Pledge on China tourist detentions
Published on: Saturday, January 18, 2020
By: Neil Chan
Tun Juhar, Liew and Liang with VIPs participating in the CNY Lao Sang ceremony.
Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government is willing to work with the Chinese Consulate General, in making Sabah an important hub for the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” for mutual benefit and progress.Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said Sabah was strategically located and can play an important role in regional cooperation.
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“Last year, the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was successfully held in Beijing, and it is a favourable opportunity for the development of Malaysia and Sabah.
“In 2019, the Sabah Government issued a series of policies to attract investment. This year, we will continue to create a good environment for investors. As I have repeatedly stated, in the meeting with entrepreneurs from China, we welcome Chinese enterprises to invest and start their businesses in Sabah and we will facilitate them for this purpose.
Liew said this year marks the Visit Malaysia 2020 and Malaysia-China Cultural Tourism Year.
“We look forward to more tourists from China coming to Sabah for their vacation. The Sabah Government attaches importance to the unpleasant incident involving Chinese tourists which happened not long ago.
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“I can assure you that the government will vigorously study countermeasures to solve the problem and prevent it from happening again. Sabah will try its best to create a friendly and safe environment for tourists, and we warmly welcome Chinese tourists coming to Sabah.
He was referring to the 20 cases of Chinese tourists who ended up in detention for not having an entry chop on their passports. He said the Spring Festival is a celebration that all Sabahans partake in.
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“It clearly reflects the characteristics of Sabah as a harmonious state with multi-ethnic groups of different religions and cultures living in peace. This is also the basis and assurance of the continuous development of Sabah.”
He said last year the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia was celebrated and at the same time, Sabah and China have made significant progress in trade and bilateral cooperation.
“Last April, I visited Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces in China, during which important consensus was reached with local leaders on strengthening cooperation in various fields. Other senior officials of the Sabah Government also visited China for further enhancement of our bilateral relationship.
On behalf of the Sabah Government, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Chinese Consulate General for facilitating and assisting in promoting exchanges between the state of Sabah and China. The Sabah Government hopes to further strengthen communication and cooperation with China to follow up on results achieved during the visits.
Shafie said this in his speech which was read out by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew at the Chinese Consulate in Kota Kinabalu Chinese Lunar New Year Reception 2020 at Wisma Hakka on Thursday.
Meanwhile Chinese Consul General Liang Caide in his speech said he was glad to see that the traditional customs and culture of Spring Festival have rooted and flourished here and was glad to see that Spring Festival has become a common festival celebrated by various ethnic groups in Sabah.
He said he was deeply impressed by the scene of people with different ethnic groups and religions happily and harmoniously celebrate the Spring Festival together and was glad to see that Spring Festival has become the grand occasion of the expanding China-Malaysia as well as China-Sabah friendly relations.
He remarked that a large number of Chinese tourists come to Sabah for vacations during the Spring Festival, which has also deepened mutual understanding between the two peoples.
He said last year, China successfully hosted the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the second China International Import Expo, advanced the full entry into force of the China-Asean Free Trade Area Upgrading Protocol, concluded all the text-based negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP).
“2019 is a far-reaching year for China-Malaysia relations as well as China-Sabah cooperation. We jointly celebrated the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia.
“Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in China and worked together with the Chinese leaders to draw up a blueprint for the development of bilateral relations. As of the first 11 months in 2019, the two-way trade between China and Malaysia has reached 111.4 billion US dollars, which definitely surpassed the figure of 108.6 billion US dollars in 2018.
The friendly relations between China and Malaysia continue to expand and the converging interests is deepening, which bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.”
Meanwhile, he said cooperation between China and Sabah-Labuan in various fields has shown a steady and vigorous developing momentum.
“In April last year, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie led a delegation and visited Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces, signed a friendly cooperation agreement with Jiangxi Province, and 12 memorandums of understanding worth close to RM20 billion with enterprises in the two provinces.
“Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau went to Nanning (capital of Guangxi Province) to participate in the China-Asean Expo; Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment YB Datuk Christina Liew visited Hangzhou(capital of Zhejiang Province) and Xi’an(capital of Shaanxi Province), and signed agreements on the establishment of Friendship City relationship with the two cities.
“In addition, several government ministers and members of parliament in Sabah went to China to discuss cooperation between the two places. China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei visited Sabah and held a China-Malaysia Manufacturing Round table Meeting in Sabah.
“More Chinese companies have come to Sabah for investigation and settlement. The fields involved include infrastructure, tourism and hospitality, real estate, electrical power, manufacturing, agriculture and aquaculture, etc. which has injected more vitality into Sabah’s economy.
“We are pleased to see that Sabah is becoming an “Internet Celebrity” of tourist destination in the eyes of Chinese tourists. You could read lots of positive reviews about Sabah’s beautiful islands and delicious cuisine on the Internet. There are more than 120 direct flights between Sabah and cities in China every week, and there will soon be direct flights from Xi’an to Kota Kinabalu.
“As of the first 11 months of last year, the number of Chinese tourists who visited Sabah approached 560,000, creating huge tourism revenue for Sabah. This year marks the Visit Malaysia 2020 and the China-Malaysia Cultural Tourism Year is about to be launched. We hope that every Chinese tourist who visits Sabah will come happily and return with wonderful memories, and Sabah could become a hospitable and friendly tourism paradise that tourists long for and love.”
Liang said in December last year, the first Confucius Institute in East Malaysia was officially established at University Malaysia Sabah where it will become an important platform for the people in Sabah to learn Chinese language and culture.
“I believe that the essence of Chinese Confucianism will also contribute rich wisdom and inspiration to the China-Sabah cooperation and development in various fields.
“Looking back on the results of China-Sabah cooperation over the past year, what I wish to express the most at this moment is gratitude. I would like to thank the Sabah State Government and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal for the great concern and active support given to China-Sabah cooperation.
“I also thank the various Chinese communities, Chinese Chambers of Commerce, Chinese enterprises and overseas students in Sabah for making significant contributions to promote China-Sabah economic and trade cooperation, to enhance cultural exchanges of the two places as well as to inherit the Chinese traditional culture.
He also thanked those present who supported his work and that of the Consulate General. “It is the efforts of all of us to bring together a closer China-Sabah relation, achieving leaping development in cooperation.”
Liang said 2020 will be a key milestone in the history of both China and Malaysia where China will realize a moderately prosperous society in all respects, eliminate absolute poverty, and achieve the first centenary goal in the process of achieving China’s national rejuvenation; Malaysia will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit.
These occasions also with the China-Malaysia Cultural Tourism Year provide a golden opportunity to promote China-Malaysia relations and China-Sabah cooperation.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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