Cover, Editorial, Issue 492, November 1, 2010
Translated by Tang Xiangyang
Original article:[Chinese]

Lasting for half a year, with the participation of over 200 countries and regions and attracting more than 70 million people, the World Expo has been really impressive, but that is not the whole story.

In this case, a cost benefit analysis is a must. The Chinese government has invested hundreds of billions of yuan in the World Expo and with the support of the Chinese people; we were not just paying for a show. However, profit is not the main goal of Chinese government, not for the Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai World Expo or the upcoming Guangzhou Asian Games.

The World Expo started as the World Industrial Exposition, and has been a platform for trade and commercial exchange for a long time. In the modern age, it has expanded to become an international stage for science and technology, culture, economy and politics. It is easy to evaluate the World Expo from an economics perspective, but that is also very restrictive. It will take years to evaluate the real significance of this World Expo in terms of its influence on science, technology and culture.

Even that evaluation is not enough. Cities are the embodiment of modern industrial civilization. Tremendous changes have taken place in China as it evolved from a “closed” to an “open,” and finally an “inviting,” society. The psyche of the Chinese people has also changed tremendously as China went from the victim of the West’s “open door policy” to a willing host “opening its door to the world”. From victims of imperialism to a leader of globalization, this is the message of the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo. While China’s GDP now ranks No.2 in the world, a question emerges: how can the country alter its image as a “threat” and help the world embrace the new China? This is most important question posed by both the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo.

Similar to the famous large footprint that appeared during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the Olympic Games and the World Expo, along with the Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, are indicators that China is facing the world and advancing with big strides. The footprint is a huge image advertising a rising China which shows its confidence as well as its recognition of universal values including peace and development.

However, we should also notice that ordinary people still feel a distance between themselves and the Olympics, the World Expo and the Asian Games, otherwise there would not be people avoiding the events. Although attendance levels at the World Expo increased in comparison to the Olympics, it is still the government that has been playing the dominant role. Although it is good for the country to play a dominant role, it will become restrictive if it is too assertive. Furthermore, if we, in the name of the country, require our citizens to give up some of their rights, we will ruin our good intentions.

The theme of this World Expo is “Better City, Better Life”. But the city is not just a factory. It is not only economic development and advanced infrastructure that enables a city to improve the lives of ordinary people. What is more important is the respect a city has towards its people and the preservation of their rights and the realization of social justice.

These are the most valuable mementos the World Expo can leave for us. As the World Expo ends, China is witnessing the end of its 11th Five-year Plan and the start of its 12th. Now the question people are most concerned with is whether this country will attempt to solve its domestic problems concerning people’s livelihood with as much enthusiasm as it organized the Olympic Games and the World Expo. Will it allow people an increased level of participation in national affairs, thereby giving their lives more dignity?

Solving the problem of the unjust income distribution, tackling the skyrocketing housing prices, safeguarding food safety, improving the social security system, these concerns all deal with dignity and quality of life. And without protecting them, a city will never be able to offer a better life to its residents.

The problems cannot be solved by spending a lot of money. We have to reform the government from the top down and allow average people to be involved in running the country. Only in this way will ordinary people be able to enjoy the benefits of reform and economic development, not just left to daydream about “a better life”.

This article was edited by Rose Scobie and Ruoji Tang