Shanghai, Thursday, July 1st, 2010
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Good evening.
I know of the great admiration you have for the person who just introduced me, whom we know as Mark and you know as Dashan, a rather fitting nickname, I think, and I hope that this love story between a Canadian and an entire people reflects the ties that bind us and everything that is possible between peoples. It’s just a matter of putting our hearts into it!
And Shanghai has tremendous heart! What a magnificent city!
Shanghai defies the imagination, and I have long dreamt of coming here.
My husband and I, along with our daughter, Marie-Éden, and our delegation, are absolutely delighted to celebrate Canada Day with you here, on the spectacular site of Shanghai’s world exposition.
Today, on the other side of the world, our fellow Canadians are celebrating Canada’s 143rd birthday.
And so we Canadians here this evening with our Chinese friends have double reason to celebrate.
And that’s not all.
This year also marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and Canada.
Clearly, we have a great many reasons to celebrate together this evening, and who better than artists from Canada to lend this celebration typically Canadian flavour and tone.
My Chinese friends, tonight is a night of celebration, and we invite you to enjoy with us the rhythms and accents of our home.
We hope that this wonderful evening will add to the vitality and depth of the ties between our peoples, on which we wish to build in the years ahead.
And now, over to our artists, who will help us express our joy through their words, music and movement.
Long live the friendship between Canada and the People’s Republic of China, and Happy Birthday, Canada!
