Gilbert and the Media

Oct 1 Parade – the foreigners on the float

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Thanks to Michael Crook for the group picture, taken during (one of the…) rehearsal on 25 September.

The group, a few missing

The group, a few missing


Also here the article of China Daily – but with our names corrected…
No comments on the text!
23 September 2009 – Expats leap at parade opportunity
By Chen Jia (China Daily)
They are not Chinese but they will have pride of place on Oct 1 when the nation celebrates New China’s 60th anniversary.
For nearly 200 expats taking part in the Beijing parade that will pass the country’s leaders next to Tian’anmen Square, National Day offers the opportunity of a lifetime.
“My family is so lucky to have four places on the floats,” said 49-year-old Feng Crosland, an Australian who works for the Beijing branch of Robway Crane Safety System (Tianjin) Co Ltd.
“I was born in Beijing and it is a valuable chance for me to let my children and husband feel my love for the land of my birth on its 60th birthday,” she said.
Four members of her family are set to be among around 25 foreigners on the floats.
Some 155 expats are expected to take part on foot, including 70-year-old Wacquant Francis Rene, from France, who is likely to be the oldest foreign-born participant.
More overseas citizens are taking part in the parade this year than in the past. They include: foreign students, professors, engineers, businesspeople, scholars and cultural experts and they hail from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sweden, Turkey, the US and the UK.
Crosland said her family is excited about getting involved. Her husband is currently in Australia but he plans to wrap up business there soon, so he can join her and their children in Beijing for the parade.
“My little girl loves Chinese culture so much and she spoke fluent Chinese to welcome President Hu Jintao when she studied in the Fangcaodi Primary School,” she said.
Her 12-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Lois Crosland, was part of the closing ceremony at last year’s Beijing Olympic Games.
Among overseas families taking part are Belgian Gilbert Van Kerckhove, a senior consultant to the city’s development and reform commission, and his wife Sun Bin.
English professor David Tool, from the US, Swedish entrepreneur Roger Eriksson, Nigerian student Ifeoma Onyinye and Edwin Maher, from New Zealand, a host with Central China Television’s English channel, will also take part.

Up-close 13 September

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

As announced earlier… The CCTV9 interview was shown 4 times on 13 & 14 September and is also still online:
http://english.cctv.com/program/upclose/20090913/102280.shtml


I am waiting (hopefully) to get the DVD. Thanks Curt for the screenshots!
I wish to thank all my friends for the nice comments I received. Some even saw it in Belgium and while on trips through China.
Thanks also to the Host Ms. Eyee Hsu who made it all possible through her charm and professional handling.

Gilbert in China Daily

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

My letter (for once) was published:
6 July 2009 China Daily (Letters to China Daily)
Treat foreigners the same as Chinese
As a foreigner, I think it is wrong to give foreigners preferential treatment over the Chinese.
What foreigners want is only to pay the amount the Chinese are charged, no more, no less.
Too many times in the past I have been forced to pay extra being a foreigner. In the early 80s I had some heated discussions, refusing to pay for extra for food on trains or as admission fees at scenic spots.
I pay my taxes here in China too. So let’s all pay the same.
Gilbert Van Kerckhove
via Email
Well, all a bit out of context really. See here the original submission:
Subject: “Free for foreigners, not Chinese (Anyang City)” China Daily, 2 July – Page 5
As a foreigner, I think it is wrong. What we want is to pay the same as  “locals” without discrimination. Too many times in the past I was forced  to pay many times more, being a foreigner. In the early eighties I had  some heated discussions, refusing to pay for excessive overcharging for  food on the train or admission fees to scenic spots. I pay my taxes here  too (I am a Green Card holder on top of that). So, let’s all pay the same.
Gilbert Van Kerckhove
Beijing
The article mentioned polemics about Anyang giving free admission to musea for foreigners while all Chinese had to pay.

Gilbert on Up-Close – CCTV9 (updated)

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

On Sunday 14 June, Gilbert was interviewed by Ms. Eyee Hsu, the host of the famous program of CCTV9 “Up-Close”. See here intro and also the list of questions I got. Should be on air in about one month. It is the Chinese version of the “Oprah or Larry King” talk shows.

