H.E. Mr. Merício Juvenal dos Reis “Akara”, Secretary of State for Social Communications,

H.E. Mr. Julião da Silva, Secretary of State of Vocational Training & Employment,

H.E. Mr. Teófilo Caldas, Secretary of State for Arts & Culture,

Representatives of Chinese Enterprises and the Construction Company of the Project,

Friends from the Media,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning!

It is my pleasure to attend the signing ceremony of the China aided DTMB Digital TV Demonstration Project. On behalf of the Chinese government, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the signing of the Implementation Agreement of the Project between China and Timor-Leste, which is actually hard-won and worth celebrating. Since this Project is of great significance and is directly related to the local development and people’s daily life of Timor-Leste, it has involved many governmental sectors and procedures in Timor-Leste. Our two sides, on the basis of friendly consultation, through frequent communication and coordination over a considerable period of time, have finally reached a consensus on the Implementation Agreement, which laid solid foundation for today’s signing ceremony. Here, I would like to thank the working teams of both sides for their work and commitment. Today, several Secretaries of State of Timor-Leste, representatives of the Chinese Enterprises here, especially the Construction Company of the Project, friends from the Media, are all gathered to witness the signing of the Agreement, which demonstrates the significance of this Project to the development of Timor-Leste. Thank you for your coming and support.

A Chinese saying that describes the importance of food goes like this, “food is the first necessity of people”. As the food for the mind, TV programme is also the necessity of modern people. Upon the request of Timor-Leste Government, the Chinese Government agrees to implement the DTMB Digital TV Demonstration Project in Timor-Leste. China will build a digital TV transmission system using DTMB standards, and provide a necessary number of TV set-top boxes. That means each Timorese household will use in-home cable and a set-top box to watch TV instead of using the receiving satellite dish or antenna. It will entertain more than 200 000 of the population in Dili and its surrounding areas with dozens of high-definition digital TV programs. Once completed, it will greatly enrich the culture life and recreations of Timor-Leste people, improve its national digitization and informationization, and modernize the broadcasting and television system of Timor-Leste. What worth mentioning is that, some high-quality Chinese TV programs will be available, served as a window to China and Chinese culture, hence promoting more in-depth intercultural communication.

This Project, as one of the important programs in Timor-Leste, will play a significant role in deepening our cooperation in economy, science and technology and culture. I hope the working teams of two sides continue their smooth cooperation after today`s ceremony. The Chinese Construction Company in charge of this Project shall work closely and actively with its Timor-Leste counterpart to finish the project on time with high quality. At the same time, to ensure full utilization of this Project and to ensure the sustainable running of the system, I hope that Timor-leste side start to get prepared well as soon as possible, for example, not only in improving the techniques of producing and editing TV programs, but also in improving the ability of daily maintenance and operation of the system.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China and Timor-Leste enjoy a long-standing and well-established friendship. China is the first country to establish diplomatic relations with Timor-Leste. Since then, China has done its utmost to provide aid or grants to Timor-Leste. This year marks the 17th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between our two countries. Over the past 17 years, the bilateral relations have developed rapidly in an all-round manner. Political trust has been continuously deepened; mutually beneficial cooperations in areas such as economy, agriculture and health have been steadily strengthened, bringing concrete and tangible benefits to people of our two countries. The signing of the Implementation Agreement is another important step that the Chinese Government takes to deepen cooperation with Timor-Leste Government. I hope that both sides seize this opportunity to promote friendly cooperation to a higher level, and to turn more cooperation needs into tangible cooperation projects between our two countries.

In short, today is a happy day worth remembering. For the Timorese people, their anticipation for watching high definition digital TV programs will be realized, enriching their culture life and recreations. For the Timor-Leste government, its broadcasting and television system and programs will be upgraded, marking a great stride in its own development history. For the Chinese side, after a considerable period of negotiation, it reached the agreement with Timor-Leste, paving way for cooperation in the future between our two sides.

Finally, I wish Timor-Leste constant progress and Timor-Leste people happier and more joyful life.

Thank you!