Wu's death was untimely but his legacy will live on

On Saturday, I heard the sad news of the death of Wu Jianmin, a veteran Chinese diplomat who served long stints in Belgium, the Netherland, Switzerland and France.

At the age of 77, Wu, who used to be French-Chinese language interpreter for the late chairman Mao Zedong and premier Zhou Enlai, died in a car accident in Central China's Hubei province, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech.

In newspapers, on television as well as social media platforms, people from various walks of life have shown their deep sorrow and heart-felt respect to this mild, eloquent, visionary and peace-loving bridge-builder, who was a frequent speaker at various functions even after his retirement.