China and Mexico established diplomatic relations more than 50 years ago and the bilateral ties have been further boosted over the recent years, facilitating people to people and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
In Shanghai, three young Mexicans are contributing to strengthening the bond between the two countries in their own way -- by studying traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
The three are cousins and students at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Mauricio Diaz Gutierrez, the eldest, was the first to start the journey back in 2017.
"I came for the first year just to see, if I liked it, then I was going to continue. And if I didn't like it, I would just go back. And of course, it has been seven years and I'm still here," said Mauricio.
Inspired by Mauricio, Sebastian Ramirez Gutierrez and Elena Gutierrez Gonzalez decided to follow in his footsteps.
But for the three young people traveling over 12,000 kilometers from home to China, mastering a therapy with thousands of years of history comes with unique challenges -- beyond just the language barrier.
"There are so many herbs. For me, memorizing (their names) is the hardest part," said Mauricio.
"The theory of TCM about the Yin and Yang and the five elements and everything... it was very weird to me in the first year," said Sebastian.
"It's really hard for me to feel a person's pulse and being able to say, like, 'I think your pulse is like superficial,' or 'your pulse is like deep...' I find it really hard, and I kept practicing," said Elena.
The three cousins, being together as not just a family, but also learning partners, have helped each other on academic or clinical challenges, and have gained a deeper understanding of the medicine.
"The way of thinking of TCM is not only thinking about the sickness, but also like your everyday life, like how your habits can affect the way your body is, your health is," said Elena.
Now all in clinical practice, the trio says the hands-on experience has been invaluable.
The three also share a unified vision for the future.
"We want to open a clinic in Mexico and focus on different diseases," said Sebastian.
"I really want to connect TCM with Mexican culture. Because in Mexico, we also have a lot of traditional medicines. I want to integrate both and respect both of our cultures and being able to help people," said Elena.
"We hope that one day we can achieve this goal. There's a bright future for TCM between us and in my country," said Mauricio.
For them, learning TCM is not just about healing, it's also about fostering a deeper connection between the two cultures.
Mexican cousins contributing to closer ties between Mexico and China by studying traditional Chinese medicine
Mexican cousins contributing to closer ties between Mexico and China by studying traditional Chinese medicine
A Brazilian national who was deported by the United States in January this year recounted the discriminatory and inhumane treatment he encountered during the repatriation in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV).
Jefferson Faustino was among the 88 deported Brazilians sent by a charter flight from the U.S. to Manaus, a city in northern Brazil, on Jan 24.
During dozens of hours of flight, they were handcuffed, shackled, and denied food and bathroom, and they almost lost their lives to an air conditioning fault, according to Faustino.
"They gave us water in very small bottles on the plane. And I couldn't drink it, because my hands were cuffed to the waist chain. So I had to bend down hard and squash the bottle to spray water into my mouth, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to reach the water at all. Even by doing so, I couldn't get water. When I squeeze the bottle, the water sprayed out and soaked me all over. In the 48 hours of repatriation, they distributed food only one time. It was a spoiled sandwich. The sandwich they gave turned purplish color. I was starving. What could I do? I had to eat," Faustino said.
"In the 48 hours of repatriation, they distributed food only one time. It was a spoiled sandwich. The sandwich they gave me was purple. I was starving. What could I do? I had to eat," he added.
Meanwhile, the American crew enjoyed fresh food and water, Faustino told CCTV.
"No, they had very good food. Every meal, they went over there to heat up box lunches and drink water. The cabin cabinets were full of lunch boxes, full of food, but they didn't give us that food," he said.
The Brazilian deportees protested the unfair treatment and asked for the food and water, but they were not given a response, because of the language barrier, Faustino recalled.
"Yes, we asked. We spoke loudly to them, but the crew didn't speak Portuguese or Spanish, only English. It's a humiliation to us the Brazilians, because we didn't have food and couldn't use the bathroom. The children were crying," he said.
After the plane arrived in Manaus, the air conditioning system broke down and the crew got off the plane, leaving the deportees suffocating in the enclosure.
"People couldn't breathe. The cabin was out of air. I managed to open an emergency exit door and shouted to the police: 'Help! Help! Help!' I yelled for help, asking them to come and save us, because I thought I was dying, I was dying," Faustino said.
The Brazilian government deemed this treatment "degrading" and "unacceptable", with the country's foreign ministry summoning the charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy to request an explanation over the issue on Jan 26.
"The U.S. government should be held accountable. Why didn't they train these people responsible for transporting deportees. Since the Trump administration came to power, it has created conflicts in American society and adopted policies that are completely against democracy and public opinion, disrupting relations between the U.S. and its economic and political partners," said Rinaldo Leal, a Brazilian lawyer.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed on his inauguration day an executive order that called for mass deportations of undocumented migrants. Since then, raids and deportations of undocumented migrants, especially those from Latin America, have continued to ramp up.
Brazilian deportee recounts inhumane treatment during flight from US
Brazilian deportee recounts inhumane treatment during flight from US
