In the African political arena, there is a Gabonese politician of Chinese descent, , who has achieved outstanding political achievements.
He was the minister of several Central African departments of Gabon , and he was also the President of the United Nations General Assembly and the President of the African Union. In 2016, this person was very close to the presidential throne.
The Wenzhou guy who accidentally stayed in Gabon
In 1933, the Wenzhou guy Cheng Zhiping came to France to work. He heard that it was profitable to sell porcelain in the French colony of Gabon, so he imported a batch of porcelain from his hometown and went to Gabon to sell it. After making a lot of money in Gabon, Cheng Zhiping had to stay there because he did not meet the date of sailing.
Cheng Zhiping, who had nothing to do in Gabon at the time, saw a local bakery recruiting a master, so he went to apply for the job and successfully got on the job.
The bakery owner felt that Cheng Zhiping’s pronunciation was too awkward, so only called him "ping". During the three years in the bakery, Cheng Zhiping studied hard and quickly learned a good craft.
Three years later, Cheng Zhiping came to the prosperous town of Umbue in order to develop better. There are abundant forest resources and fishery resources near the town of Umbue. Cheng Zhiping quickly found business opportunities here and his career developed rapidly.
Cheng Zhiping's hard work and ability left a deep impression on the local leaders of the Miyene tribe. After learning that Cheng Zhiping had no family, the leader married one of his daughters to Cheng Zhiping.
Cheng Zhiping officially settled here after he got married locally. In 1942, Cheng Zhiping had a son. According to Catholic tradition, this child was called Jean Ping .
"Good Man" Cheng Zhiping
After World War II, Cheng Zhiping started to operate a wood processing enterprise. In an economic crisis, Western companies have laid off their employees to protect themselves. Only Cheng Zhiping refused to lay off employees, but insisted on working with the workers. After the economic crisis, those Western companies returned to Gabon but found that they could not recruit people.
Because the outstanding workers think Cheng Zhiping is a good man, the locals are also very grateful for Cheng Zhiping's deeds and have helped Cheng Zhiping. With the help of the locals, Cheng Zhiping's career grew stronger and stronger until he became the leading company in Gabon's wood processing industry.
After that, Cheng Zhiping entered politics and became the speaker of the local council. He was also elected mayor. Cheng Zhiping is fair and reasonable, which makes the local people love him very much. When Cheng Zhiping died, Gabon carried out a state funeral for him.
A Chinese who is drifting away, without any background or political resources, can achieve such great achievements in a foreign country, Cheng Zhiping can be described as an excellent representative of the descendants of Yan and Huang.
Jean Ping is a schoolmaster
Cheng Zhiping attaches great importance to the education of Jean Ping. In addition to providing his son with the best educational resources, he often teaches his son the principles of life.
Cheng Zhiping believes that Jean Ping should study medicine, and then heal the poor and poor. However, Jean Ping had been dizzy since he was young, which made it difficult for him to realize his father's long-cherished wish.
Actually, Jean Ping has been a very hard-working kid since he was little. has always been among the best in his grades . In his youth, Jean Ping entered the first university in France to study economics.
During his stay in France, Jean Ping didn't waste his time. He studied hard and got a doctorate in economics. When Jean Ping was studying his Ph.D., the Gabonese government was ready to start building the economy.And recruit talents for this.
As a rare high-level talent in Gabon, Jean Ping was naturally invited. At that time, the Gabonese government gave Jean Ping three choices:
One was to return to China to serve as the deputy governor of a bank, the other was to be the head of an airline company, and the third was to work for UNESCO.
Become an indispensable figure in the Gabonese government after entering politics
In the eyes of the Chinese, it is definitely the first choice to return to China to become a vice president or a head of a state-owned enterprise, because you can enter the management of a large enterprise as soon as you graduate. What young people dream of. However, Jean Ping chose a UNESCO position because he could stay in France and complete his studies.
In the position of UNESCO, Jean Ping performed very well , which allowed him to accumulate a lot of experience in international affairs.
After graduating from his Ph.D., Jean Ping served as the head of the Gabonese delegation for many times, attending the United Nations General Assembly, the African Union Assembly, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other large international conferences. It can be said that Jean Ping has an extremely important position in Gabon’s diplomatic history.
In 1990, Jean Ping returned to the Gabonese government. He has served as minister of trade, tourism, post and telecommunications, mining, energy, foreign affairs and other sectors. Since 2004, Jean Ping has served as the chairman of the United Nations General Assembly and has become the pride of Africans.
Efforts to promote Sino-African relations
Due to blood ties, Jean Ping has been actively advocating the development of good relations with China during his tenure as Minister of the Gabonese government.
Thanks to Jean Ping’s efforts, China and Gabon have established friendly relations , and the two sides have increasingly frequent economic exchanges. Many buildings and stadiums in Gabon are projects aided by China.
