JUBA, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in South Sudan on Thursday awarded 22 South Sudanese winners of the "Chinese Modernization in My Eyes" creative works competition, which began in April.
Daniel Abocha Ali, chairman of the youth league of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement and one of the top performers in the competition, said South Sudanese and Africans as a whole share similar cultures with the Chinese people, and should unite to develop their countries as the Chinese have done.
"So this message also goes to us, the people of South Sudan and Africa in general, that there is nothing impossible in this world, it only requires peace, unity, and we can also have African modernization through our eyes," Abocha said during the ceremony held in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
Abocha visited China in 2019, where he studied a three-month course in governance and leadership at Peking University in Beijing.
He said the people of South Sudan will never forget the support the Chinese people and government have extended to South Sudan over the years since its independence in 2011. Abocha also emphasized the importance of Africans working collectively with the Chinese people to achieve African modernization.
Emanuel Ambrose, a student of international relations at Destiny University in Juba, said the wards of the creative works competition on Chinese modernization are a testament to the continuous friendship between the two countries.
"We do not merely exchange traditions, but we exchange stories, aspirations, and believe in the dignity of every community," he said.
Abuk Augustino Anyuon Manguak, a journalist working at the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, noted that in her eyes, Chinese modernization is not only about highly developed infrastructure and industry, but also about building a life of comfort, safety, and opportunity for the people.
Anyuon was among a group of South Sudanese journalists who recently attended a communication seminar from April to July in China. "These past three months have been a journey through innovation and efficiency, a living example of how modernization can be both ambitious and people-centered," she said.
Ma Qiang, Chinese ambassador to South Sudan, revealed that from 2012 to 2020, nearly 100 million Chinese people were lifted out of poverty. He said China's modernization shares common features with modernization in other countries, and also has Chinese characteristics based on national conditions.
"It is modernization with a huge population. With a population of over 1.4 billion, China as a whole is entering the modernization, surpassing the combined population of all developed countries. This is the largest modernization in human history, and also the most challenging one," Ma said.
Chinese modernization adheres to the principle that development is for the people, relies on the people, and its benefits should be shared by the people, thus continuously promoting common prosperity for all, the Chinese ambassador added. ■