Booming China on show to world at Shanghai Expo
YEREVAN, MAY 1, ARMENPRESS. Shanghai opened its multi-billion dollar
World Expo to the public on Saturday, showcasing China’s booming
economy and resurgent national pride, as well as the latest green
technology from 189 countries, Armenpress reports citing Reuters.
Visitors reported long lines, and occasional angry exchanges about
queue-jumping, to get into some exhibitions in the enormous Expo site,
which is 20 times bigger than the last World Expo held in Spain’s
Zaragoza in 2008.
Separate tickets for the most popular pavilions, such as China’s, were
in short supply.
"This is a great event as it’s a good forum to communicate with the
world," said Shanghai resident Lao Chen. "But it’s very disorganized.
There are just too many people in China."
Another visitor, a retiree from Shanghai who gave his family name as
Zhao, said he was upset not to be able to get into the hulking China
pavilion, one of the few that will not be demolished when the
six-month extravaganza ends on October 31.
"I will never be able to see it. I can only look at it from the
outside, and what’s the point of that?" he said, bitterly.
But others said they were enjoying themselves, adding they thought it
was money well spent by the Chinese government.
"It’s not a matter of money. It’s our pride that China can host the
Expo," said 30-year-old Ning Lifang, a bank clerk from the nearby city
of Suzhou.
China says it has spent $4.2 billion — double what it spent at the
2008 Beijing Olympics — to host the world’s largest exhibition. It is
the most expensive Expo to date and local media have reported the true
cost, including upgrades to the city’s infrastructure, is closer to
$58 billion.
Underscoring the political capital China is attaching to the Expo, an
event that has somewhat faded from the world’s view in recent years, a
host of foreign leaders attended its opening, most notably French
President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso.
Barroso, who has taken time out from the Greek debt crisis to attend,
said at the opening of the EU pavilion that it was the first time for
the bloc to take part in an Expo outside of European territory.
"I took the decision (to come) because of the importance I attach to
this strategic partnership between the EU and China," he said.
Cosmopolitan Shanghai expects 70 million visitors will attend the Expo
— an average of nearly 400,000 per day — though just 5 percent will
be foreigners.
"The only worry is how to serve them because we may probably not have
enough staff to take care of everybody," Omar Mapuri, head of the
Tanzania pavilion, told Reuters.
"But otherwise we are very happy and encouraged to see people coming
because that is what we came here for."
The Expo has been accompanied by heavy security, with x-ray checks for
bags at subway stations, a very obvious police presence, and
bomb-recognition pamphlets distributed to offices in the Pudong
financial district.
Many countries have gone to extravagant lengths, spending huge sums to
boost their image in China. Attendees include not only large countries
like France, Russia and the United States, but also Turkmenistan,
Oman, Costa Rica and many others.
Saudi Arabia has spent $146 million on its spaceship-shaped pavilion,
which features date palms, while India plans to fly a cast of
Bollywood stars to the site to perform.
Still, despite the hoopla and spectacle the event promises, the run-up
to the Expo has not been without controversy.
Rights groups have complained about forced evictions of residents to
make way for the Expo, lack of compensation and violence visited on
those who complained.
Some national pavilions are also still not ready.
Kuwait, Bhutan and poverty-stricken Burkina Faso dropped out of the
Expo completely this week, local media reported.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
