Cambodia honors 2 Chinese peacekeepers killed in 1993 blast

KAMPONG CHAM, Cambodia, March 31 -- Cambodia on Monday held a ceremony to honor two Chinese soldiers serving as UN peacekeepers who lost their lives in a blast in the province's Cheung Prey district on May 21, 1993.

The ceremony was presided over by Gen. Sav Sok, undersecretary of state of the Cambodian Ministry of Defense and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo, and was attended by some 120 Chinese and Cambodian people.

At the event, Cambodian defense officials, Chinese diplomats, representatives of Chinese community in Cambodia, and provincial authorities laid wreaths to commemorate the dead soldiers.

Ambassador Bu Jianguo recalled that nearly 800 Chinese U.N. soldiers were on a peacekeeping mission in Cambodia in 1992, and a mid-night explosion on May 21, 1993 killed the two soldiers -- Chen Zhiguo and Yu Shili -- and wounded three others.

"Their sacrifices for the cause of peace have greatly contributed to building closer relationship between China and Cambodia," she said. "Although they passed away, we all still remember their braveness forever."

Gen. Sav Sok expressed the deepest condolence to the Chinese government and the bereaved families for the death of the two Chinese soldiers in the engineering unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

"On behalf of the Cambodian people, I would like to extend my gratitude to the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government for sending engineering forces under the U.N. umbrella to Cambodia for a peacekeeping mission," he said, "Their sacrifices were in the cause of seeking peace for Cambodia. We pray for them to rest in peace."

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90883/8584330.html