DOWNTOWN : Chinese Scholars Visit Youth Center

Qi Xiyu was thousands of miles and an ocean away from his home in China. But a familiar sound he heard at Para Los Ninos youth center in Skid Row made the visiting Chinese educator smile with recognition.

“In every country, children cry in same voice,” said Xiyu, as he heard a baby wail in a Para Los Ninos nursery.

Xiyu and three others from China toured the youth facility at 845 E. 6th St. on Monday morning as part of their three-day goodwill trip to Los Angeles.

The delegates came as high-ranking members of the Chinese Assn. for International Understanding, an organization of prominent scholars, social activists and other leaders that aims to promote understanding and peace between China and other countries.

Besides Xiyu, who is a university professor and former labor leader, the group of two men and two women consisted of Yu Wen, a scholar, political activist and youth advocate; Yan Xiaolu, an educator who studied at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, and Liao Dong, a translator and researcher who received his master’s degree in political science from the University of Regina in Canada.

Members of the American Friends Service Committee, a 75-year-old, Quaker-based peace and social action organization, served as guides to the Chinese delegation in Los Angeles.

Although the general purpose of their Saturday-to-Monday visit was to build friendships and learn more about Los Angeles, the Chinese specifically sought to see how non-governmental agencies, including private and nonprofit entities, provide services here.

Para Los Ninos spokeswoman Shannon Coleman walked the visitors through the facility’s nurseries, playground and recreation area as she explained how the center strives to help homeless, transient and poor families. The agency provides day-care and recreation for children up to age 18, emergency food and shelter, parental and job counseling and health services.

During their Southern California visit, the Chinese group also participated in a round-table discussion about the role of non-government organizations in the United States and China, visited the U.S.-Mexican border in San Ysidro and met with local Asian American labor leaders.

Xiyu said he admires the United States’ highway system, high technology and public libraries. The Chinese said they hope that ongoing exchanges will help both countries realize their commonalities and foster cooperation.