Pinit named ICA vice president

BEIJING: Phinij Jarusombat, former Deputy Prime Minister and President of the Thai-Chinese Cultural Relationship Council (TCCRC), was elected as a Vice President of the International Confucian Association (ICA) Council on Saturday.
His appointment was announced at the International Conference to Commemorate the 2575th Anniversary of Confucius’ Birth, which is also the 7th Congress of ICA, in Beijing, China, on Saturday. The event was joined by about 500 participants from 100 countries. 
ICA was founded in Beijing in 1994 to promote the intellectual essence of Confucianism and all other traditional cultures, enhance mutual learning between followers of Confucianism and  other faiths, while contributing to world peace. 
After receiving a gift from Sun Chunlan, the former Vice Premier of China and ICA President, Mr Phinij delivered a speech in which he praised ICA’s contributions over the past three decades.
“In the future, the ICA will undoubtedly achieve magnificent successes,” he said.
Confucius was a great thinker, scholar, educator, and founder of the Confucian school of philosophy, he said.
“His ideas have been passed down for over 2,000 years and still have a powerful influence on the development of culture and civilisation in China and around the world.”
In Thailand, Confucius is highly respected. Confucius’s ideas of Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi and Xin — which translates to benevolence, righteousness, ethics, wisdom and trust — closely correspond to the culture and traditions of Thais, said Mr Phinij.
“Confucius’s idea that ‘harmony is precious’ has always been an important policy that China has adhered to [in its engagements] abroad,” said the former deputy prime minister.