Italian square named after former Chinese diplomat

Piazzetta Ho Fengshan (Ho Fengshan square), named after a former Chinese diplomat, was officially unveiled in Milan on March 15, to commemorate Ho's saving Jews during World War II, according to Olianews.

During the war, Ho risked his life and career to save more than 3,000 Jews by issuing them visas to Shanghai, saving them from the Nazis in his capacity as then-Chinese consul general in Vienna.

Ho's actions in Vienna went unnoticed during his lifetime until "Jews in Shanghai", a series of cultural activities jointly held in 1999 by the Chinese Cultural Centre of Vancouver and the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

Ho was posthumously awarded the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by Israeli organization Yad Vashem in 2001 and made an honorary citizen by the Israeli government in 2007.

In 2005, the United Nations praised Ho as the "Chinese Schindler", in reference to German businessman Oskar Schindler, who harbored Jews in his factories during the war.

Ho was born in Yiyang, central China's Hunan province, in 1901 and died in San Francisco at the age of 96 in 1997. Ho was the Chinese consul general in Vienna from 1938 to 1940.

Piazzetta Ho Fengshan is located at the intersection of Via Paolo Sarpi (Paul Sapilu Road) - Milan's China Town - and Via Lomazzo (Lomazzo Lou Road). Ho Manli, daughter of Ho Fengshan, attended the naming ceremony.