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Peacekeeper spread 'perfume of happiness' in life, work

By Fan Junmei: 0 Comments Print E-mail China.org.cn, January 22, 2010

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In the chilly wind, mourners hold a banner in honor of one of the peacekeepers. It reads, "Xiaoming - perfume of happiness lives forever." [China.org.cn]

In the winter chill Tuesday morning, long lines of people snaked outside the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in west Beijing into the ceremony hall. They were waiting to pay tribute to the eight Chinese peacekeepers who died in the Haiti earthquake. It takes more than half an hour to get into the hall, where photographs of the dead officers lined the hall.

Among them, one smiling face stands out. It is Li Xiaoming, who at 35, was among the youngest of them.

"He was optimistic most of the time and smiled through all challenges," said a lifelong friend, Li Xudong, a police officer who traveled from Henan Province to say good-bye. "You can sense it from the portrait."

Li Xiaoming [Blog.sina.com.cn/rememberxiaoming]

Li Xiaoming was known among his friends and coworkers for his philosophy on happiness: "The world is so beautiful, and we should cherish everyday with a grateful heart. Happiness is just like perfume. Spray some on yourself, and others will share the fragrance."

His dedication to his career reflected his belief in spreading happiness to others all over the world. In 2001, while a policeman in Xiangcheng Municipal Bureau of Public Security, he was selected by the Ministry of Public Security to join the UN peacekeeping mission as vice captain of the Chinese team in East Timor. He was promoted to deputy head of the UN's temporary administration's police bureau and honored for his work in helping to set up the country's police force. Last year, he studied international relations at the University of Warwick in England.

"Cheerful, determined, courageous, wise and kind-hearted," Li Xudong said of his friend. “We've known each other for so many years, I can assure you that he is the most outstanding guy I've ever seen."

Li Xudong, one of Li Xiaoming's closest friends, holds a chrysanthemum (a traditional Chinese funeral flower) for his dead friend. [China.org.cn]

Many of his friends shared their memories of him on their personal blogs, depicting a lively and optimistic man.

"Xiaoming was our spiritual leader and center of our talks," wrote Liu Yang, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, of their time at the University of Warwick. "His witty remarks always made us laugh…It would be dull if he weren't at a party."

"He was so optimistic that I never saw him frustrated by difficulties," Li Xudong wrote. "He looks so calm and always looked into matters in a positive way..."

Outside the ceremony hall, some of Li Xiaoming's friends hold a banner to commemorate him and his philosophy. "The perfume of happiness, Li Xiaoming, lives forever," it reads. They stand silently in mourning.

"People shared the fragrance of his perfume of happiness and benefitted from his devotion to the country's peacekeeping cause," one of them said, declining to give his name. "I think this makes him a real man."

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