Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of PRC
Celebration of PRC's 60th Anniversary
The Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Chicago hosted a large party to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the PRC at the Hyatt Regency Hotel tonight. I was told that approximately 700 hundred people attended the celebration. Consul General Huang gave a bilingual speech, and representatives from the Illinois Governor’s Office and the Chicago Mayor’s Office also delivered greetings and congratulatory messages from the Governor and Mayor.
I had attended many similar celebrations before. Tonight’s event was by far the largest. When I had a chance to talk to Consul General Huang and his wife Lily Zhang, they beamed with enthusiasm. Over the weekend, they had hosted a large parade in Chinatown.
“Over 30,000 people showed up at the parade,” Consul General Huang said.
“Congratulations,” I said. “You organized a great celebration,” I continued. “Look at this crowd. I have never seen so many people at such events before.”
“It has nothing to do with me,” Consul General Huang said sincerely. “It’s all about China. It’s because China is a strong country now!”
Consul General Huang speaks excellent English. He has certainly further developed the relationship between China and the various communities in the Midwest, including business, education, and overseas Chinese. There is, however, truth in his statement. As China emerges in the world as a strong economic and political power, it draws the attention of more and more people like a magnet.
A friend of mine told me his encounters in New York City: when he waited in line for the ferry to go visit the Statue of Liberty in the late 1980s, street vendors made their sales pitch to him in Japanese, thinking he was a tourist from Japan; when he stood in line again a couple of years ago, the vendors came to him speaking Chinese.
“From their choice of language, I can tell the status of China has changed in the world!” he said.
Consul General Huang’s words resonates the same message.
As an overseas Chinese, I certainly share the same pride for the motherland, especially at the celebration of her 60th anniversary. It is a different China from the one I described in Mulberry Child.
Jian Ping, author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China. www.mulberrychild.com
Tags: 60th Anniversary, Chicago, China
