Monrovia, Liberia, February 4- A funeral service has been held on February 3,2010, by the Chinese Embassy in Liberia at the Samuel Stryker Funeral Serbier, Monrovia, Liberia to morn Mr. Jia Dayou, a Chinese supervising engineer at the construction site of the China-aid Agricutural Demonstration Center at Central Agriculture Research Institute, Liberia, who died of cerebral malaria in the early morning of January 30th, 2010 in Monrovia. Senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture of Liberia, officers from CARI, diplomats from the Chinese Embassy, representatives from China-aid groups, Chinese peacekeeping Contingent, Chinese companies and the Chinese residing in Liberia attended the funeral.

At the funeral, H.E. Mr. ZHOU Yuxiao expressed his deepest condolence and profound sympathy to the bereaved family members for the painful blow bestowed upon them. He described the demise of Mr. Jia as an irreparable loss to the China-aid programs in Liberia. Reflecting on several occasions of his personal interaction with the deceased, Ambassador ZHOU praised Mr. Jia as a person of strong sense of responsibility, devoteness, determination and selflessness, who worked very hard and deligently to ensure the guality and speed as required by the contract since he assumed his duty last May. The senior envoy at last called upon all his fellow citizens in Liberia to pursue the same spirit of the deceased in their respective fileds for the betterment and progress of the cordial relationship between China and Liberia.

Representing Liberian Government, Ambassador William V.S. Bull, Acting Foreign Minister, on his part also expressed the deepest condolence to the family and love ones of the deceased and intoned that Mr. Jia died for a worthy course of helping Liberia's agricultural development and postwar recontruction and for friendship and cooperation between China and Liberia.

It can be recalled that when Mr. Jia was hospitalized during the period from January 25 to 30, the Minister of Health Mr. Gwenigale expressed his deep concern over the patient and instructed the hospital leadership and the relevant doctors to give him the best possible treatment. The Chinese Ambassador Mr. Zhou Yuxiao and his senior staff visted the patient and mobilized the Chinese peacekeepers to donate blood to him as he was suffering from anaemia as a complication symptom. The Ambassador also got strong support from United Nations Mission in Liberia, from which he was prepared to rent an airplane to take the patient to Ghana for further treatment on January 31. Unfortunately, Mr. Jia died a few hours before the scheduled takeoff of the plane.

Since 2003 when China and Liberia resumed their diplamatic relationship, China has been involved by its meaningful way in Liberia's postwar reconstruction. Many Chinese aid workers have been working selflessly and tirelessly for the social and economic development in Liberia. Two of them, Mrs. Jiang Chongyu or alias Princess, and Mr. Jia Dayou even sacrifieced their precious lives.