Chirac's fight for human dignity

It is with a deep emotion that France, and the world, remembers the former French President Jacques Chirac (1932-2019) who marked his time in office with a rare combination of energy and vision.

In the field of domestic French politics, he tried, during his presidency (1995-2007), to deal with the issue of la fracture sociale or the great social divide. Chirac was rightly concerned by the serious and continuing problem of economic and social inequalities.

At the global level, the man who was for many years the mayor of Paris, asked the international community to pay attention to sustainability and to the protection of diversity.

In 2002, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, he warned the world on the impact of climate change. Many will remember his famous speech in which he said: "Our house is burning down and we are blind to it".

Chirac also worked to promote dialogue between cultures.

The Quai Branly Museum-Jacques Chirac, whose main themes are the arts of Africa and the dialogue between cultures, is inseparable from the intellectual interests of the former French president. It is in the middle of the rich collections of the Quai Branly museum that one can approach the complex soul of Chirac.

More than other Western political leaders, Chirac understood the importance of Asia. He appreciated Japan, and his knowledge of Chinese culture and history was deep and sincere.

For those across the world trying to fight a dangerously increasing Sinophobia, Chirac, the patient reader of Du Fu (712-770) or the erudite connoisseur of Chinese bronze, remains a reference and a source of inspiration.

When in 2011, I asked him for a message of support for the Europe-China Forum, it was without hesitation that he generously offered his help to highlight the significance of dialogue between China and Europe.

Backed by Chirac, who was then president, Dominique de Villepin gave his 2003 speech at the United Nations against the US military intervention in Iraq.

Aware of the multipolar reality of the world, Chirac anticipated the danger of all forms of unilateralism.

In the French context, Chirac's predecessor, Francois Mitterrand (1916-96) was associated with a love of words and literature.

By contrast, Chirac seemed less reflective and less concerned by the subtle nuances of human psychology.

However, with the passage of time, not only the French people but also people around the world came to understood that Chirac's political action was guided by a profound humanism.

In his fight for human dignity, for cultural and ecological diversity, Chirac was not only an outstanding ambassador for the French spirit but also a symbol of humankind in a constant quest for progress.

I'll let him have the final word, with his cautionary remark 17 years ago in Johannesburg: "Let us make sure that the 21st century does not become, for future generations, the century of humanity's crime against life itself."

The author is the founder of the Europe-China Forum (2002). He contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank of China Daily, exclusively. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.