国内英语新闻:Canada's Ontario holds ceremony to mark China's National Day

TORONTO, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ontario, Canada's largest and most populous province, marked China's National Day on Wednesday by holding a flag-raising ceremony, together with a reception and a photo show, in downtown Toronto's Queen's Park.

Over a thousand people attended the ceremony on the front lawn of the main legislative building.

Addressing the ceremony, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne managed to warm up the atmosphere of the event by greeting the audience with Chinese "Dajiahao" (Hello everybody).

After wishing the local Chinese community a "Happy National Day" and offering her congratulations on the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the premier said the ceremony is an occasion to mark Ontario's strong ties with China, and emphasized the integral role that the local Chinese community has played in developing relations with China.

"I treasure our longstanding relationship which continues to flourish year after year; I look forward to strengthening our friendship," she said.

Wynne also said she is looking forward to her upcoming visit to China. The premier announced earlier Wednesday that she is going on a trade mission to China on Oct. 25 -- her first international trade mission in the capacity of a premier. The mission will travel to Nanjing city of Jiangsu Province in the economically developed east China, which is Ontario's sister province, as well as Shanghai and Beijing.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Fang Li, Chinese Consul General in Toronto, said that China has become Canada's second largest trading partner, biggest source of overseas students and fastest growing tourist market.

The consul general also thanked the local Chinese community, stressing that it is the Chinese community that "made great contributions to the relations between the two countries."

A photo exhibition was also held in the main legislative building to highlight China's landscape and development. "When you see the whole range of the photographs, the history of China and the modern aspects of China, it shows graphically what an important country China has become and what a magnificent historical tradition it has had for thousands of years," David Zimmer, Ontario Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, told Xinhua after a tour.

According to a press release, China is Ontario's second-largest trading partner in the world, and more than 710,000 Ontarians are of Chinese origin. A number of cities in Ontario, including Toronto, Richmond Hill, Markham, Whitby and Pickering, also held ceremonial flag-raising to mark the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Wednesday.