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中国地震灾难，唤醒我们内心的情怀，大家同心合力，打破了方言，宗教，地域，和社会背景的观念，共同举办了一次为地震灾区募捐义卖的活动，大家聚集在 NCR 的停车场，互相认识，然后我们内心感到舒畅，骄傲，快乐。也同时认识许多新的朋友，对滑铁卢区华人来说，国难把我们聚集起来了，这是一个好的开端。

这次为地震灾区募捐义卖的活动，累计大约有3000-4000人到场，其中包括K-W 地区的两位现任国会议员 Andrew Telegdi MP(Liberal, Waterloo), Karen Redman MP(Liberal, Kitchener Center). 参加义卖活动的家庭和个人超过100个, 捐款的家庭和个人约有260个. 在许多义工协力之下, 收到32余家餐馆捐赠的食物，在 Wok Wagon 协调下，卖中式快餐的收入大约$2,500. 加上义卖捐款, 以及沙发拍卖所得和其它捐款, 本次活动总计筹得约$33,802.52. Fantastic! 其中以华人捐款为大多数。这充分表现了海外华人的爱国热情和人道主义精神。
组委会在此向所有参与和关心此次活动的朋友们，表示深深的谢意和崇高的敬意! 所得善款将依照捐款人意愿, 分别转交加拿大红十字会($25,102)和中国领事馆($6,772).红十字会和中领馆将根据我们提供的名录，给捐款人开出收据。

中国有许多方言，也有各种风俗习惯不同的民族，中国文化是多元的，中国人多才多艺，中国人的生活方式，也各不相同，因此中国人的团体，各有特色，这些团体，从这次共同筹划和办事，开始了友谊和合作的途径，如果我们本着这种精神，今后互相协调互助，将会使我们的生活，更为丰富。

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Dear WCCA members and friends,

Please find attached an article from Dr. Liping Fu on the Beijing
Olympic Games. This article was published on Saturday April 19th, 2008
issue of The Record .

The URL link: http://news. therecord. com/Opinions/ article/339022

WCCA

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

"Olympics are no place for political unrest or violence in this
Chinese Canadian's eyes"

Liping Fu, April 19, 2008

As a Chinese Canadian and a sports enthusiast, I have lately devoted a lot of my attention to the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games and related news event.

Like most Chinese Canadians, I'm deeply disappointed over the protests following the Olympic torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco.

I am even more disturbed by the disproportional coverage by the Western media on the protests, along with those conveniently patched stories about China's human-rights record and one-sided voices by
those anti-China activists and politicians.

Yes, China is still sub par in many aspects according to the Western standards, including human-rights, media control and one-party political system. However, this does not justify the actions taken by
those who attempted to hijack the Olympics as a platform to further their political agendas.

Snapping the Olympic torch is NOT a form of peaceful demonstration.

There is no doubt that we all have the right to the freedom of expression. But should we gain this right at the cost of others?

The torch runners had prepared and waited for this moment a long time and had been looking forward to showing their enthusiasm for the Olympic Games.

Why must protesters strip the rights of these runners and spoil the spirit and mood of the Games just to punish the Chinese government?

Athletes around the world have trained hard and long for the moment of showing their skills and love of the Games. Let's not take away their rights and their enthusiasm for the spirit of competition.
Surely there are many ways to advance the cause of freedom, but snapping the Olympic torch is not one of them.

The March 14 event in Tibet is nothing but violence.

That's when the Tibetan capital of Lhasa was thrown into chaos by a group of anti-China Tibet extremists. Stores, business offices and cars were burned to ash; 18 innocent people, including girls as young as 15 years old, were burned to death and more than 200 average people and government officials were injured.

Surprisingly, instead of condemning these extremists, some world leaders and professional activists were calling the Chinese government to address the Tibet issues.

While it is true that many Chinese people (including Tibetans) had died during communist political events across the whole country in the 1960s and 1970s, this does not justify the March 14 riot, which was nothing but a form of violence.

The riot was started by some extremists with the intention of using the Olympics as a platform for gaining international attention on the Tibet issues.

Violence is violence regardless of its intention.

In recognizing this fact, the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled leader, went as far as threatening to quit if his followers don't stop their violent protests.

The Olympic Games are not a summit for the world's famous leaders or activists, but the world's best athletes.

News that some political leaders, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, had decided not to attend the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies, was highlighted along with these detailed reports on anti- China demonstrations, giving the impression that these leaders are boycotting the Beijing Olympics.

What are the whole stories behind the decisions of these leaders?
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown decided to skip the opening ceremony, "but not for political reasons." But Brown will be present for the closing ceremony Aug. 24.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel never planned to attend the Olympic Games; instead, she will attend the EU-Asia summit this October in Beijing. Harper regrettably decided to follow the footsteps of a few others.

Although he made it clear that Canada would not boycott the Olympics and will send a high-level elegation to the Games, his decision will certainly leave a deep mark in the hearts of many Chinese Canadians.

The Olympics are not a forum for the world's most famous leaders, but the world's best athletes. If these Western leaders really want to show their standing and gesture on the Tibet issues, I would suggest a more effective venue - business and trade.

The Games are awarded to the Chinese people not the government (or Communist party).

In North America or Europe, when a sports event is awarded to a city, the city and the residents of the city are considered to be the host.
Few would tie the event to the government. Most Chinese people look at the Olympic Games in the same way.

In one recent survey of people in China, three out of four respondents said they consider themselves as the host of the Olympics and are "excited or very excited" about China hosting its first Olympics

I came to Canada in 1992 to pursue my PhD. However, what motivated me to leave China was beyond seeking a higher education. It was also for a better quality of life and life in a more democratic society.

As a participant and witness of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstration, I had never imagined that China would have made such sensational progress in a short 15 years -- in both economy and governing.

China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and started a unique capitalism path, which has lifted half a billion people out of poverty. People in China are no longer restricted in travel and expressing their personal views.

There is no doubt that many issues still exist in China: China's one- party political system, human rights abuses and a tightly controlled media.

However, creating obstacles for, or boycotting the Games, is definitely not a solution.

Instead, we should consider the Olympics as a unique opportunity to get China to become more open and engaging with the world.

When the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to award the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing in 2001, they had exactly this in mind.

Let the one-fifth of the world's population be the proud host of their first Olympics. Let's stop playing politics and get ready to enjoy the Games.

Dr. Liping Fu is a professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo. He is also the president of Waterloo Region Chinese Community Association (WCCA, www.waterloocca. com)