Exciting Scene,Profound Friendship

On August 8, comrades of the CPAFFC were as excited as all the Chinese people on the day of the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. At 5 o’clock in the afternoon, over 20 foreign guests invited by the CPAFFC to attend the opening ceremony came to the compound of the CPAFFC, and accompanied by Vice President Li Jianping and Deputy Secretary General Niu Yingli, they took a bus to Jingsong where they changed to the subway to reach the venue of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. All the way they were amidst cheers and laughter and felt the excitement of the Olympic atmosphere. Korn Dabbaransi, president of the Thai-Chinese Friendship Association and former Thai deputy prime minister, recalled his experience of serving as president of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for years, and enthusiastically chatted with passengers nearby, especially those young people with flags in hands and Olympic logo on cheeks who were overwhelmed with joy. He experienced the genuine happiness of the Chinese people, especially its young generation embracing the Olympic Games.

Glenn Cowan, the American table tennis player, unfortunately passed away in 2004. He was the first to have contact with a Chinese player, which led to the important historical event of China using the “small ball” to push the “big ball” forward―the Ping Pong Diplomacy in 1971. However, Chinese people have never forgotten the American player who contributed to the opening of Sino-U.S. relations, and his family. Cowan’s 93-year-old mother was invited to Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games. On the way to the stadium she was full of energy and enthusiasm not feeling the least tired.

After three hours’ travel, at 7:45 p.m., we finally rested on the seats reserved for us.

It was hot and humid that day, and the “Bird’s Nest” became very sultry inside. Margaret Cooper, former president of the New Zealand-China Friendship Society, felt uncomfortable, even turned pale. We immediately sent for a doctor for her. When she got better, she returned to her seat to watch the performance. She said, she would not leave and miss the opportunity to witness Chinese people creating miracles.

The grand opening ceremony moved everyone with magnificent scenes and unprecedentedly exquisite performances, and all the foreign guests cheered for every wonderful performance and the march-in of athletes, which made a really moving sight.

Korn Dabbaransi said with emotion that as president of the BWF he has attended Olympic opening ceremony several times, the Beijing ceremony was the most splendid one.

The opening ceremony ended at about 1 o’clock in the morning when everyone was really tired, but our guests gave applause and cheers to the leaving athletes, and waited till the last moment to leave. They were sincerely grateful for this unforgettable opportunity provided by the CPAFFC to experience the Beijing Olympic Games as well as the profound friendship of the Chinese people.