Two Different Countries with Much in Common

By staff reporter LIU YI

When Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw visited Shanghai in 1933, he asked Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang why Chinese drama was accompanied by so much drumming, saying that the din made it impossible to think. Mei Lanfang’s answer was that without drums people out of the theater would be unaware that a drama was being performed.

There are far more differences between China and Ireland than of a theatrical nature. But the two countries have had a surprisingly similar process of modernization – from underdeveloped agricultural countries to ones with prosperous markets. An opening-up policy is a key factor for both. Ireland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973 and China took the decision to open up to the world in the late 1970s.

Similar efforts towards realizing economic independence nurtured a mutual understanding between the two countries. They have maintained friendly relations since establishing diplomatic relations 31 years ago, in June 1979. “Our relations are actually on a widening and deepening track through regular high level political visits, cultural festivals and trade links,” Irish ambassador Declan Kelleher said in an exclusive interview with China Today.

Flourishing trade denotes healthy relations. Before the financial crisis, the Sino-Irish bilateral trade volume reached €5.5 billion. China has been Ireland’s biggest trade partner in Asia for five successive years. When the financial crisis hampered bilateral trade, Irish exports to China nonetheless reached US$2.32 billion in the first three quarters of 2009, a year-on-year rise of 14.3 percent.

Current economic challenges have made the two countries reconsider their course of development. “We are actively repositioning ourselves for the economic upturn soon to come and which has already happened in China,” the top envoy of Ireland in Beijing said. “Innovation is at the center of our strategy,” he added.

"Our relations are actually on a widening and deepening track," remails Ambassador Declan Kelleher.

Home to many pharmaceutical and IT companies, Ireland also serves as European headquarters for world-famous high-tech companies such as Microsoft, Google and Intel. It also acts as a model for China in the country’s efforts to restructure its labor-intensive economy to one that is knowledge-based and sustainable.

The two governments have since 1998 signed cooperative agreements on software, computer technology and biotechnology. More than 10,000 Chinese overseas students are presently studying software, business and foreign languages in Ireland. The traditionally close relationship between the country’s educational and business circles enables them to establish contacts with big innovative companies.

Culture at the Heart of Friendship

Growing communications in trade, technology, and especially among peoples, bring about dynamic cultural exchanges. Irish cultural festivals are held in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong every St. Patrick’s Day, and Irish football is a big hit with young Chinese people, men and women.

The people of Ireland are becoming familiar with Chinese culture through touring performances and exhibitions, and particularly the Confucius Colleges in Dublin and Cork. “Culture is at the heart of the friendship between Ireland and China,” Declan Kelleher said. “It’s a good way for two peoples to learn about each other, and become good friends.”

Riverdance is a prime example of cultural exchange. The show was as huge a hit in China as it was everywhere else. During its15th anniversary tour this year Riverdance gave 60 performances in 13 Chinese cities, each one of which elicited a rapturous reception.

Based on a traditional Irish folk dance, Riverdance incorporates elements of other ethnic dances and uses contemporary lighting and staging techniques. Updating certain aspects of a native culture thus makes it more accessible to friends the world over.

“When Ireland first opened up to the world, there was a concern that Irish culture might be swamped or just disappear,” Ambassador Kelleher said. “In fact, the opposite happened. As Ireland becomes more global, the culture becomes more interactive, because the Irish people take pride in it and like to share.”

Fu Hao, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes China should learn from Ireland’s example of protecting its culture and traditions in face of the dramatic changes that industrialization brings.

While studying in Ireland from 1997 to 98, Fu was deeply impressed by the Irish fondness for arts and by their culture in general. “Walk into any bar on the street and you will be invited to join in their dancing,” Fu said. “It’s a way of communicating.”

Story telling is a still a popular tradition, and writers command deep respect, to the extent that their artistic pursuit qualifies them as income tax-exempt. This policy came into effect 40 years ago to encourage writers to stay in the country and help nurture a prosperous cultural market.

Different Countries With Much in Common

Aware of the need to cherish its culture, the Shanghai 2010 Expo is just one of China’s efforts with this in mind. After visiting the China Pavilion and the presentations from each province, Declan Kelleher gained an even deeper insight into the country, even though he has lived in Beijing for five years.

Calligraphy is a Chinese art he particularly admires. “It is esthetic but at the same time technically perfect. Certain works imbue exactly the artist’s personality,” Kelleher said.

He also sees the Expo as an opportunity for Chinese people to get a glimpse of the life and culture of other countries. He is looking forward to introducing to them the clean, green, modern Ireland portrayed in the Ireland Pavilion that retains its ancient culture.

Its theme Art of Life, the Ireland Pavilion showcases in its five enclosed galleries Ireland’s changing cityscapes through the ages within a welcoming ambience. Visitors see projected images of how urban transport developed there. They can also get a feel of Dublin’s famous Liffey River and walk down a re-creation of O’Connell Street, another landmark of the Irish capital. A replicated military barracks dating back to 1722 gives an impression of the course of the city’s history.

A courtyard plaza is the venue for performances, notably that celebrating Ireland’s National Pavilion Day on June 17. Thanks to the time lag, it will coincide with Bloomsday on June 16, on which big parades are held in Ireland to commemorate one of its most famous writers, James Joyce and relive events in his book Ulysses. “The pavilion will engage visitors in an entertaining and informative interaction on the theme ‘Better City, Better Life,’” Kelleher said .

But Declan Kelleher also wants to introduce Chinese visitors to a country that deftly combines old traditions with modern high technology and innovation, by impressing upon them the clean environment concept that prevails throughout Ireland. The structure’s glass and polycarbonate exterior lets in the maximum of natural light and so minimizes carbon emissions.

Over the past decades Ireland has rapidly transformed itself from an agricultural to modern society, but at the same time maintained and improved its quality of city life. “We as a small country show how traditional rural and contemporary life exists side by side,” Kelleher said. “That’s the centerpiece of what we are doing.”

One of the exhibitions in the Ireland Pavilion shows clearly the changes in styles of residence in the country, from a 19th-century cottage, to houses of the 1950s, 1970s to those built in the new millennium. Ambassador Kelleher noticed a similar theme in an exhibition in the China Pavilion. It includes a display of apartments from the 1970s to the 21st century together with furniture and home appliances, all of which show China’s rapid development. The histories of the two countries thousands of miles apart hence have much in common.

Access to the European market has brought Ireland great opportunities for development, giving full play to its pro-business culture and young and flexible workforce. On the other side of the world, China has undergone a similarly dramatic transformation, as regards rapid urbanization since carrying out the opening-up policy of the late 1970s. Both countries are now happy to be cooperating and advancing towards a materially and culturally prosperous future.