Japan's First Lady Akie Abe,
who?accompanied her husband, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on his
first China visit since taking office, visited Yuetan Middle School
in downtown Beijing and the China Disabled Persons' Federation
(CDPF) yesterday afternoon.
Mrs Abe sat in on a Japanese class at Yuetan and was deeply
impressed by the teacher's unique way of teaching and the students'
enthusiasm when answering questions, all in fluent Japanese. After
class, she had a warm and friendly chat with some of the students.
The school's headmaster told Mrs Abe that Yuetan was the only
secondary school in Beijing where Japanese is taught to junior and
senior high students.
Following the school tour, Mrs Abe visited CDPF headquarters in
Guanyuan, Xicheng District. Deng Pufang, the federation's chairman,
briefed her on the development of services for the disabled in
China. At the reception hall of CDPF's office building, Deng
explained that the plum flower design on the floor symbolized the
spirit of togetherness and solidarity of all disabled persons in
China. The building was completed in June 2005.
After their meeting, Mrs Abe, whose aim is also to improve
people-to-people contact between China and Japan, gave an interview
to Chinese and foreign reporters.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Mei, October 9, 2006)
