30.04.2020.

Military service medals to the doctors of the Chinese medical team

Minister Vulin: The policies of President Vučić and President Xi Jinping have shown that distant countries can also be close, solidary and united

In the presence of the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Milan Mojsilović and the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China Chen Bo, the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin presented military service medals today to the six members of the medical team from the People's Republic of China engaged in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, at a ceremony at the Guard’s Club in Topčider.

By order of the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin, military service medals, the highest military decorations in the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, have been awarded to the six members of the medical team from the People's Republic of China, in recognition of a successful cooperation and their outstanding contribution.

A Military Service Medal for Outstanding Contribution to the Defence System of the Republic of Serbia has been awarded to the Head of Delegation and the Leader of the Prevention and Control Team, Dr Peng Zhiqiang, and Military Service Medals for Contribution to the Defence System of the Republic of Serbia have been awarded to the Leader of the Mental Health Team, Dr Hou Cailan, to the Leader of the Medical Team, Dr Guo Yubiao, to the members of the Medical Team, Dr Xiong Yan and Dr Lin Bingliang, and to the member of the Prevention and Control Team, Dr Long Qisui.

According to Minister Vulin, Serbian and Chinese languages are so different that translation is necessary, but Chinese experts "could feel the greetings and emotions of every Serb without translation."

- In difficult times, everyone shows their true face, both people and nations and the countries and policies that govern them. Faced with the threat of death and destruction, all of us showed our best or worst faces, but surely our true faces. Both Serbia and China have shown that they are brave and solidary nations and people. And the policies of President Vučić and President Xi Jinping have shown that distant countries can be so close, so solidary and so united. The policy implemented by our President Aleksandar Vučić, the policy of military neutrality and the policy of friendship with the People's Republic of China, saves lives - said Minister Vulin.

According to him, during the fight against the coronavirus, in the dark and difficult moments, one is afraid of death, but one is also afraid of loneliness.

- Thanks to your arrival and President Xi Jinping's decision, we were not alone and therefore we were no longer afraid. When great powers wrestled each other for a packet of gloves or masks and trampled upon all human qualities, when they forgot about old alliances and solidarity, when they robbed each other of respirators, medicines, closed borders to their closest neighbours, and refused to help anyone, the People's Republic of China came to the aid of their friendly Serbia. Serbia will never forget that - said the Minister of Defence, pointing out that Chinese assistance, advice and support were very important to us.

- Together we rejoiced in the speed and success of establishing temporary hospitals, together we worried whether we would be fast enough. We rejoiced in each and every cured patient, and grieved over every life lost. Our friendship is made of steel, and now it is forged once again through the catastrophic fire of the fight against coronavirus. Serbia has a long memory and it does not forget either good or evil. We thank you for the opportunity to remember this great deed and we express our wish to return the favour to you at some point in future. Long live our steel friendship - emphasized Minister Vulin.

Ambassador Chen Bo said it was a great honour to be able to attend the award ceremony today, as well as President Vučić’s greeting of the team of medical experts upon their arrival in Serbia.

- Today, Minister Vulin presented military service medals to Chinese doctors, which fully reflects the respect that the Serbian side has shown to them. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy, I would like to thank the Serbian side - said Ambassador Chen Bo.

According to her, the Chinese and Serbian people are steel friends even in these difficult times. A team of Chinese experts is a symbol of that steel friendship and joint cooperation between the two countries in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic.

- Chinese doctors have been staying in Serbia for over a month now, and as far as I know, this is the longest period of time a Chinese team of Covid-19 medical experts has been in another country - said Ambassador Chen Bo, adding that experts from China attended sessions of the Crisis Response Team and visited health facilities across Serbia, giving constructive suggestions and contribution based on the Chinese experience in dealing with the epidemic.

Ambassador Chen Bo thanked the Government and the people of the Republic of Serbia for the trust they gave to Chinese medical experts, and especially to the Ministry of Defence for the support and attention they gave to Chinese doctors during their stay in our country.

As she pointed out, three team members are returning to China tomorrow, and depending on the need and the situation, there is a possibility that the team will be strengthened again with three more members.

- The current epidemiological situation in Serbia is improving, but the fight against the epidemic is still underway. China is ready to continue to cooperate with Serbia and strive for a common victory - Ambassador Chen Bo said.

On behalf of the expert medical team, Dr Peng Zhiqiang thanked the Serbian Ministry of Defence for awarding them service medals.

- This is a confirmation of our work and at the same time a symbol of steel Chinese-Serbian friendship. When China ended its fight against coronavirus on 21st March, the Chinese Government sent our team to Serbia to help you fight the Covid-19 epidemic. We were extremely honoured when President Vučić met us personally at the airport. At the same time, we were anxious because we were not sure if our successful experience from China would help stop the epidemic in Serbia - said Dr Peng, emphasizing that thanks to swift and strong measures in Serbia, "the scenario of other European countries’ health systems was successfully avoided.“

- With a high degree of responsibility and courage, the Government of Serbia and President Vučić quickly took strong measures, including closing the borders, monitoring the people who returned from abroad, introducing curfew, and increasing testing to effectively prevent the growth of newly infected people. Most of the citizens have fully accepted the proposed measures, and in the last ten days there has been a significant downward trend in the number of newly infected patients - said Dr Peng Zhiqiang.

He stressed that early recognition of exacerbations and timely intervention reduced the number of serious cases and according to the current situation, the death rate of Covid-19 patients in Serbia is the lowest in Europe.

- We were impressed with the speed at which a temporary hospital was built in just a few days and put into service immediately. I want to express our admiration for that. We are confident that in the coming period, even better measures will be taken to control the epidemic, that production will gradually be restored and that people will return to work and that the economy will recover quickly. We are also convinced that Serbia will thus become a role model for epidemic control and economic recovery. We wish a successful recovery to Serbia and long live the friendship between Serbia and China - said Dr Peng Zhiqiang.

The ceremony at the Guard’s Club in Topčider was attended by the Board Members of the Minister of Defence and the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces.