Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! The topic for my speech today is “Shenzhen Embraces the World.”

If Mr. Killian, President of the International Sports Federation were among you, he might still recognize me, for on the evening of August 30, 2006, I had a real face-to-face conversation with him.

At 8 p.m. of that unforgettable day, as a representative of middle school students from Shenzhen, I was waiting anxiously at Wuzhou Guest House for Mr. Killian, with sweaty palms holding a bunch of flowers.

Finally after an hour’s wait, there he came, surrounded by photographers hoping to take a snapshot of this 82-year-old man who would, in a few months, announce the winning candidate city for the 26th Summer Universiade.

This was probably the most breathtaking moment of my life, after I’ve been practicing the words I wanted to say for a long time, plus thinking about what to wear and which flowers to give. It seemed all the efforts had paid off as they turned into an unforgettable moment of honor. And I believe this was the same as Shenzhen’s bid for the Universiade. I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that Shenzhen stood out in the bid, for I knew how much passion and support had gone into the preparation.

Shenzhen also promised to offer the best Universiade ever, determined to fulfill the dream of embracing the world. That is, to turn the Universiade into a great family for world youth, even for participants from countries and regions which have never before taken part in the Universiade.

Looking into the near future, I can see a well expanded Metro system, which enables all visitors to enjoy a good tour around the city; I can see world-class sports facilities serving the residents long after the games are over.

It reminds me of the other day, when I was having a history class, I was so shocked that China had been walled off from the rest of the world for thousands of years.

Now as a pioneer, Shenzhen is not only opening up to the world, but also embracing it. Therefore, holding the Universiade comes not only as an economically rewarding event, but also a chance for cultural exchanges as well as mutual understanding between Shenzhen and the rest of the world. We’ll be living in a harmoniously integrated community, which our forefathers have never, ever dreamed of.

Thank you very much.