求一篇关于世博会意义的英语对话
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发布时间：2023-07-19 16:10
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时间：2024-12-03 20:13
With only three small countries missing—Bhutan, Kuwait, Burkina Faso—Shanghai's World Expo, which opened over the weekend, has the highest number of participating countries.
Hosting 189 countries in the 5.2-square-kilometre area, it is the biggest ever. Organizers were exuberant that after eight years of preparation they could pull this off without a hitch, especially the opening extravaganza and light and sound shows, including dazzling 30-minute fireworks on Friday.
For Western countries, the Expo does not carry the kind of weight and importance it has here in Asia. In the earlier days, Europe was interested when new discoveries, inventions and procts could be introced and displayed to the rest of the world. The steam engine, reinforced concrete, direct-current motor, wireless telephone and even hamburgers made their appearances at the expos.
Billed as the first developing country to host the event in its 159-year history, the Chinese government is making sure that the "Greatest Show on Earth" projects the correct image of China. The China Daily's front page rightfully declared the event's true meaning: "China's growing confidence from rising economic clout and its increasing openness in the international community".
Will the six-month event promote China's international status for new innovative capacity? Chinese media all agreed that the expo would propel China's technology to the fore. Leading Chinese companies are playing important roles in the expo.
Shanghai was proud of its expo as it played host to the Olympics only two years ago. It took Japan six years later to organize the event after the first Olympics was held in Asia in 1964.
Manila has become the first Asean country to bid for the World Expo in 2020, with the theme: Manila - Celebrating Light and Life.
For the opening on Friday, more than 100 journalists from 30 countries in Latin America, Africa and Southeast and South Asia were invited to attend the ceremony. To the Chinese government, the expo showcases not only China, but all developing countries as well, something they should be proud of. Almost all African countries, which seldom took part in previous expos, are taking part in Shanghai.
In that sense, China wants to generate a common region-wide sense of deja vu among the Asian countries that this is not for China alone. Special attention was given to Asean. Senior foreign ministry officials spoke of the importance of the Asean-China friendship. After all, they are the group that have established a free-trade pact with China and each of them now has China as No 1 trade partner. The Jakarta-based Asean Secretariat was given a space for free to showcase the organization's success.
It is not surprising that Beijing has extended an invitation to all Asean leaders and the Asean Secretary-General to attend the closing ceremony at the end of October. At first, the invitation clashed with the time table of the 17th Asean Summit scheled at the same time in Hanoi. But last month, Asean leaders decided to move up their meeting two days earlier to accommodate China's wish so that they could all fly to Shanghai to attend the event.
For Asia, Japan's memorable 1970 Osaka Expo remained by far the most successful expo in modern times with 70 million visitors. Since then, Japan has been the symbol of Asia's success and modernity without any challenge. Recently, all statistics point to one direction that China's economy would soon beat Japan as the world No 2. And within the next decade, it could also replace the US as the world's No 1 economy. Subsequent expos in Tsukuba (1985) and Aichi (2005) did not have the same impact as in Osaka.
The Chinese leaders are very eager to showcase their economic success through the dynamism of Shanghai's skyscrapers and financial centre. They are hopeful that the Shanghai Expo will attract at least 100 million people. For Shanghai, the stake is equally high. They city has spent US$58 billion on the expo and related infrastructure. Beyond its financial capital and picturesque Bund, the city wants to join the ranks of New York, London and Paris. But it is also inspired to be a better and safer place for people to live in a more sustainable way.
Super structures and pavilions built by Asian countries are commonplace in this expo. The most notable belonged to the host nation, costing Bt6.5 billion. All 10 Asean members have their own with themes related to urban life and its environment—the template since the Earth Summit in 2000. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore also invested heavily to display their nations' uniqueness and cultural heritages.
Thailand spent Bt599 million to create a Thai-style pavilion with dazzling shows of culture and history.
