Bethune

Norman Bethune’s 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 Mao’s 1939 essay “In Memory of Norman Bethune”, 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 – the famous oil painting of Mao meeting Bethune in Yan’an – as a quiet tribute.