Shanghai awards foreign experts

Two expats were made the honorary citizens by the Shanghai municipal government for their great efforts in promoting the city's development.

The two expats are Majdi Bader Abulaban, an American who now works as a senior vice-president of Delphi and president of Delphi Asia Pacific, and Ukrainian Mykola Bytsko, who is a senor expert at Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute.

Named after the flower of the city, the Magnolia awards, including Silver, Gold and Honorary Citizenship were created by the government in 1989 to honor foreigners who have made contributions to the city's social and economic development. These awards are presented annually. This year, nine expats received the Magnolia Gold Award and 50 were conferred the Magnolia Silver Award.