Eight Chinese police officers have been confirmed dead in Tuesday's 7.3-magnitude earthquake in Haiti. Four of them were members of the UN peacekeeping mission. The other four were sent by the Chinese authorities on a temporary mission.

With devotion, expertise and even at the cost of their own lives, Chinese peacekeepers in Haiti followed the spirit of humanitarianism and a faith in peace. Their work will always be remembered.

Working in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, these Chinese "blue helmets," as UN peacekeepers are commonly called, braved social unrest, tropical diseases and natural disasters to bring peace and stability to this distant Caribbean nation.

Since 2004, China has sent eight batches of peacekeeping police to Haiti. Before the quake, a total of 142 Chinese police officers were deployed in Haiti as part of the UN peacekeeping mission.

Their impeccable service and high discipline, together with their professionalism and devotion to peace have won respect from both the United Nations and local people.

Hedi Annabi, head of the UN Stability Mission in Haiti, who also died in the quake, had spoke highly of the performance of the Chinese peacekeepers.

"I have the chance to see the professionalism of China's police force and a Chinese policeman become director of an important UN police department in Haiti. They are all doing well," he had told Xinhua in an interview.

China, as a responsible big nation, has been actively taking part in UN peacekeeping missions in war-torn regions across the world.

Statistics show that China has so far sent 12,753 troops to 18 UN peace missions. It has also sent 1,571 police on UN peacekeeping missions to East Timor, Bosnia, Kosovo, Liberia, Afghanistan, Haiti and Sudan.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised China's outstanding peacekeeping efforts. As one of the most important members of the United Nations, "you now rank among our top 10 contributors of both funds and peacekeeping forces," Ban said.

UN Under-Secretary-General Alain Le Roy also praised China's contributions to world peace and expressed gratitude to the Chinese peacekeepers in Darfur for their outstanding performance.

As the biggest developing country, China holds dear the lofty ideal of lasting world peace and universal prosperity.

To realize this ideal, the country is making its due contribution to world peace, stability and development. The eight Chinese police officers who died in the Haiti quake sacrificed their lives in following this lofty faith.

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2010)