Source: CCTV.com
07-21-2008 13:38
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The Beijing Olympic Torch Relay has not only attracted the participation of Chinese, but has also raised the enthusiasm of many expatriates. Up-Close interviews three expatriate torchbearers: Yuri Ilyakhin, Deirdre Smyth and Marco Torres.
Yuri Ilyakhin is from Russia. Since he was a student, his life has been connected with Chinese culture and China. In 1999, he settled in Beijing and founded an information technology company called Hand To Hand. In addition, he and his wife organize an amateur choir, singing Chinese and Russian folk songs to improve cultural communication between China and Russia.
Deirdre Smyth, a Venezuelan woman, has lived in Beijing with her husband and children since 2004. A breast cancer survivor, she is an example of a woman who continues to be extremely active even after battling a serious disease. As a torchbearer, Deirdre hopes to create a sense of awareness of breast cancer among all the women in the world.
Marco Torres is the first Filipino torchbearer since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Though he has been in Beijing for only 2 years, he is impressed by the quick development of this city. He said, "I leave Beijing for a weekend - a new bar opens. I am gone for a week - a new mall opens. I’m gone a few months - a new subway line has been constructed."
In the Up-Close studio, the torchbearers lead their audience groups to compete in an “Up-Close torch relay” by answering a series of torch relay-related questions. Join us on Up-Close to hear the China stories of the expatriate torchbearers and find out who’s the winner of the “Up-Close torch relay”.
Editor:Liu Fang
