Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime A. FlorCruz started with his boarding pass from 1971 and ended with a video of Chinese youngsters singing “Just The Way You Are” at a Bruno Mars concert in 2014. He took ASEAN Ambassadors in Beijing and officials from China MFA to a trip down memory lane through a collection of curated objects he collected as memorabilia from his five decades in China.
Ambassador FlorCruz went on a study tour in 1971 and ended up on an extended stay that allowed him to witness pivotal moments in China’s history.
“Over the past 50 years I’ve transitioned from being a tourist, a farm hand, a student a foreign correspondent and later a professor and now as Ambassador to China. All of these happened because I took that fateful trip to China in August 1971.” Ambassador FlorCruz said.
His 30 objects included a dictionary that he used for his first Mandarin lessons; a fisherman’s uniform that he wore as a farm hand; and his student ID card at Peking University where he studied Chinese culture and history.
From the cultural revolution, he witnessed how China opened up, keeping merchandise from the opening of the first-ever McDonald’s branch in Beijing, and an ashtray from Maxim's restaurant opened by designer Pierre Cardin, who was the first Western designer to hold a fashion show in China.
As a foreign correspondent, FlorCruz also kept a photo from an interview in the office of then Shanghai Mayor Zhang Jiemin, who would become China’s president; and one with Yao Ming fresh from being the No. 1 draft in the NBA.
“China opened up. China will change at its own pace. China will change only if it’s good for them,” the Ambassador said.
“As journalists, diplomats, and watchers, there are many perspectives of looking at China. I feel fortunate that having taken that flight to HongKong in 1971, I have been a true China watcher. All those would not have happened had I not taken that flight,” he said.
“China has leapfrogged into the future. But where will China’s youth take this country?” he asked.
Ambassador FlorCruz then showed a video he took while at a 2014 concert of pop star Bruno Mars, who has Filipino ancestry, a clip that shows Chinese youngsters singing “Just The Way You Are.” The Ambassador then ended: “We should observe China just the way they are.”
The informal gathering on 21 October 2024 was attended by ASEAN Ambassadors and representatives of ASEAN Embassies in Beijing; and officials of the ASEAN-China Center (ACC), and the China MFA. (3)
