Senator Robyn Lynes,
President Moxey, Vice President Munroe,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,

It is a great pleasure to join you once again at the Calligraphy Festival.

First, I would like to thank the Bahamas-China Friendship Association. Thank you for your hard work in promoting cultural exchanges between China and The Bahamas. Thank you for helping strengthen the friendship between our two countries.

I also want to warmly welcome all our Bahamian friends who are here today. Thank you for your interest in Chinese calligraphy and Chinese culture.

Thanks to everyone's support, this annual festival has become an important bridge between China and The Bahamas. Every year, more Bahamian friends come here to learn about China and experience Chinese culture.

Chinese calligraphy is one of China's oldest art forms. It has a history of thousands of years. It is not only beautiful. It also tells the story of Chinese civilization.

In 2002, archaeologists made an amazing discovery in Hunan Province, China. They found more than 37,000 wooden slips in an ancient well. These wooden slips are more than 2,200 years old.

The slips had been buried deep in the mud for over two thousand years. But the brush writing is still amazingly clear today.

Guess what was written on these wooden slips?

These wooden slips tell us about everyday life in ancient China. They tell us how many families lived in a village. They tell us how much grain was stored. They even tell us how the mail was delivered.

Many ancient writing systems in other countries can only be read by experts today. Ordinary people cannot understand them. Chinese is different. Our written language has been passed down from generation to generation. Modern Chinese people can still read many of these ancient characters.

That is why I often say that Chinese calligraphy is like a time tunnel, you travel through it to talk with ancestor. Through calligraphy, we can read the words of people who lived more than two thousand years ago. Few cultures in the world have this experience. That is one of the unique charms of Chinese language and Chinese Calligraphy.

Another wonder about Chinese calligraphy is that every calligrapher has a different style. The same sentence can look completely different in different hands.

Regular Script is neat, calm, and balanced. It is like a quiet hymn. Running Script is smooth and graceful. It flows like Nassau’s gentle evening breeze. Cursive Script is bold and full of energy. It reminds me of the lively drums and joyful spirit of Junkanoo. Every style has its own beauty. Together, they show the richness and creativity of Chinese culture.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, the world is changing rapidly. This makes exchanges among civilizations more important than ever. President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Civilization Initiative. It calls for respect for the diversity of civilizations. It encourages equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and mutual respect among different cultures. It points us toward greater understanding and harmony among civilizations.

Calligraphy is one of the important bridges that brings our two peoples closer together. I hope more Bahamian friends will come to know China through calligraphy. I also hope more Chinese people will learn about Bahamian culture and the rich traditions of the Caribbean.

Culture helps people understand each other. When people understand each other, friendship grows. And when friendship grows, our countries become closer.

Let us continue to bring people together through calligraphy.

Let culture continue to build bridges between China and The Bahamas.

Let us learn from each other. Let us inspire each other. Let us build an even stronger friendship and a community with shared future between our two peoples.

Thank you！