Lord & Lady Bates steps out on ‘Walk of Friendship’

On the morning of August 19, the launching ceremony of Lord & Lady Bates’s ‘Walk of Friendship’ was held on Yuquan Campus, Zhejiang University. The 1-month “Walk of Friendship” will start in Hangzhou and end in Wenzhou with the aim of fundraising for charities. WU Jing, vice chairman of Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, and REN Shaobo, Secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Zhejiang University, delivered speeches at the ceremony.

Michael Walton Bates is a member of the House of Lords and a consultant with Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council in the UK, and LI Xuelin, her wife, obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Zhejiang University. As of 2009, Lord Bates has launched a series of charity work, including ‘Walk for Peace’ and ‘Walk for Truce’. So far, the Bates have walked more than 14,208 kilometers in 25 countries and regions and raised 900,000 pounds for charities. 

WU Jing extended her heartfelt gratitude to the Bates for their generous contributions to charities in China. “The deed of the Bates is the very epitome of China-UK cooperation. Through the ‘Walk of Friendship’, the Bates will be better acquainted with stories about China and Zhejiang, enjoy picturesque landscapes and promote friendship,” WU pointed out.

“The faculty and students of Zhejiang University accomplished the remarkable feat of ‘the Long March of Academics’, covering 2,600 kilometers in 7 provinces, to which today’s 500-kilometer Hangzhou-Wenzhou walk by the Bates bears a close resemblance. On the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Bates will get a feeling of China in the most real manner through walking. It will strike up an enchanting melody of China-UK friendship and open up a new chapter for China-UK exchanges,” REN said in his speech.

“I love the UK and my wife loves China. We want to promote the cultural exchanges between the two nations through walking,” Lord Michael Bates said, “It is culture that brings us together and makes sharing possible. During our walk, we often communicate with Chinese in various aspects such as sports and the tea culture. The money we will raise on this walk will be entirely dedicated to charities concerning children and disabled people in Zhejiang Province.”