When he was the chairman of the African Union,Jean Ping actively advocates Sino-African cooperation , which brings the relationship between China and Africa into a new era. Most of China's major projects in Africa since the 21st century have been reached during Jean Ping's presidency.
ran for president and returned home
Jean Ping is a true patriot. Because of his outstanding political performance, Jean Ping also has a high degree of support in the country, and he is a politician who is deeply loved by the Gabonese people.
After Gabon was founded, the power soon fell into the hands of the Bongo family. Bongo Haji Bongo, the first-generation head of the family, is a powerful political man who is proficient in power. In the early period of Haji Bongo's rule, Gabon's economy once achieved prosperity.
However, the Bongo family has ruled Gabon for more than 50 years. During these more than 50 years, the economic prosperity has long gone, and the solidification of classes and political corruption have made the Gabonese people increasingly dissatisfied.
In recent years, the Gabonese people have been calling for democratization more and more, and many people have also begun to feel dissatisfied with the Bongo family’s long-term leadership of Gabon. Dissatisfaction with the Bongo family has led to many riots, and these continuous riots show that Gabon’s political arena is facing a major change.
Gabon is extremely rich in natural resources. It is a country that can achieve a per capita GDP of more than US$8,000 by selling resources alone. Gabon has 2.2 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and manganese mine , which accounts for about 25% of the world.
There are about 400,000 tons of rare metal niobium ore, and also has nearly 1 billion tons of high-quality iron ore . In addition to these minerals, Gabon also has considerable reserves of gold, zinc, nickel and other minerals.
In addition to natural minerals, Gabon's fishery resources and tourism resources are also quite rich. These resources can bring huge income to Gabon every year.
However, because the Bongo family has long controlled the Gabonese government,So these revenues fell into the pockets of Bongo's ruling group. Due to uneven distribution, many Gabonese people still live in hardship.
According to 2018 data, Gabon’s unemployment rate exceeds 20%, the poverty rate exceeds 30%, and the illiteracy rate reaches 15%. 16% of the national population is undernourished. The
data is surprising, because such bad data shouldn't happen in a country whose per capita GDP is above the middle. However, the people are suffering so far, and the Bongo family still has no change, and continues to fish the Gabonese people.
Although Jean Ping is the son-in-law of Haji Bongo, he hates what the Bongo family has done.
Jean Ping has repeatedly criticized the Bongo family for stealing national wealth as a "thief" in public. Given Jean Ping's identity and status, he needs courage to say this.
Jean Ping dared to speak for the poor, and even dared to criticize the Gabonese government directly. This is due to the influence of Chinese genes and culture.
Because China has had a tradition of "pleasure for the people" since ancient times, although Jean Ping did not grow up in China, he was taught by his father to do good deeds and be a good person who can help others since he was a child.
With the support of the people, Jean Ping participated in the 2016 presidential election. After the voting ended, Jean Ping gained a clear advantage. He also declared that he had won the general election on his own.
However, the Bongo family requested that the votes be recounted. After recounting the votes, Ali from the Bongo family became the President of Gabon . After Jean Ping lost the presidential election, he faded out of public view and was in a state of rejuvenation.
My heart is China. He has returned home many times to visit relatives.
In addition to his heart for Gabon, Jean Ping also has his heart for another distant motherland, that is, 's father, Cheng Zhiping. is born and raised in China.When he was a child, Jean Ping often heard his father talk about Chinese history and culture, as well as Chinese customs.
This made him full of affection for China from childhood to most. For the young Jean Ping, China is a longing existence. Due to various reasons, Cheng Zhiping did not return to China to visit relatives until his death, which made him feel very regretful.
Regarding his father's regret during his lifetime, Jean Ping feels that he has to fulfill his father's last wish. In the 1970s, Jean Ping followed the Gabonese diplomatic mission to China and saw China for the first time.
In the 1970s, China's overall appearance was relatively backward. However, Jean Ping has expectations of China. He believes that this land of China has infinite potential, and the Chinese will definitely be able to build the country in the future.
In 1994, Jean Ping returned to Wenzhou to visit relatives for the first time. Until 2013, Jean Ping returned to Wenzhou to visit relatives six times. For Jean Ping, every time he goes back to China, he has a very different feeling.
Because of the rapid development of Chinese society, Jean Ping feels so incredible. But as the son of a Chinese, Jean Ping is happy about China's development.
As a descendant of Yan Huang, Jean Ping has a hardworking character, and he also has the tradition of Chinese traditional scholar-bureaucrats requesting orders for the country.
Jean Ping has made great contributions to promoting China-Africa friendship and cooperation. Jean Ping is the representative of countless overseas Chinese descendants. The outstanding performance of these Chinese descent abroad reflects the everlasting spirit of the Chinese nation.
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