Jackie Chan: Environment on center stage

Jackie Chan is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer and filmmaker. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons and innovative stunts. He is one of the three global ambassadors for the 2010 Shanghai Expo. [en.expo2010.cn]

As an actor, I have visited many countries and countless cities big and small. I have traveled from Hong Kong to Hollywood, from China to the outside world and then back to my homeland again.

In one sense, I have completed a“circle.”After meeting so many people and seeing so many different lifestyles, I have become increasingly aware of the importance that a healthy, eco-friendly environment plays in the lives of city residents.

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There is a saying that“people who live in cities create the urban landscape.”In my opinion, it is human beings that constitute cities, create a beautiful life and live it.

Human beings are the cells and souls of cities. If people deserve top billing in development policies, as we have often heard, then development of our cities should be people-oriented. It is people that give cities their culture, character and creativity, turning them into landscapes that beautify our earth.

Just like human beings, a city will grow in a healthy manner only with warm sunlight, fresh air and clean water. These are the fundamental conditions that allow urban dwellers to raise families successfully, and only by the mutual commitment of all people can development of harmonious relations exist. Through the convergence of harmonious cities across the world, the earth would become even more lovely.

I served as an image ambassador for Beijing’s bid to host the Olympic Games, and I am honored to work in a similar capacity for World Expo 2010 Shanghai China, another great international event. While the Olympic Games dealt with sports, the World Expo is business-oriented.

This is not, however, merely a sort of gala. As its theme“Better City, Better Life”implies, this event is closely related to our life and its quality. This World Expo proclaims a great theme. Environmental protection has now moved to the world’s center stage.

Rather than simply trumpeting the World Expo as an image ambassador, I, as a citizen of China and a compatriot of Shanghai, would just like to express the love and confidence Shanghai residents hold for their city. I want to raise public awareness of environmental protection at the grassroots level.

No matter which city we live in, we share the same blue sky above us, and we also hope to leave this blue sky to our future generations. For the sake of our cities and everyone living in them, we can all contribute in our daily lives by saving water, recycling water, turning off lights we don’t need, reducing dependence on air conditioners, making the best use of paper, recycling wastes, preferring public transport, rejecting food made from wild animals, and properly disposing of used batteries. When we work together to protect our cities, we are also protecting our earth.

Speaking from my own experience I’d like to tell you that we should not only trust ourselves, but also trust humanity, trust kindness, trust mercy and more importantly, trust our nation. Belief is a power that creates a beautiful life for us all.

I am confident this World Expo will be an unprecedented event in that cause.