Welcoming Launch of United Nations Website in Chinese, Secretary-General, in Message, Notes China Has More Internet Users than Any Other Country

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s message, as delivered by Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General, in Beijing today:

I bring you warm greetings from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  He has asked me to deliver the following message on his behalf.

It is a pleasure to greet all those gathered for the launch of the new United Nations website in Chinese.  Congratulations to the hard-working staff of the Department of Public Information and all others involved in bringing this initiative to fruition.

This new website offers a full multimedia experience, and allows for the integration of YouKu, Weibo and other Chinese services.  This will enable the United Nations to reach hundreds of millions of people across China — Government officials, civil society organizations, think tanks and, most of all, the general public.

China has more Internet users than any other country.  Already very active on United Nations social media outlets, China’s people can now be even more engaged in the global online conversation about world affairs and global efforts to achieve peace, development and human rights.

The United Nations is strongly committed to promoting open access to information and ideas, and to providing information about what we do and why it matters.  We are especially pleased that this launch is taking place in the year in which the United Nations is marking its seventieth anniversary and is shaping a new development agenda aimed at building lives of dignity for all.

You are welcome to visit UN Chinese website.  Thank you!  [huān yíng fǎng wèn lián hé guó zhōng wén wǎng zhàn. xiè xiè!]