As the Spring Festival approaches, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Culture and the Intelligence Department of General Chief of Staff Office jointly held a Spring Festival gala performance dedicated to the Chinese diplomatic staffs residing overseas and their families with the theme of "ideal and mission" in the Great Hall of the People January 24, 2008 to extend solicitude and greeting of the Central Party Committee, the State Council, the Foreign Ministry, other ministries and their party committees and leading party groups to the diplomatic staffs who have worked at the diplomatic forefront far away from the motherland and their families and stimulate their sense of mission and honor of being devoted to the diplomatic cause in the new era. '

The presence of State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan at the gala performance fully shows the great importance and deep care paid by the Central Party Committee and the State Council to the diplomatic work. About 6,000 people, including leaders of the six host ministries, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, representatives of retired diplomats, officials of more than 60 government agencies including the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the General Office of the Government Body Administration of CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Finance, over 4,000 of diplomats and their family members, attended the gala event.

With theme on the Chinese diplomacy, the gala celebration highlighted diplomats' relations with their work, motherland and families. The MC of the celebration told 6 moving stories of senior diplomats which are interwoven with more than 20 songs, dances, playlets and comic dialogues, demonstrating comprehensively the loyalty of the Chinese diplomats to their motherland, people and diplomatic undertaking and love for their motherland and families and their devotion to maintaining national sovereignty, security and development interest and building a well-off society and harmonious world under the leadership of the Central Party Committee and the State Council, and paying a tribute to the lofty morality of their families who have contributed silently to the diplomatic undertaking of China.

During the performance, the heads of the six ministries and department extended greetings respectively to all the Chinese diplomatic staffs residing overseas and their families. The organizers also prepared "family trees" and "family cards" throughout the performance for the audience to write greetings for their loved ones who reside overseas. The video of the gala celebration will be broadcasted on CCTV around the Spring Festival. The video and family cards will soon be sent to the over 250 overseas diplomatic offices worldwide, bringing to all the Chinese diplomatic staffs abroad the festival greetings from the motherland and their families.