{"id":29656,"date":"2017-04-04T08:20:45","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T20:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nzcfs.adminmouse.co.nz\/?p=29656"},"modified":"2017-04-21T09:00:28","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T21:00:28","slug":"china-premier-li-keqiang-views-photos-of-rewi-alley-in-china-exhibition-auckland-march-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzchinasociety.org.nz\/china-premier-li-keqiang-views-photos-of-rewi-alley-in-china-exhibition-auckland-march-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"China Premier Li Keqiang views photos of ‘Rewi Alley in China’ exhibition, Auckland, March 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
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China Premier Li Keqiang at the ‘Rewi Alley in China’ exhibition, Auckland, New Zealand (March, 2017)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

China Premier Li Keqiang accompanied by New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English attended a gala luncheon in Auckland on March 28, 2017.<\/p>\n

Pat Alley, Rewi Alley\u2019s nephew takes up the story:<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the lunch, I had the privilege of briefing both leaders on a display of 14 photographs from the NZCFS photo exhibition Rewi Alley in China. \u00a0<\/em>From the outset Premier Li was very engaged, particularly when, early in our photographic journey, he saw a photograph of Rewi in 1935 with a group of students in Anhui province.<\/p>\n

“\u201cI grew up there\u201d, was all he needed to say to emphasise his interest in Rewi\u2019s life. Courtesy of an excellent interpreter, Premier Li nodded and smiled his way around the display and made a number of comments in excellent English. It transpired that he knew Rewi reasonably well and the photographs confirmed many facts that he already knew.<\/p>\n

“At the conclusion he smiled at me and said \u201cI\u2019m pleased to shake the hand of someone whose hand has touched Rewi\u201d. He added that Rewi was still very much in the frame of Chinese thinking as an example of international cooperation at the most fundamental level of human friendship.<\/p>\n

“My final comment to Premier Li was that, Rewi often said,” that despite his achievements, he was just an ordinary New Zealander”.<\/p>\n

“To this\u00a0Premier Li volunteered that in some ways his own life paralleled that of Rewi in that he also came from a relatively ordinary background. The Premier did not have to add that his own recognition as a highly regarded world leader was real and pervasive. If there was doubt, one only had to listen to his speech at the following gala luncheon.<\/p>\n

“For me personally it was a privilege to meet someone of Premier Li\u2019s stature and to be assured that Rewi\u2019s message of friendship and international cooperation and understanding was in safe hands.”<\/p>\n