Press Release

Annan Speak at Tsinghua University

Beijing, China, 11 October 2004 �United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called today on Chinese students to share the responsibilities for global security and reaching the Millennium Development Goals in a speech at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Annan made the call when addressing a packed audience of faculty and students at the university during his five-day visit to China.

The UN Chief said that with its large population and its rapid economic growth, China was being relied on to reach the Millennium Development Goals, set by the world leaders in 2000.

�It is theoretically possible that we might succeed in halving the proportion of very poor people in the world by 2015, simply because China had succeeded in lifting almost all its people out of that category, even if most countries in Africa still had the same proportion,� said Annan.� �I urge you all � and your contemporaries throughout China � to commit yourselves to finding answers to our century�s great challenges of poverty, disease, and environmental degradation.� I say to you, as I have said to students in the United States, and many other countries, �go out and make the world better,� he added.

The UN chief also expressed his thanks to China for its participation in UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, saying that China is playing an increasing role in dealing with threats and challenges to world peace and security, and helping the world to rebuild and improve the global security system in the 21^st century.

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPEECH AT QING HUA UNIVERSITY

For more information, please contact Mr. Guangming Xu, UNDP China communications officer.

Email: [email protected];

Tel. 6532373 ext. 239