At the invitation of Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, speaker of the House of Assembly Patricia Deveaux and president of the Senate Julie LaShell Adderley of the Bahamian parliament jointly led a delegation to visit China from April 7 to 12.

The delegation visited Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, learned about the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC), experienced Chinese culture and had face-to-face discussions with NPC deputies.

Learning history

On April 9, the delegation visited the Museum of the Communist Party of China located in Beijing and toured the exhibition Staying True to the Original Aspiration and Founding Mission: Exhibition on the History of the Communist Party of China (1921-2021), exploring the Party's century-long struggle.

The museum, inaugurated in 2021, is a site devoted to permanent and comprehensive exhibitions of the Party's history. The delegation paused in front of the model of the Red Boat while listening to its stories. It is a replica of a historical boat in Jiaxing, honoring the conclusion of the first National Congress of the CPC in 1921.

The delegation learned in detail about the Long March of the Red Army at the exhibition. From October 1934 to October 1936, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army soldiers left their bases and marched along the 12,500-km-long journey through raging rivers, frigid mountains and arid grassland to break the siege of the Kuomintang forces while fighting the Japanese aggressors. 

With a panoramic XR animation scene, the exhibition gave the delegation a vivid experience of the Long March, and received high praise from the international friends. With the Chinese national flag rising slowly, salute guns firing in unison, the mighty steps of the People's Liberation Army marching past, and fighter jets and bombers soaring over Tiananmen Square, the delegation watched the footage of the People's Republic of China (PRC) founding ceremony review, the parade celebrating the 35th anniversary of the founding of the PRC and the parade celebrating the 70th anniversary.

At the exhibition, the delegation also learned about China's rapid economic development and long-term social stability over the 75 years since its founding as well as the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature.

Technological achievements were also on display, such as Jiaolong, China's first independently developed manned submersible, as well as various advanced space technology.

From a poor and backward country to the world's second-largest economy, from the complete victory in the poverty alleviation campaign to the realization of the Chinese people’s dreams of thousands of years, the four-part exhibition, with over 2,500 pictures, 4,500 cultural relics and 420 national first-class cultural relics, presented an epic, all-encompassing and panoramic view of the century-long journey of the CPC, all of which deeply impressed the delegation.

Before leaving, Adderley wrote in the guestbook that China's achievements are truly astounding and that the indepth content of the museum is an excellent platform for the world to understand China’s history. "Congratulations on your remarkable achievements!”she wrote.

Discussion on democracy

On April 12, the delegation visited a courtyard meeting hall at Caochang Sitiao Hutong in Beijing's Dongcheng district and learned about how democracy is practiced at the grassroots level in China.

The courtyard meetings are a mechanism that empowers community members to discuss and decide their own affairs. At the meeting hall, the delegation saw dozens of photos on the wall documenting discussion meetings among residents. From small issues like setting up clothes drying spaces in the courtyard, to larger matters such as toilet renovations for the entire residential community, as long as it concerned the livelihoods of the neighbors, everyone came to the hall for discussion. There, they would pool their wisdom, resolve conflicts and build consensus, ultimately making decisions which concern the everyday lives of local people.

"The most important thing is to speak for the people,”said Wang Rui, a deputy to the NPC from Dongcheng. Since being elected to the NPC, she has maintained close contact with the people through research, seminars and the local legislative outreach office. She solicits public opinion, responds to people's needs and submits them to the relevant authorities. In this process, she has helped resolve issues such as the low utilization of some courtyard spaces and the aging of water supply pipelines.

Listening to the stories of the NPC deputies serving the people, Deveaux and Adderley both recognized the "commitment to people-centered development" and hoped that the two countries would advance together along this path centered on the people.

Better future

The delegation also learned about traditional culture, traditional Chinese medicine and local customs during their visit to Tianjin, a city that combines both tradition and modernity.

This is the first visit of the delegation from the Bahamian parliament to China. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the Bahamas 27 years ago, bilateral relations have made great progress, with the continuous expansion of practical cooperation, increasingly close people-to-people exchanges, and mutual understanding and support on issues related to the two countries' core interests and major concerns.

"Although the Bahamas and China are far apart, the hearts of the people of the two countries are connected," the delegation said, "Every foreigner should come to China and see it with their own eyes, so that they will know how inadequate their previous understanding of China was, and how ridiculous some reports are. The visit to China was rich and enjoyable, and the history, democracy, culture and cities of China are unforgettable. After returning home, we will share our experiences in China widely and hope to make greater efforts to promote the China-Bahamas relationship.”

Deveaux and Adderley also thanked China for the selfless assistance it has provided for the Bahamas' economic and social development, stating that the Bahamian parliament's House of Assembly and Senate are willing to strengthen exchanges with China's NPC and contribute to promoting bilateral cooperation in fields such as the economy, trade, culture and legislation.

China is willing to work with the Bahamas to deepen cooperation in various fields and accelerate the development of bilateral relations to bring increased benefits to the two countries and peoples, Zhao concluded.