Your Excellencies & My Brothers and Sisters

Today we stand here in the Town Hall of Kolkata City, to unveil the statue of Lu Xun, the great Chinese personality. Overwhelmed with the greatness of this simple function, I feel encouraged standing here in front of you and speaking on this great occasion with the thought that our Association has contributed towards the growth of our culture, as the famous proverbs says, " It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." Usually soon enough, there will be many more candles to light up our way, and the darkness will stay away.

The presence of Lu Xun’s statue in this City of Joy, should enkindle the hope of further understanding of two of the World’s most rich and ancient cultures where people must work for harmony and prosperity. We hope this occasion will lead to necessary encouragement and sharing of goodwill.

This joint project announces to all men of good will and hope, and awaken the desire in all, to come forward and offer our service to the betterment and welfare of all the citizens of this city.

We stand here to express our gratitude to Mr. Qian Jianmin, Mayor of Shaoxing City, Shri Bikash Ranjan Bhattachayra Mayor of Kolkata City, Mr. Mao Siwei, Consul General of China, Mr. Alappan Bandyopadhyay, Kolkata Municipality Commissioner, Ms. Yang Hui Attaché, Embassy of China, with their teams and all who have contributed to make this occasion a reality.

I would like to end this by hoping that this event will give rise : Swei,

• To greater confidence to further cooperation and understanding between two great nations ;

• Greater understanding of each other’s culture and cooperation to bring the fruit of it to their own citizens ; and

• Greater mutual respect and sense of service for the growth of each individual and society at large.