Norman Bethuneโs story still holds lessons for China-Canada relations
I grew up in a classroom where the name Norman Bethune was invoked with reverence. Like every schoolchild in China, I could recite from memory Chairman Maoโs 1939 essay โIn Memory of Norman Bethuneโ, which characterised Bethune as a man who had come from afar, who gave his life to the Chinese revolution, who embodied selflessness and internationalism. For years, I kept a poster in my office โ the famous oil painting of Mao meeting Bethune in Yanโan โ as a quiet tribute. As the years passed and...