Three Chinese military contingents serving within the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia have been awarded UN medals for their continuous assistance in restoring peace and stability in Liberia following 14 years of civil war, a senior Chinese diplomat said in Monrovia Saturday.

He Meng, the first secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Liberia, told Xinhua that the three contingents include transportation, engineering and medical contingents.

At the medal awarding ceremony held last Thursday, he said the UN Secretary General Chief's Representative in Liberia Abou Moussawas very satisfied with what the Chinese peacekeeping troops had done in Liberia.

"The UN can never adequately award you for your invaluable service. The medals are a partial reward for your invaluable services," he quoted Moussa as saying.

Moussa said Liberia presents one of the "most difficult" missions in the world due to lack of infrastructure. But he indicated that the UN was grateful to the Chinese contingents for opening up inaccessible areas and providing free medical services for the full deployment of the entire United Nations Mission troops in the west African country.

There are more than 40 countries contributing troops to the UN peacekeeping operation in Liberia.
 
On behalf of the Chinese government, Chinese Ambassador to Liberia Lin Songtian assured that the Chinese government will continuously contribute to the noble cause of safeguarding world peace and promoting the common development of human beings.

In view of this commitment, Ambassador Lin said China attaches "great importance to the United Nations in maintaining world peace and is willing to participate actively in the peacekeeping operations of UN missions with unremitting efforts."

On the bilateral level, Lin told the Chinese troops that their contribution within the UN mission in Liberia can "sustain greater efforts to the development of ties between Liberia and China."

There is a total of 558 Chinese peacekeeping troops in Liberia including 25 civilian police officers at present. Recapping their activities, the National Senior of the Chinese Contingents Col. Tang Lunxing said the transport contingent has ferried more than 14,000 tons of materials including the ferrying of ex-combatants to and from disarmament sites during the disarmament and reintegration exercises.

Col. Tang also recalled that the engineering contingent has rehabilitated 375 km of roads while the medical contingent has conducted more than 1,900 laboratory tests on patients of various diseases while at the same time providing free medical services to the locals.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2005)