Filenews 26 March 2024 - by Dora Christodoulou
He entered the lives of all Paphians during the pandemic, due to the continuous and valuable donations of medical and nursing equipment to institutions and institutions in Pafos. Before the coronavirus, he was well known to business and social institutions of the city, since his arrival in Pafos from China a few years ago was not another arrival for purely economic and business planning. This Chinese man was integrated from the first moment of his arrival in Cyprus, showing a philanthropic face and mainly acquiring Cypriot citizenship and being baptized Orthodox Christian.
Today, Alexander Jiang is back in the spotlight as he is the first Chinese, even naturalized Cypriot, to claim entry into a municipal council during the municipal elections in June. Alexandros is running on the DISY ballot for the Pafos Municipality Municipal Council.
The course of the most recognizable Chinese man in Pafos looks like a fairy tale: It was November 2019, when in a chapel that functions as an adult baptistery, that of Agios Georgios in the area of Kato Pervolia, he and his little daughter were baptized Orthodox Christians. Henry Jiang and his daughter, Miu-Miu, received the Divine Grace, receiving their new names: Alexander and Alexandra. The godfather for the former is the well-known lawyer of Pafos, Penelope Athinodorou-Mantis and for the little one the businessman Melanthis Melanthiou.
Alexander Henry Jiang spoke to "F" about his life here with his little daughter, stressing from the beginning that his decision to come to Cyprus from his vast homeland is one of the best things he did in his life.
To our question how he happened to choose Pafos to settle permanently, coming from distant China, Alexandros immediately answers:
"Paphos is the most suitable city to live in. This is formalized by many studies and research of both the United Nations and other international organizations on quality of life. Although it is not a big city, Pafos has a huge historical and cultural background, while due to its location it perfectly connects western and eastern culture and civilization. It is of course also a famous tourist destination.
For all these reasons, I was impressed and chose Paphos as my new place to stay when I visited the city in 2012. On top of that, I found that life here was perfect for my elderly parents.
I also wanted to find a place where my little daughter could start her life with quality and Paphos I saw immediately that it offered me this: Clean air, blue seas, largely unspoiled nature,
That was it. I immediately fell in love with Paphos and stayed."
As far as his professional field was concerned, things were less idyllic for Alexander Henry. As a professional investor, he first arrived in Cyprus at a time when the crash of the economy and the collapse of all sectors of activity were just around the corner. But he stresses that he has not lost confidence in this small country for a moment.
"I saw the difficulties of Cyprus during the banking crisis in 2012-13," he says, "when many foreign investors remained in the background, waiting to see how things would develop. But I was completely confident about things in Cyprus and in 2013, along with several other Chinese investors, we visited Cyprus more than 10 times looking for suitable investment opportunities, since I was sure that the Cypriot government would get the country out of the crisis very quickly.
When all foreign investors intended to leave Cyprus back then, we were brave enough to enter the market when Cyprus was at the bottom. Whereas when the market is up and everyone is rushing in, you have to be careful, that's my philosophy in business."
Living in Cyprus for more than seven years, I am now sure that it is the place where I will live happily for the rest of my life. As a member of the European Union, Cyprus has all the conditions to become an attractive destination for investors thanks to its advantages and the opportunities it offers to them.
Asked how he experiences his coexistence with the locals in a small town, Alexandros immediately observes that the world in Paphos is "extremely simple". They like to communicate, they are friendly, generous, they won't cheat you when they like you, and they are very receptive to foreign visitors, he stresses.
"My daughter grows up here and I love watching her run and play in the sea, in squares and in the neighborhood without fear," he observes. "She knows by name all the residents in the neighborhood where we live, as they know her, and she loves to use the bus to go to school, hanging out with the other students in it and having met the bus driver.
I love people's behavior in relation to my parents as well. It has happened many times that when my mother returns from the supermarket with the groceries, strangers are willing to help her if she wants, while my father has been surprised at the kindness of people on the street when they see him driving his three-wheeled battery-powered transport."
Its presence is particularly noticeable during the pandemic
Alexandros' presence here was particularly noticeable during the pandemic. In the midst of the unprecedented situation that Cyprus was experiencing with the coronavirus, Alexandros managed, at his own expense and thanks to his connections in China, to supply institutions, departments, organizations and vulnerable groups of the population of Pafos with thousands of protective masks, as well as other specialized medical and nursing equipment.
The Pafos Hospital, the Pafos Municipality, the District Administration, the Labour Office, the School Board, parties and other social bodies, received one after another a large number of protective masks to be used for the needs of their staff. In some cases, such as that of the Hospital, the donations were repetitive and also concerned specialized items, such as special shoes for the needs of health professionals donated to the staff.
The donations of our Chinese "compatriot" were received with gratitude and emotion in Pafos. The Mayor of Pafos, Phedon Phedonos, warmly congratulated Mr. Henry Jiang for this kind initiative which, as he said, reflects his feelings of appreciation and solidarity towards Pafos and its inhabitants.
In his statements to "F" when asked about this campaign that he carried out on his own, he expressed his joy and satisfaction for the opportunity he was given to offer to the community of Pafos.
"I said it before the pandemic," he said, "and I repeat it now: I now feel Pafos as my home, the place where I and my daughter want to live. And I want to contribute to overcoming the current difficulties.
I offered a total of over 10,000 masks because having the experience of China I know how important they are to stay healthy. Now, I live in Paphos. And if the paphites are healthy, then so will my family.
The virus does not discriminate between rich and poor, experts and non-experts. And when we stayed in our homes, other people worked like real heroes for society. These are the heroes I wanted to help."
The little girl attends a Greek public school
Alexandros points out in particular that little Alexandra attends a Greek public school, stressing that the good relations between Cypriots and foreign residents reflect the level of their culture, while he particularly points out the importance he attaches to his daughter's learning of the Greek language.
"Greek and Chinese are, after all, the most difficult languages in the world," he observes with a smile. "My daughter already speaks foreign languages, learning Greek will be a huge asset for her life afterwards."
