Condense the heart, realize the dream!

Boston, Nov. 21, 2023, Just days before US Thanksgiving holiday, Mr. Jie Long, the champion of the International Epee Cup, President of the Latvian Guangdong Chamber of Commerce, President of the Champion International Sports Culture Association, Vice President of the Guangdong Fencing Association, Consultant of the Latvian Disabled Epee team visited Boston after meeting with Latvia Disabled Fencing team earlier this month. Mr. Long was warmly welcomed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston City Council President Ed Flynn at the first holiday lighting event at Christopher Columbus Park in downtown Boston in the evening of Nov. 20.

In this harvest season of autumn, President Long and Coach Alexander led the Latvian disabled fencer Oleg to participate in the World Cup of Disabled Fencing held in Busan, South Korea in September. At the World Para Fencing Championships held in Italy in October, Amitriy won the second place in epee and the third place in foil, and Oleg won the sixth place in epee, laying a good foundation for the 2024 Paris Para Olympic Games.

On the morning of November 15, 2023 President Long, Coach Alexander and Oleg came to Riga to visit Ms. Daiga Dadz te, President of the Latvian Paralympic Committee, and Aigars, President of the Latvian Disabled Persons Club Mr. Apinis, Liene Apine Secretary General of the Latvian Disabled Persons Association, and President Long expressed their congratulations to Dmitriy and Oleg on their good achievements, and thanked the Chairman and the Secretary-General for their trust.

Everyone will strive to achieve good results in the Paris Olympic Games next year and will continue to strongly support the popularization of Latvian fencing and let more people pay attention to helping the disabled! The two Presidents and the Secretary-General welcomed the visit of President Long and expressed their willingness to continue to maintain friendly cooperation and contribute to the development of disabled fencing in Latvia in the future! It was very cold outside on that day, but the spirited meeting made it warmer inside. Wish Latvia Disabled Fencing more achievements in the future!

Warm Reception by Boston City Officials

On the evening of November 20, President Long, who had just arrived in Boston, was invited to attend the first holiday lighting event in the Columbus Park. Hundreds of people and city officials attended the event, and the scene was filled with the festive atmosphere of the holiday season. President Long Jie said he was honored to visit the United States shortly after the talks between the President Xi and President Biden in San Francisco. Boston is the capital of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England. In November 1983, Guangdong Province and Massachusetts established sister province-state relations. President Long’s visit coincided with the 40th anniversary of the sister province-state relationship.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (middle in the picture above) extended a warm welcome to President Long’s visit and hoped that President Long’s visit would promote cultural and economic exchanges between Guangdong and Boston. Mayor Wu once ran a coffee shop in Chicago, and her first job in Boston was to help former Mayor Menino launch a downtown food truck service. President Long thanked Mayor Michelle Wu for her warm greetings and hoped to contribute to the promotion of folk sports and cultural exchanges between China and the United States.

Boston City Council President Ed Flynn (right in the picture above) expressed his admiration after knowing that President Long Jie had been an International Cup Epee Champion, and wished the Latvian fencing team good results in the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games next year. Council President Ed Flynn pointed out that Boston has excellent professional basketball, ice hockey and baseball teams, and invited President Long to the Boston City Office for further talks later this week. President Long happily accepted the invitation.