February 2010| By Jane Leung Larson
Shanghai soon welcomes the world when the Expo debuts on May 1. For now, the atmosphere is one of intense preparation with more than 50 country pavilions in the final stages of completion, including the USA Pavilion, which the Committee of 100 supports as the Pavilion’s only Strategic Partner. In the U.S., the Committee has promoted Chinese American participation in the World Expo with its “Chinese in America” exhibit, and other organizations are sponsoring exhibitions and events in conjunction with China’s first world’s fair.
"Chinese Americans Launch U.S. Campaign to Promote Shanghai Expo"
People’s Daily | January 23, 2010
Chinese Americans formally launched a campaign Friday to collect photos for "The Wall of the Chinese in America" at the USA Pavilion in the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
The American pavilion will feature an exhibit on "The Chinese in America." To build the exhibit, the Committee of 100 is asking everyone of Chinese descent across America to submit their photos to create the wall.
The committee donated 3 million dollars to help build the American pavilion and has been a strategic partner for the effort in Shanghai. . . .
Lily Lee Chen of the Asia Pacific-USA Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Committee of 100, said the Expo will be the first to be held in China.
The Chinese Americans, she said, are grateful for the U.S. to give them the opportunity to realize their dreams. But as Americans of Chinese origin, she said, they also love their mother country and feel proud of their Chinese roots. . . .
Stewart Kwoh, president of Asian Pacific American Legal Center and a member of the Committee of 100, said the Expo is an important way for the Chinese to celebrate their relationship with the rest of the world. . . .
It looks easy to build a wall with the photos of Chinese in America, but actually it is not so simple. Some Chinese women have married Americans and their last names have changed. The third or fourth generations may have difficulty finding where their parents or grandparents come from.
The Committee of 100 encourages the younger generations to use the opportunity to find their origins. . . .
The Chinese in America Exhibit has the support of many organizations, such as East West Bank and China Sprout. The Chinese Daily News, the leading Chinese language newspaper in the U.S., promised to provide free advertising to promote the event.
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“U.S. Pavilion Most Anticipated in World Expo”
By Bao Daozu
China Daily | January 28, 2010
The United States' pavilion is the most anticipated foreign country exhibition center in the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, a survey has revealed. This is despite the country being one of the last to confirm its participation.
The most anticipated foreign pavilions were ranked in the order of people's intention to visit. The online survey of 15,000 respondents showed the US topped the list at 48 percent, France next at 38 percent, the United Kingdom at 32 percent, Japan at 32 percent, and South Korea at 28 percent.
Familiarity with the country still is the top motivation for visiting pavilions, as indicated by 90 percent of the respondents," said Debby Cheung, group managing director of Ogilvy Public Relations China. "This explains why the American pavilion, although the 240th to confirm its participation, is No 1 on the list."
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“Commercial Times: Going after Shanghai Expo 'Dividend'”
Central News Agency
Taiwan News | February 5, 2010
The biggest event in China this year will be the Shanghai Expo, which will open May 1 and run until Oct. 31. It is expected to attract up to 100 million visitors if the economic environment is good.
Considering the close trade and business exchanges between Taiwan and China, the government should not ignore it but rather actively make good use of the opportunities offered by the "nearest ever expo" to the country.
In fact, the Shanghai expo has presented some opportunities to Taiwan, and Taiwan's private sector has gladly accepted them and greatly advanced the country's visibility at the event, in sharp contrast to Taiwan's overall profile at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Another development could help push the event to the level of an official cross-strait exchange -- Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng will lead a delegation to visit Taiwan in April.
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“Two Cities, One Lasting Cultural Exchange”
By Chloe Veltman
New York Times | February 6, 2010
. . . conventional notions of Chinese culture will continue to be challenged as San Francisco begins Shanghai Celebration, a yearlong arts festival honoring the longstanding cultural connection between the two cities through concerts, films, exhibitions, discussions and other special events.
Inspired by the 30th anniversary of San Francisco’s sister-city relationship with Shanghai, as well as by the 2010 World Expo there, an event of this scope is a significant step forward.
Leading the effort is the exhibition “Shanghai: Art of the City,” opening on Friday at the Asian Art Museum. . . . The work on display extends from 1850 (when Shanghai emerged as an international city as a result of clashes over trade between China and Britain) to the present day, and it reflects an artistic perspective that is at once intrinsically Chinese and more international in scope.
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