Toe-tapping not just back-slapping
When ministers from different countries meet to talk shop, they usually converse using predictable lines of vague, hyper-positive "diplo-speak". But Monday's discussion between the Chinese and Indonesian ministries of culture was a different take on the same old song and dance.
The ministries celebrated their latest dialogue about promoting cultural exchange and boosting tourism with Indonesia Night a performance of traditional dances and songs from the archipelago. More than 200 Indonesian performers clad in traditional garb presented folk dances from Aceh, Jakarta, North Sumatra, Bali, Kalimantan and West Java to a mostly Chinese audience of about 1,300 at the Poly Plaza International Theater in Beijing. The performance, which was attended by 40 diplomats and high-level government officials.
"We hope this will make more understanding about Indonesian culture and Chinese culture," said Indonesia's Minister of National Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik.
Dju Djur, information counselor of Indonesia's embassy in Beijing, said the show would assist mutual understanding, because many of the songs, dances and dress shown highlighted cultural similarities. "It (the performance) is influenced by Chinese customs and also a lot of songs. A lot of types of dances are also influenced by Chinese," he said.
The event, commemorating the 57th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, came on the heels of a twin event in which 200 Chinese performers presented traditional Chinese songs and dances in Jakarta. The exchange of such performances is part of a ministerial-level follow-up on a joint statement on strategic partnership signed by President Hu Jintao and Indonesian President Susilo in Jakarta in April of 2005.
"We already have a thousand years of relations between Indonesia and China, and now we just renew and strengthen the cooperation," Wacik said.
(China Daily 03/15/2007 page18)
