CLIFFORD COONANis in China's financial capital as Mary McAleese attends the greatest show on earth
THE CLACK of Irish dancing and the strains of An Poc ar Builerang out across China's financial capital and biggest city Shanghai yesterday as Ireland pulled out all the stops to celebrate its national day at the Shanghai World Expo.
The day’s events kicked off with a whizz through Shanghai’s Pudong district, the traffic stopped especially for the cavalcade’s passage, and a raising of the tricolour at the Expo site.
The Expo is the biggest show in the world, a vast complex of specially commissioned pavilions dedicated to showcasing the latest technology and inventions from 190 countries, ranging from the United States and Germany to North Korea and financially devastated Iceland and Greece.
President Mary McAleese led the Irish entourage, which also included Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan and other dignitaries, as it was brought to the Chinese pavilion at the site, one of the few that will not be broken down at the end of the Expo’s six-month run.
During her visit to China, Mrs McAleese has repeatedly stressed the strengthening of the relationship between Ireland and China in every sphere. She spoke of how she was “thrilled” to be back in Shanghai and was bowled over by the Expo event.
“It’s so big to take in, it’s massive. Probably exactly as I imagined Shanghai would do it – on an absolutely spectacular scale, which is exactly what they have done,” she said.
Everyone is at Expo. As well as the country pavilions, there are 30 Chinese regions plus Hong Kong and Taiwan, 48 international organisations, five large thematic pavilions and 18 corporate pavilions, all geared up to entertain 70 million visitors who can ruminate on the theme “Better city, better life”.
Shanghai was smoggier than recently yesterday, a reminder of why less carbon-intensive development is important for China.
The last time Mrs McAleese visited China was in 2003. “The changes in infrastructure here since I was last here seven years ago are beyond credulity. Then you arrive at the Expo site and it’s all singing, all dancing – they’ve done a marvellous job,” she said.
“You have to stop and pinch yourself to remember that this is the first time that an Expo has been undertaken by a developing country and China and Shanghai have done an outstanding job,” she said.
At the Irish pavilion, the delegation passed through the arches symbolising Ireland’s history over thousands of years. The pavilion also featured An Eire of the Senses, an exhibition of work by 21 leading contemporary artists, including the curator, locally based James Ryan, John Roch Simons and Cecilia Bullo.
“I love the atmosphere of the pavilion. I love the honesty of it. The changes from a relatively poor agrarian community to a very wealthy and sophisticated modern nation, I think it showcases that brilliantly,” she said.
“It showcases the life, the buzz. Modern Ireland and ancient Ireland at their spectacular and beautiful best,” she said.
During her visit, Mrs McAleese has met some senior leaders, including the anointed successor to President Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping. She said she had discovered considerable curiosity within the Chinese leadership about the Irish economic growth model, both on this trip and on her first trip as president back in 2003.
“The Chinese are fascinated by the story of Ireland, which went from being a deeply agrarian country to being a modern and dynamic and progressive country. The ‘How did we get there?’ fascinates them. We also talked about the recession and the property bubble,” she said.
One of the exhibits showed living areas in Irish homes since the 1950s, and this has been a big draw for the Chinese visitors.
The Irish contingent also enjoyed seeing the Sacred Heart pictures and the formica-topped tables of yore bearing rashers, sausages and eggs, and milk bottles, before the trip through time culminated in the pasta-and-olive-oil-stocked kitchens of today’s Ireland.
Mr Ryan, on his way back from a trip to Tokyo to sell Irish expertise on information and communication technologies, said this part of the Ireland pavilion had given a good sense of how Ireland had developed over the years, from the pot over the hearth to the Ikea furniture generation.
“Our economic opportunity is selling to Japan and China. It’s important to build up relationships, and you open up doors through Enterprise Ireland and the IDA,” he said.