Up-Close is a program on CCTV International (CCTV9). CCTV International is the English language 24-hour news channel of China Central Television, and is China’s foremost English Channel. Along with its viewers within China, CCTV International covers the whole globe via six satellites. Its programs can be seen by 65 million subscribers in over 120 countries across North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Central/South America.
Up-Close is an interview program featuring intimate discussions with extraordinary individuals who are making news in China and the world. Broadcast each Sunday, the 45-minute program focuses on exciting newsmakers discussing topics of regional and global concern today. As CCTV9’s only program with a studio audience, our show is an “Up Close” conversation between our inspiring guests and YOU.  Touch the times with Up-Close!
Some of former guests:
Ma Yun (Alibaba.com), Juan Antonio Samaranch, He Zhenliang (China’s Olympic Committee), Hein Verbruggen, Fidel V. Ramos, Serge Abou, Jet Li, Geoff Raby, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, Jane Goodall etc.

Questions:
1. The Beijing community nicknames you the “fireman”. Why do they call you that?
2. You became well-known in the Beijing community when you became a senior adviser for the Beijing Municipal Gov’t in 1999 and later became involved in the Beijing Olympics. How did this opportunity come about?
3. What were your responsibilities? People call you the “spokesperson” for Beijing. Or should they call you the Beijing “Salesman”?
4. In the middle of Olympics planning came the SARS epidemic. How did you convince foreign delegates to come to Beijing during that sensitive period?
5. Why do you think you were chosen to play such an important role in the Beijing Olympics?
6. You were a consultant for the large-scale Olympics venues. Today, a big challenge is the revenue potential of the Beijing Olympic venues. What are your thoughts?
7. People say you are probably one of the most influential of the Beijing Municipal government’s foreign experts. Why do you think you have been so successful in this aspect?
8. How has being Belgian played a factor in your success as a “facilitator”?
9. You came to China in 1980. Why did you decide to move here?
10. When you planned on coming to China in 1980, how supportive were your family and friends?
11. What were your first impressions of China back then?
12. Did you enjoy your life here back in the 80s? Did you experience culture shock? What did you do in your free time?
13. How and when did you decide China would become your second home?
14. Compared to the China of the 80s, how would you describe the China of today?
15. I know you have an intelligent and beautiful wife that shares many of your same ideals. She is also Chinese. Did you expect to find your soul mate in China?
16. How “Chinese” have you become?
17. I hear you are one of few foreigners who have a Chinese “green card”. What does this mean to you?
18. You have received a number of awards – from the Chinese government, and your own Belgian Prince bestowed the title of Knight to you! What did this mean to you? What do you remember of that day?
19. The Beijing Olympics are over. What are you focusing your efforts on now?
20. Rumors are there is a book on the way. What is it about?
21. What strikes you the most when you think of your 30 years in China?
22. Do you see yourself ever leaving China?

As for the answers… watch the program…
Overall, nice experience. Working with CCTV people is overall nice – they are very professional – often better than with foreign journalists who can be pretty annoying, abrasive and tricky at times.

The post-Olympic use of stadiums in Beijing

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Gilbert was recently on Flemish TV (VRT).
Tom Van de Weghe made another interview with me on the legacy of some of the major Olympic venues. I feel sad how the Bird’s Nest – the project I helped to launch – has lost its original vision as a major sports and event arena. Officials are mostly to blame due to their interference. Important to stress here that it is NOT a “government” project – it is a project financed in part by the private sector under a Public Private Partnership scheme.
Now it is becoming an embarrassment as it stands there just for visits – planned events are months away and few. No soccer as nobody wants to play there and the owners are not interested either: maintenance costs to host a few soccer games are way to high.
All that happens when officials do not listen to good advice, think they don’t need foreign expertise (e.g. international operators) and mess it up.
The story of this architectural master piece is not yet at the end. Just wait. So sad for the architect Pierre de Meuron who had a correct vision.
In the video: Dieter Depypere (videos), Gilbert Van Kerckhove, Tom Tobback.
“Six months ago the world’s eyes were focused on China, when the Beijing Olympic Games kicked off spectacularly. Now that the spotlights are out, what’s happening with the Olympic infrastructure, and what’s the legacy of these Games for the Chinese? A report for Sportweekend.” So says Tom.
You can watch it on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?video/video.php&v=53484921485&aref=17524202
Well done Tom!