NewsVoice was invited to take part in a meeting with representatives from the Chinese Peoplés Association for Peace and Disarmament. The meeting titled ”Sweden and Global Security” was arranged by the Schiller Institute in Sweden.
The aim of the meeting was to improve further peace work and communication between China, Sweden, and Europe.
The Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament (CPAPD.org.cn), established in June 1985, is China’s largest nationwide non-governmental peace organisation, comprising 24 influential member organisations and prominent individuals from diverse backgrounds.
The CPAPD aims to foster mutual understanding, friendship, and cooperation between the people of China and the global community to promote world peace, oppose the arms race and war, advocate for arms control and disarmament, seek the complete prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, protect the ecological environment, and advance social harmony and sustainable development.
The CPAPD delegation to Sweden consisted of four people who met with members of the Schiller Institute’s board and a few others with whom the institute collaborates on peace work in Sweden.
The meeting participants shared diverse opinions and experiences from their work in peacebuilding in Europe, as well as ideas on how to improve the current situation between China and the European Union.
The chairman of the Schiller Institute in Sweden, Ulf Sandmark, welcomed the CPAPD delegation: Deputy Secretary General Yan Yinghua and Assistant Research Fellow Wong Tsing.
Sandmark says people come together from different sides of the political spectrum to commemorate Hiroshima Day against nuclear war. The Swedish Institute has also led numerous meetings against Swedish NATO membership, as well as the Swedish parliament’s decision to allow the US to establish military bases at 17 locations throughout Sweden.
Sandmark admits to NewsVoice that many Chinese delegations hold meetings with European think tanks and politicians who tend to idealise the West, and that notion needs to be challenged by alternative views.
That’s why independent organisations, media outlets, and individuals not under the direct influence of particular Western geopolitical agendas can foster a deeper understanding of the true West and how to better cooperate in these new times (editor’s remark).
There are, despite certain warmongering entities in Europe and the West, political leaders and movements that aim for peace and cooperation rather than competition and suspicion between peoples and nations (editor’s remark).
Sandmark finds it essential that civil organisations and Swedish citizens maintains an open and direct contact with China:
”It must be considered a civil right and a strength for our nation that not only government institutions, but also the people of Sweden and China, establish and maintain friendly contacts.”
Torbjorn Sassersson, the Editor-in-Chief of NewsVoice, mentioned that some European leaders have a peaceful approach to the future of international relations, and he specifically mentioned Viktor Orbán’s 2024 peace tour, which aimed to end the European war between Russia and Ukraine, backed by a Western alliance.
Hussein Askary from the Belt & Road Institute in Sweden stated that peace, economic development, and cooperation should coexist in a symbiotic relationship. There can be no peace and security in a world of misery, zero-sum games and conflict over so-called ‘limited resources’.
Agneta Norberg, a Board member of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space and a former chairwoman of the Swedish Peace Council, who has visited CPAPD in China, highlighted the problems associated with the ongoing arms race in space.
Johan Nordquist, a retired entrepreneur, author, and recurring speaker on peace, said that the only thing politicians need to do is to speak the truth.
The Schiller Institute board member, Kjell Lundkvist, reported on how the Schiller Institute promotes peace through the ”Ten Principles of a New International Security and Development Architecture” by Helga Zepp-LaRouche.
”Internationally, these days, the Institute is in a significant mobilisation in the U.S. and internationally to stop any desperate use of limited nuclear war against both Iran and Russia.”
In less than two weeks, on July 4th, there will be an annual meeting in Stockholm against the U.S. wars of aggression.
By NewsVoice editorial team