Speaking at the training course for Chinese technicians fromprinting industry， Laspina said “The art of printing was introduced intoItaly and the rest of Europe between the 13th and 14th centuries. Nowwe have returned to the mother’s home.” His warm remarks instantlydrew the two sides closer. During a winter sporting goods expo， hetold the visitors， “not only does Italy have Formula One auto racing，and the title of world champion of football， it also has outstandingsports technology and equipment. Winter sports， in particular， are verypopular in Italy. I would like to invite you to visit the Italian booths. His words made the visitors itch to see. “The 2008 Beijing Olympicswill be a great moment， and will give enormous impetus to the developmentof China’s sports industry and to foreign sports industries aswell. Some sports goods made in Italy have already been introduced tothe games. ICE has six branches in China and every year it sponsors aboutone hundred trade-promotion programs. “Like Marco Polo， Italiansnever lack the pioneer spirit and creativity. When the time is ripe theywill come to the market for sure.” He was overjoyed when talkingabout his successful programs.
The 750th birthday anniversary of Marco Polo was held inBeijing’s Chaoyang Park on May 31 ， 2005. During the five-daycelebrations， Beijing residents saw and appreciated authentic customs，culture and fashions from Italy. They saw fashion shows put on byItaly’s famous companies promoting their latest products， as well asmovies and music performances. They also enjoyed Italian wines andgourmet foods prepared on site by Italy’s top-notch cuisine schools.
They were awed by the fancy cars and motorbikes， interior design80 by top designers and sports equipment used by world champions.
The three famous brands Valentino， Fendi and Missoni left a deepimpression in the visitors’ minds. The gondolas sailing on the lakesbrought an exotic taste of “Venice Honeymoon” to the 50 couples whohad their wedding ceremonies there. A marble statue of Marco Polosculpted by Italian artists was erected in the center of the park. Thegrand Italian-theme event climaxed with an Italian-style dinner.
Mr. Laspina named this event “A New Marco Polo Program”。 Hewas proud to be its organizer.
Eight thousand students from Tsinghua University attended the“the Night of Italy” party in July 2006. Ferrari， pizza， funny rollingskating and fashion shows vividly heightened the Italian theme. Thepresident of the university believed it was the best activity and Mr.
Laspina thought it was a successful “soft education” in Italian culture.
An ecological energy-saving building， named “Italy Building”， wascompleted in the Tsinghua Campus. As a guest professor， Laspina gavelectures on the history of Italian garment development at the TsinghuaUniversity Fine Arts College. He took all these occasions as opportunitiesto introduce Italian culture.
On October 9， 2006， the newly re-named “Jinghe Bell，” whichmeans “competition and Cooperation Bell”， sounded 36 times in theDuanmen building of the Forbidden City. A new sort of footwear showwas opened inside the gate building. Mr. Laspino had never expectedthat the show could be held in such a prominent place， and from thishe saw China’s sincerity in cooperation. “Half of the Italian peoplewear shoes made in China， and the rate of Italian shoe exports to Chinaincreases by 15 percent annually. There are more than one millionhigh-end customers in China， which has created a great market opportunityfor Italian shoe makers. Ordinary Italians need medium- andlow-grade shoes and that provides a market for shoes made in China.
So there is no threat to each other’s industry and it is a win-win situationfor both of us. When doing business in China， as he sees it， you should workhard but not push too hard. He appreciates the Chinese attitude of“letting nature take its course”。 “Chaoyang Park put the Marco Polo statue I presented in an out-of-the-way corner of the park. I thoughtit was their business where they wanted to put it. It was good enoughthat they had accepted it， so I didn’t take it to heart how they handledit. One day they called. I was a little bit nervous， thinking maybe itwas not right for Chinese parks to erect statues of foreigners. To mysurprise， they asked me if they could ‘put the statue in the center of thepark’。 ‘Of course you can，’ I answered without a moment’s hesitation.
The result was exceptionally good. It was the same with the footwearshow. We applied for the footwear show and asked the Chinese sideto choose a location for the show. I never dreamed it would proceedso smoothly. They even managed to place the show in the Duanmenbuilding of the Forbidden City！ Much better than what I had conceived. In Beijing， Mr. Laspina， an Italian familiar with Chinese culture，has promoted Sino-Italian economic， trade and cultural exchange withastounding results. With his high-energy efforts， he has filled peoplewith great confidence in the economic prospects between the twocountries. “In the next five years， the trade volume between the twocountries will double， with an annual increase of up to 20 percent，” theself-assured Mr. Laspina said.
Is this merely a fond wish? Or a prediction? Or is it a promise bythe promoter of “the New Marco Polo Program”？ Let’s wait and see！
The 4—A Family’s Happy LifeAfter the experience living in Taipei， the 4-A family heartily enjoystheir life in Beijing. “There is no problem with food in Beijing.
Everybody likes Chinese food. Sichuan and Guangzhou foods are myfavorites. I am pretty good at ordering dishes from menus. One canunderstand a culture better through its food. Sea slugs， for example，are not really a kind of food for Westerners. But I enjoy trying them.
