On February 3 and 4, 2008, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Lesotho's Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and Cuba's First Vice President Raul Castro respectively sent messages ( letters) of sympathy to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao over the recent snow havoc in southern China. They praised the Chinese government and its people for their undaunted spirit in the fight against the bad weather and expressed the belief that the Chinese people will be able to tide over the disaster and resume normal life in the snow-stricken areas soon. They also wished the Chinese people a happy Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year.