Expo will showcase hard challenges of urbanization
- Source: Global Times
- [22:14 April 27 2010]
- Comments
PO: A lot of new concepts are featured at the Shanghai World Expo, such as innovation, technology and environmental protection. How can we implement these concepts in our daily life?
Wu: The 2010 World Expo gives us a platform for people to exchange their ideas on our shared problems. Because such problems are universal, it is easy for the results of our discussion to be put into practice.
In the past three World Expos I've participated in, I sensed a great atmosphere of communication and mutual understanding.
Take garbage disposal, for example, which is a universal problem. People came to the World Expo with their solutions or ideas and talked about it so as to find out a better way of dealing with the problem.
Another good example is the adoption of solar energy. Solar energy is a clean way to generate power. With the development of new technology, the roofs of towers in cities might very likely be covered by film that turns sunshine into power.
It will cut pollution and generate electricity without affecting people's lives. The biggest source of pollution in Beijing now is the exhaust gas from the 4 million cars operating in the city everyday.
By introducing alternative energy we can not only change people's lives, but also influence them in a positive way.
PO: As the chairman and one of the judges of the World Expo in Aichi, Japan in 2005, what are the highlights of the World Expo in Shanghai for you?
Wu: I can't comment on anything for sure before the World Expo starts, but I think there are some highlights regarding the concepts that we can talk about. This is the first time that the World Expo has the city as its theme.
The 2010 World Expo is all about how to better develop the cities, where over half of the population of Earth dwellers. Cities represent the development of human civilization, but they also create urban problems such as bad traffic, air pollution, water contamination and so on.
And now we have the chance to meet people from all over the world and talk about how to solve such problems.
Besides, this is the first time that the World Expo has come to a developing country. In the past 159 years, it has only been held in the developed world, which has marginalized the developing countries.
By hosting the 2010 World Expo, the biggest developing country in the world, we are sending out a message to draw more attention to countries like us.
I encourage the visitors to visit the pavilions of the developing countries to show our support.
