President Xi delivers a speech at UK Parliament. (Photo/Xinhua)

In Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech at the Palace of Westminster to the Houses ofParliament on Tuesday, he mentioned four groups of people who should be remembered inthe friendly interactions between China and the United Kingdom. Who exactly are thesepeople?

1. During World War II, 24 Chinese naval cadets participated in the Battle ofNormandy.

Chinese naval cadets Chu Yuzhang (left) and Xie Lihe (right) participating in pilot training on British aircraftcarriers. (File photo)

In the Battle of Normandy 24 Chinese naval cadets fought side-by-side with the soldiers ofthe allied forces. These 24 cadets were the only soldiers sent by the Chinese government tofight the anti-Fascist war on the European front.

In October 1943 the 24 cadets started training at Greenwich Royal Naval College andfinished classes in English, navigation, torpedo, and firearms. After initial training theywere sent to warships of each field to practice and join battles.

Twenty-four Chinese naval cadets training in Greenwich. (File photo)

The Chinese soldiers’ courage, bravery, and excellent performance in the Battle ofNormandy were praised by the former Prime Minister Winston Churchill. And what’s evenmore fortunate and blessed was all 24 Chinese naval cadets witnessed victories in theirbattles and returned to China after the war.

2. Deceased Lord of Bitker Michael Lindsay took part in the Chinese War ofResistance against Japan.

Michael Lindsay (left) and wife Hsiao Li (right) smuggled supplies into China to help war efforts.

Michael Lindsay graduated from Oxford University in 1931. Invited by YenchingUniversity, Lindsay came to China to teach at the end of 1937. Outraged by Japan’sinvasion he joined the Chinese people’s resistance against Japanese forces and helpedsmuggle supplies to guerrilla fighters.

In 1941 Lindsay and his wife left Beijing for the Jinchaji base and became a full-time radiotechnician. He helped the Eighth Route Army building antenna and transmitterconnections from Yan’an to San Francisco, reporting the true situation of the CommunistParty fighting against the Japanese invaders. In the meantime Lindsay also wrote manyarticles and took photos of the resistance war for mainstream media like The Times. Afterthe war he kept on studying Chinese history and politics and published a book on the Sino-Japanese War.

Michael Lindsay, his wife Hsiao Li, and their two children in Oxford, December 1945. (File photo provided byJames Lindsay)

3. British nurse Anna Cross recovers from Ebola after taking an experimentaldrug from China in Africa.

Anna Cross at a press conference after recovery. (File photo)

At the beginning of this year British nurse Anna Cross had been infected with Ebola whenshe was volunteering in the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone. After she was sent back tothe Royal Free Hospital in London doctors treated her with the new Chinese drug MIL77,and she became the first person in the world to take this experimental drug. She recoveredand was released in March.

4. Lord Michael Bates walked 1,700 kilometers for Chinese charity fundraising.

Lord Michael Bates walks in the heat. (File photo)

Lord Michael Bates is a minister of state at the Home Office in the UK. On July 27, 2015 heand his wife Li Xuelin set out from Beijing and traveled through Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu,and Zhejiang, accumulating 1,701 kilometers over 71 days before they arrived atHangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang province on Oct. 5, 2015.

Lord Michael Bates and his Chinese wife Li Xuelin. (File photo)

Bates called it the “Walk for Peace.” 2015 is the UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange, andalso the 70th anniversary of end of World War II. Bates took this walk as a significantactivity to commemorate peace and remember the cruelty of war. After the activity Batesdonated all the money of over 500,000 yuan he raised during the trip to China’s Red Crossfor public welfare projects.