Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan's Diplomacy with Indonesian First Lady

People's Daily First Lady Peng Liyuan Featured in Separate Report
Welcoming Mrs. Peng with Songs Reflecting Indonesia and Taiwan Situations

[Asia Economy Senior Reporter Cho Young-shin] The People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, reported on page 2 of the June 17 edition that Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, had a conversation on the afternoon of the 16th (local time) with Iriana Widodo, wife of Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Photo by Xinhua News Agency Capture

This is the first time the People's Daily has separately published an article about Mrs. Peng during the 17th G20 Summit.

The People's Daily reported that Mrs. Peng highly praised Mrs. Widodo's passion for public welfare and explained China's proactive support policies for the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Mrs. Peng serves as China's World Health Organization (WHO) goodwill ambassador for tuberculosis and AIDS prevention, as well as UNESCO special envoy for women's and children's education.

On that day, students from Udayana University in Indonesia welcomed Mrs. Peng's visit by singing the Indonesian folk song "Bengawan Solo (On the Solo River)" in Chinese ("Beautiful Solo River"), and Mrs. Peng expressed her gratitude to the students, according to the People's Daily.

"Bengawan Wan" is a song featured as the ending theme of the Chinese film "Meeting in the South Epidemic." The film stars Chinese actor Hu Ge and Taiwanese actress Gui Lunmei (Kwai Lun-mei). It appears that the Indonesian side selected the song with the Taiwan issue in mind.

The People's Daily reported that Mrs. Peng encouraged the Indonesian students who sang "Bengawan Wan" in Chinese by saying, "Study Chinese diligently and contribute to the cooperation between China and Indonesia."

Chinese media, including state-run outlets, barely covered Mrs. Peng during the G20 Summit. The only coverage was photos from joint First Lady events held during the summit.

The People's Daily also published photos of Mrs. Peng on the front pages of the June 15 and 16 editions, but these were photos with President Xi. All articles focused on President Xi's diplomatic activities and China's foreign policy.