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Festive Atmosphere Prevails in Shanghai Despite Tight Security
Despite a worldwide terror scare, Shanghai enters its days of glory with a festive mood when, from Saturday through Sunday, it hosts the 2001 summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Leaders of Asia-Pacific rim economies have arrived in the city with busy schedules of meeting one another and having a grand get- together. Chinese President Jiang Zemin met with eight foreign leaders on October 19 alone, on the eve of the summit meeting. A major player is U.S. President Gorge W. Bush, who Western media report "has moved his anti-terrorism headquarters into a five-star hotel in downtown Shanghai," two days ahead of the summit meeting.
Debating on trade and economic affairs on one hand, and talking about war against terrorism on the other, the APEC meeting this year is quite unusual.
While some foreign correspondents chase the Chinese police for any security information that might be woven into a James Bond- type story, most prefer tracking the latest developments around the Shanghai International Convention Center, the venue for most APEC meetings, or sitting in the snack restaurant in the Media Center reading the latest news about the bombing in Afghanistan and the anthrax scare in the United States. To ensure safety for participants in the APEC meetings and hordes of reporters from all over the world, Shanghai has closed its primary high-altitude sightseeing structures, including the Jinmao Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower, both among the tallest buildings in the world. Some subway stations and a major river tunnel have also been shut down. Vehicles without special passes are barred from entering the central meeting area in Pudong, Shanghai's emerging financial center.
No foreign reporters have been heard to grumble about inconveniences brought by the security measures, unlike what they usually did when China held other international events.People understand: you cannot have too much security after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, especially for the high- level gathering of leaders of APEC economies.
Evidently, citizens of the metropolis have a better understanding of the situation. The selection of Shanghai as the venue of the high-profile APEC meetings has filled them with pride.
In fact, the days of October 20-21 when leaders of the APEC economies get together in Shanghai to discuss matters of great importance are a time of festivity for people of the city and of the entire country. "The Chinese have not seen such a grand international gathering since the Tang Dynasty (618-907). I feel quite proud as a Chinese for the fact that China is hosting the gathering," says Tang Xinzheng, president of the Yinxin Corporation in southwest China's Chongqing city, who has been invited to attend the APEC Chief Executive Officers Summit.
And terrorism is by no means the buzzword for Shanghai's mainstream newspapers. Most of them carry frontpage stories about various APEC meetings and economic opportunities the grand gathering will create for the city and China.
People eye the event as a prelude to China's entry into the WTO and an auspicious sign of the nation's revitalization.
"We are law-abiding people and we are just fond of doing business. We never imagined there would be such tight security," says Wu Guodi, president of a Shanghai trading company.
At present, Shanghai is regarded as one of the safest cities in the world. Police alone could not have produced such an accolade. Shanghai is but part of a stable and prosperous China. In the city these days supermarkets are crowded with people, consumer spending is as brisk as ever, banks are open over weekends. Clean streets are festooned with APEC banners and posters and decorated with millions of potted flowers. Westerners loiter in shopping streets for exotic Chinese handicraft articles.
"China Daily" carries a photo showing a group of excited British tourists viewing the changed skyline of the city. Backpack travelers find their way into back alleys for authentic Chinese food. The famous downtown Nanjing Pedestrian Street is packed with shoppers. In Hengshan Road, the city's famous bar street, foreigners chat and drink till mid-night. Many of them say the taste of Shanghai reminds them of their home. The museums, the blue sky, the fashion, the vigor and the appeal of the city have all captivated them, they say.
These days, most Shanghai hotels are fully occupied, but the APEC gathering is by no means the sole factor for such high occupancy. Hordes of foreign tourists keep coming to the city, and overseas firms continue hosting seminars and press conferences to promote sales.
The city, where street signs are written in English and Japanese as well as in Chinese, is turning itself into a real international hub. The prosperous, international looks of the city have even posed a cultural shock to some Chinese tourists.
"To some extent, Shanghai is like New York's Manhattan, but it is more beautiful in some aspects," says Chen Yin, a businesswoman from Beijing's CCID company.
Wu Guodi, the trading firm president, says he is too busy to think about terrorism. "Today, Shanghai has friends all over the world. Feasting guests from afar takes much of my time. I'm too busy to think about terrorism," he said.
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