Li Li, who won the most votes from a galaxy of Chinese diplomats, officials and entrepreneurs for Contributions to China-Africa Friendship, was absent yesterday during the award ceremony in Beijing yesterday.

She has too much to attend to as head of the Johnken Farm in Zambia the largest Chinese farm in Africa to attend the "China-Africa Friendship Gala."

But the story of her work and achievement moved everyone at the ceremony, which was sponsored by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Chinese African Peoples' Friendship Association.

Starting with only 200 chicks, Li Li, 43, and her late husband, Wang Chi, worked together to turn their small farm into a 3,500-hectare showpiece. Today, Li Li leads a workforce of about 200 local farmers and raises some 1,000 head of cattle and more than 2,000 pigs.

Nine other Chinese also received the award for their devotion to mutual understanding and assistance over the years in different capacities such as doctor, journalist, choreographer, railway construction manager, researcher or ambassador.

"All the award-winners here tonight are models for those who are contributing to China-Africa co-operation," said Cameroon Ambassador to China Eleih-Elle Etian.

Of them, Peng Feng served in the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces twice. While serving in Mozambique in 1994, he was taken hostage by an anti-government armed force but successfully persuaded his captors to release him a week later.

In June 1997, while he was the commander of the southern district in preparation for the UN-mandated referendum in Western Sahara, he was wounded in the head and was in a coma for 15 days.

As a young pharmacist, Lu Chunming first arrived in Kenya 12 years ago with a young colleague. Their mission was to promote a new anti-malaria medicine called "Cotecxin." His colleague eventually left but he has stayed on, despite the fact that he faced tremendous difficulties and he himself suffered from malaria. Today, Holley Pharmaceuticals (Chongqing) Co Ltd, of which he is the president, is working in close partnership with the World Health Organization to fight malaria on the continent.

Peng Feng, who completed his posting as China's defence attach to Egypt, expects to get assigned again to an African country. "I am just drawn to the continent," he told China Daily.

Meanwhile, despite the death of her husband last year, Li Li has stayed on in Zambia, where she has been working for the past 14 years and has not returned once.

She buried her husband amidst young cypress trees, and from the window of her house, she envisions her husband watching cows return home from pasture at dusk.

Source: China Daily