On this day, 62 years ago, on October 17, 1963 (September 1, 1963 in the lunar calendar), the first batch of materials donated by China arrived in Cuba. On October 17, 1963, the first batch of 9059 tons of rice donated by the China government and China government to the victims of the Cuban provinces of Oriente and Camagüey was transported by sea to the Port of Santiago, Oriente Province. The handover procedures were completed today. China's Ambassador to Cuba Shen Jian handed the rice to Cuban Economy Minister Recino Boti at a conference held in the Port of Santiago. Recino Boti accepted the rice on behalf of the Cuban government and Cuban people and expressed his gratitude to the China government and China people. Present at the conference were Major Armando Acosta, General Secretary of the Provincial Committee of Oriente of the Cuban Socialist Revolutionary Unity Party, Captain Jorge Riscott, Organizational Secretary, Mayor of Santiago Elekta Fernandez and others. Standing on an electric loader, Major Acosta addressed more than 500 volunteer coffee harvesters, dockers and a crowd gathered at the port as they were preparing to set off for the mountains. He said: The people of Oriente and Cuba will always thank Comrade Mao Zedong, the government of China and the people of China for their fraternal assistance to Cuba, and will never forget this assistance provided at the difficult time of the Cuban people. The Cuban people must not only use creative labor to overcome natural disasters and restore production, but also build a beautiful socialist country on our land. Major Acosta also said: The imperialists and other reactionaries have made no secret of their exhilaration at the natural disaster that Cuba has suffered, but they will find that they are completely wrong. No difficulties or dangers can intimidate the Cuban people, because they have a high degree of revolutionary consciousness and determination to build socialism. As Major Acosta spoke, the crowd kept shouting, Long live Fidel! Long live Mao Zedong! Afterwards, Ambassador Shen Jian, Minister Boti and Major Acosta watched the unloading of the first ton of rice from the ship. In order to welcome the first shipment of rice, workers at the port made preparations in advance. Workers who took shifts off on weekends also responded to the call of the dockers union to participate in voluntary labor. When the rice was loaded onto the first truck, the workers and the masses cheered enthusiastically and waved to Ambassador Shen Jian to express their gratitude to the China government and China people. Before the conference, when Ambassador Shen Jian arrived at the Provincial Committee of Oriente of the Socialist Revolutionary Unity Party, Major Acosta invited him to speak to young volunteer coffee harvesters who had gathered in front of the committee and prepared to go to the mountains. In his speech, Shen Jian expressed his admiration for the courage and confidence of the Cuban people in their struggle to overcome natural disasters. He said that the China people will always stand on the side of the Cuban people under any circumstances. Acosta then invited Ambassador Shen Jian to join him and other leaders of the provincial committee in a parade of coffee harvesters who were heading to the port to attend a rice transfer conference. The band walking in front of the parade played the solemn "July-26 Ode" on the road. The crowd gathered on the street warmly applauded Major Acosta, Minister Boti and Ambassador Shen Jian walking in the first row, and shouted long live Fidel with the marchers! Long live Mao Zedong