Greetings to dear friends and fellow compatriots!

    The bell of the Year of the Ox is about to ring. In this beginning of a new year, on behalf of all my colleagues in the Chinese Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu, I would like to extend my sincere holiday greetings and best wishes to friends from all walks of life in Sabah-Labuan and all Chinese citizens who are in Sabah during the Spring Festival! Wishing you all a happy Chinese New Year and all the best!

    Affected by the pandemic, this year we could only celebrate the new year in this special way. Although there is less of the joy of gathering together, our hearts are always closely connected; although we are missing a bit of the excitement of drums, firecrackers, dragon and lion dances, our longing and prayer for a bright future remains unchanged.

    We have gone through a difficult and extraordinary year 2020 together and withstood an unprecedented severe test. The sudden COVID-19 pandemic has brought a huge impact to the economies and people's livelihoods of all countries in the world. Confronting the pandemic, China interpreted the great love of the world with the faith of the supremacy of life, and wrote the epic of fighting against the epidemic in a responsible manner with solidarity. By taking the lead in controlling the pandemic, resuming work and production, its annual GDP has reached a level of one hundred billion yuan, becoming the only major economy in the world to achieve positive growth, the "13th Five-Year Plan" has come to a successful conclusion, and the "14th Five-Year Plan" has been comprehensively drawn, the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects has made historic achievements, and the fight against poverty has been decisively won.

    Amid pandemic, the people of China and Sabah-Labuan always stood by and helped each other sharing weal and woe. I will never forget the state government and people from all walks of life in Sabah reached out in time and provided a lot of valuable support for China to fight against the epidemic when it hit China at the worst. As the outbreak in Sabah-Labuan was intensified, the Chinese Consulate General went all out at the first time, uniting Chinese enterprises and Chinese citizens in Sabah to purchase and raise batches of anti-epidemic materials to aid Sabah-Labuan. The Chinese Medical Experts Team came to Sabah to help in fighting against the pandemic. The brotherhood between the people of China and Sabah-Labuan has been further enhanced amid pandemic.

    Dear fellow-compatriots, the achievements of China-Sabah in anti-pandemic comprise your strong support. Whether it is the generous donation to the motherland in the early stage of the epidemic, or the contribution to the prevention and control of the epidemic in Sabah-Labuan, and the response to the call of staying in the local area, it fully demonstrates the great affection and boundless love of the overseas Chinese citizens.

    The motherland is also always concerned about the safety and security of overseas citizens. In the past year, the Consulate General successively coordinated charter flights to send Hubei-Wuhan tourists stranded in Sabah back home, assisted more than 6,000 Chinese citizens who were stranded in Sabah due to flights cancellation to return home smoothly, coordinate the online communication between the medical experts and overseas Chinese to guide scientific epidemic prevention, distributed "health packs" and "Spring Festival packs" to overseas Chinese students and citizens... It has effectively transmitted the care and concern of the motherland to every overseas Chinese citizens.

    The Consulate General will continue to practice the concept of "diplomacy for the people", always care about the health and safety of citizens in the consular district, and provide them with considerate consular protection and services. Here, I would like to thank all fellow-compatriots, including employees of Chinese-funded enterprises and international students, for "stay at home to celebrate Chinese New Year and fight against the pandemic" in this extraordinary period. All colleagues in the Consulate will too stay at the local area, hold on to their posts, guard and accompany everyone, together we spend a peaceful and safe Spring Festival in the foreign country. At the same time, I hope that fellow-compatriots should take care and protect yourselves, remember to "wear masks, wash hands frequently, go out less, and do not gather", and practise "no travel for non-essential and non-urgent errands" and personal protection.

    Year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China and the first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan". China will embark on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way and march towards to its second centenary goal. Standing at a new historical starting point, we are full of confidence and pride.

    In Chinese culture, the ox symbolizes loyalty, endeavor and practical in work, The Consulate General is willing to become a down-to-earth, hard-working and tenacious servant to the people in the new year. Insists on wholeheartedly dedication, working together with the government and people of all walks of life in Sabah-Labuan, we will dispel the haze of the pandemic as soon as possible and make every effort to promote the resumption of exchanges and cooperation in various fields between China and Sabah, opening a new chapter of the China-Sabah cooperation in the post-pandemic.

    Lastly, let us wish for prosperity and lasting friendship between China and Malaysia; happiness and health to the people of Sabah and Labuan!

    Wishing you all a prosperous Year of the Ox with new transformation and full of vitality!

    Thank you!