Col. Carlos
Photo by Zhang Tiannan

　　With the pleasant and beautiful melody of The Moon is My Witness ringing in the air, Col. Carlos, Argentine military attaché to China, sat together with his family and talked pleasantly about their impressions on China in a happy, cheerful and cosy atmosphere.

　　The fine qualities of the Chinese servicemen impress him deeply

　　When our talk turned to his experience in China, Col. Carlos recalled the places where he left his footprints: "Dalian, Kunming and Lijiang…are all beautiful cities and places. I even had the experience of traveling to Lhasa by train, where I really got some idea of the customs and practices of oriental characters. But what impressed me most is the fine qualities of the Chinese servicemen."

　　"Every serviceperson, be he/she a high-ranking officer or an ordinary soldier, wears cheerful and proud look on his/her face. Based on my 34 years of military career, the living conditions of the troops stationing in Tibet are very tough indeed, and yet, they are filled with the strong senses of pride and belonging. Moreover, they are always filled with enthusiasm and high moral in both peacetime training and daily life."

　　At this moment, Col. Carlos smiled and said to us, "Though Argentina and China are separated by a great distance geographically, the two nations share similar concepts in national defense. In last May, the Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan made his first visit to Argentina, which will not contribute only to improving the cooperation between the two armed forces, but also to expanding of exchanges between the two countries. I think our two armed forces can learn from and draw on each other's fine qualities and combat spirits of our servicemen. May happiness and sense of pride be with them every day and forever."

　　Soldiers should be ready for safeguarding peace and tranquility

　　"The word 'soldier' is always closely associated with war. However, what a soldier thinks about every day should not be how to trigger off war, but how to get ready for fulfilling tasks of defending the country and safeguarding the world peace," said Col. Carlos loudly. "Both the Chinese and Argentine armed forces share the same thinking. During my visits to the National Defense University---the highest PLA institute of learning, and the Dalian Naval Academy, I found out that the Chinese armed forces attach great importance to the cultivation of personnel, and their laboratories and simulation training centers furnished with advanced equipment are playing a vital role in turning out high-tech talents. The armed forces' development in high-tech is not only confined to military purpose, but also used to make positive contributions in raising people's living standard and promoting world peace.

　　I feel at home here in China.

　　"As a matter of fact, my friends and colleagues are extremely pleased about my being appointed to be the Argentine military attaché to China, and in turn I often tell them about my happy life here. In all our contacts with the ordinary Chinese, we were treated kindly, amiably, warmly and thoughtfully, which makes my family and I feel at home. We are sincerely gratified at the sense of reception and the sense of contentness." His words testify a sentence of an old Chinese poem: Distance is of little significance for true friends, thousands of miles will not dilute the feeling of being neighbors.

　　By Zhang Tiannan

　　(July 16, PLA Daily)