To Commemorate the 150th
Anniversary of the Birth of José Martí, the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS), Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), recently sponsored a
meeting, attended by more than 50 people.Prof. Chen Jiagui, Vice President of CASS, delivered a speech at the gathering. He spoke highly of José Martí's remarkable life, his writings and his thought. José Martí is quite well-known in China. As early as in 1953, the year that marked the 100th
anniversary of José Martí's birth, some commemorative activities were organized in Beijing and a book by the great Cuban thinker was published, said Prof. Chen. Alberto Rodríguez Arufe, the Cuban Ambassador and Omar Pereira Hernández, another Cuban embassy official, also spoke at the meeting. They said that José Martí has been inspiring the Cuban people to walk on the path of socialism from victory to victory. In the age of globalizaiton, José Martí's thought is still relevant, the two Cuban diplomats said at the meeting. Prof. Xu Shicheng from the ILAS presented an overview of José Martí's revolutionary thought, which has been written into Cuba's constitution. Prof. Liu Chengjun, also from ILAS, gave a clear account of José Martí's thinking and its relations with the traditions of anti-imperialism in Latin America. Huang Zhiliang, a career diplomat posted in Cuba for many years, told the audience of his impression that José Martí is always in the hearts of the Cuban people. Prof. Zhu Jingdong attracted the attention of the audience with his account of José Martí's talents as a poet.