The 2018 United Nations Chinese language day opens at the Palace of Nations in Geneva on April 16, 2018. [Photo/Facebook of UN Geneva]

The 2018 United Nations Chinese language day opened at the Palace of Nations in Geneva on Monday.

The event was organized with the Permanent Mission of China to the UN, who wish to convey the core idea of "people at the center" through a series of cultural events.

Yu Jianhua, China's permanent representative and ambassador to the United Nations Office in Geneva, delivered a speech at the opening of Charm of Chinese Culture: from Characters to Literature exhibition to commemorate Chinese Language Day.

He explained one of the thousands of Chinese characters in use today that holds the key to understanding Chinese philosophy is "min," or "people" in English.

Yu said since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the government has developed further the "idea of putting people first."
"Taking the pulse of the times," he said today the Chinese leadership has shown great insight by highlighting a people-centered philosophy of governance.

"In formulating every policy, the government asks itself these questions: ‘Do we have the people's support? Do we have their consent? Will they be happy? Will they agree?’" Yu said.

This, he added, is central to the idea of "putting people first, a founding principle of the Chinese society", a value echoed by the UN's theme for 2018, "people at the center."