On the evening of 22^nd October 2007, Chinese Ambassador to Malta Mr Chai Xi and his wife Mrs Zhang Rufen held a reception in honor of Malta Special Olympics Team at the Embassy. Following is the speech given by H.E. Ambassador Chai Xi at the reception.

Respected Madam Mifsud Bonnici,

The Honorable Mr. Justice Lino Farrugia, President of Malta Olympic Committee,

Ms. Anna Calleja, Chairperson of Special Olympics Malta,

Dear athletes and family members, coaches and staff of the delegation,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening.

First of all, I would like to thank you all for accepting our invitation. It is truly a great delight to host the dinner in honor of our dear Maltese athletes and all those who have made possible the trip of the Maltese team to the Special Olympics in Shanghai.Allow me to express my warmest congratulations to all of you as you really did a great job. If I am not wrong, you have won 7 gold medals, 11 silver and 15 bronze, a total of 33 medals among 19 athletes. I should say "well done, everyone!" I would also like to thank you from the bottom of my heart as even though there might be talks of limits, each and every one of you showed us and showed the world the very important and powerful three words in life "Yes, I Can". I know I can. Yes, you did it and what you have achieved is the very inspiration and encouragement for each and every one of us.

Dear athletes, your participation in the Special Olympics meant a lot. You showed us the value of participation, competition and friendship. Among your 7000 peer athletes of other 163 countries and regions, you proved that you can make it and you shared your joy and happiness when standing on the podium. I believe that you are the pride of Malta and the heroes of the Special Olympics. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you again for your participation and I believe that with what you have achieved as encouragement, your peer athletes in Malta will make a great difference in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

I remember that in the film of Forrest Gump, Forrest's mum had a very famous sentence, that is, "Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are gonna get next." Yes, life may be like a box of chocolate, but I believe that what you CAN know is that nothing is impossible to a willing heart. In conclusion, I wish that Malta and China will enjoy more fruitful cooperation in sports and I wish every one of you present here good health, happiness and success. Hope you'll enjoy the evening.

Thank you all.