近实现中华民族伟大复兴的目标。

We will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 24 days. The past seven decades has been extraordinary in the history of the Chinese nation. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have shown their fortitude and perseverance and pressed ahead against all difficulties. In a short span of decades, we completed industrialization which took developed countries several centuries, and achieved profound economic and social transformation. Starting from scratch, we have grown to the world's second biggest economy with leapfrogging national strength and international influence. Gone are the days when China was poor and weak after the Opium War in 1840. We have lifted over 700 million people out of poverty and contributed an annual average of 30% to global growth. The Chinese nation, tested by hardships that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience, has gone through a great transformation - we have stood up, grown rich and become strong. Today, we are closer than ever before to realizing the goal of national rejuvenation.

　　朋友们，同胞们，

　　民族复兴、国家统一是大势所趋、大义所在、民心所向。孙中山先生曾说，“中国是一个统一的国家，这一点已牢牢地印在我国的历史意识之中”，“统一是中国全体国民的希望”。两岸迄今尚未完全统一是历史遗留给中华民族的创伤。台湾问题因民族弱乱而产生，必将随着民族复兴而终结。两岸同根同源、同文同种，血浓于水、守望相助的天然情感和民族认同，是任何人任何势力都无法改变的。两岸中国人、海内外中华儿女理应共担民族大义，顺应历史大势，共同推进两岸关系和平发展、推进祖国和平统一进程。

Dear Friends, Compatriots,

National rejuvenation and reunification represents an unstoppable trend and the shared aspiration of the people. It is also a just and worthy cause to fight for. Dr. Sun Yat-sen said, "China is a united country. This is something deeply rooted in the historical identity of the Chinese nation." "Reunification is the shared goal of the whole Chinese people." That the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have not yet been reunited remains a historical trauma for the Chinese nation. The Taiwan issue was created when China was weak and tumultuous, and will and must be resolved as the nation embraces rejuvenation. The two sides of the Straits share the same historical origin and language and belong to the same nation. Blood is thicker than water. The natural affinity between us and our national identity are something not to be changed. Compatriots on both sides of the Straits and across the world need to work together for the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and the peaceful reunification of our country. This is the right thing to do for our nation, and this is a prevailing trend of history.