http://en.beijing2008.cn/spectators/beijing/tourism/list/n214068433.shtml
Beijing Olympics City Still Shows Twin Towers as Standing at Theme Park. Why?
PHOTOS http://www.kinabaloo.com/wp6.html
I was astounded today when I read my local paper and saw a Reuters photo of tourists at the World Park in Beijing, and in the photo they are walking by model replicas of famous cities around the world, miniatures, cool, but guess what? The New York City replica shows the Twin Towers as still standing. This struck me as
1. odd
2. strange
3. out of sync with reality
4 disrespectful to the USA and the 3000 people, of many nationalities, who died in that 911 attack by terrorists
So question for the world is: what is China trying to say by this theme park model? And is it respectful of the USA or disrespectful? Taking it down would show reality for what it is. Leaving it up, as it has for the last 7 years, shows a kind of time warp and fantasy world thinking. Just what does the director of this park THINK? Is he living on planet Earth?
Question: should the Chinese authorities take down those Twin Towers model replicas to show respect for those who died in the 911 attacks, or should they leave the models up? Please VOTE in comments section: [You can email me personally at reporter.bloom@gmail.com]
Here is some background info.
The World Park in Beijing
Located in the Fengtai District of Beijing 11 miles from the city proper, the World Park in Beijing features 106 of the most famous sites from 14 countries and regions the world over, including replicas of the TWIN TOWERS STILLS STANDING IN A NEW YORK SKYLINE AREA.
The park includes most of the recognized spots of interest on the globe, INCLUDING NEW YORK CITY, with the TWIN TOWERS STILL STANDING. WTF?
Among these are the Wooden Pagoda in China's Ying County, the world's oldest and best-preserved wooden pagoda, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Pharoas of Alexandria and Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Great efforts were made to build the structures out of the same materials as the real ones, and marble and granite surfaces, together with copper and gilded sculptures help produce a realistic effect.
Lawns in the park are dotted with 100 well-known sculptures, among them the Statue of Liberty, the Little Mermaid from Copenhagan, Michelangelo's David and the Venus de Milo.
69 comments:
yesm they should take those twin towers down. CHINA is very disrespectful of the USA by keeping those models up there. How terrible!
RE:
The World Park in Beijing
The Beijing World Park, located in southwestern Fengtai District, is 17 kilometers from Tian'anmen and 40 kilometers from the Capital International Airport. The park has 100 world-famous man-made and natural attractions from nearly 50 countries throughout the world.
The park covers an area of 46.7 hectares. The layout is modeled after the five continents and four oceans, incorporating different spectacles and folklore of the world. Most of the architectural structures are built from marble, some with exquisite carvings. These reproductions are vivid.
The main gate of the park consists of a group of buildings. The Gothic castle, Roman corridor, and granite relief sculptures form an imposing scene. Entering the gate, visitors will see a life-size Italian terrace garden, with magnificent stepped buildings, fountains and figure sculptures of the Renaissance, full of European romanticism. The park is divided into five areas: Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Latin America. Taking a speedboat one can have a "global voyage;" and if one takes a battery-operated car, he can sightsee around the park. The "Special Joy Adventure City" is a cinema with the latest technologies, and by visiting the "Modern African Primitive Folklore Exhibition" one can experience the life of the original inhabitants of Africa. From May to October, the park holds the cultural activities of various countries. In the park visitors can taste the cuisine of various countries and buy the tourist souvenirs of various countries.
Since its opening in 1993, the Beijing World Park has received 1.5 million visitors annually. Besides, the park has added new items every year. Of China's theme parks, the Beijing World Park is outstanding in term of its exquisite architecture, rich and colorful activities and cultural atmosphere. Visitors can travel the world in one day, and the park has become a window displaying the culture of various countries.
Cultural Activities in Beijing World Park
From May to October each year the Beijing World Park holds the cultural activities of various countries.
From May to August, the park will invite a dance troupe from White Russia to give performances. Time: 13:30 - 14:15 at the open-air theater every day.
From May to October, an elephant form Thailand will give four performances a day, including Thai-style massage, crossing the bridge, swinging and putting on a hat. Time: 9:30, 11:00, 14:00 and 16:00.
In October, a Romanian national song and dance troupe will give performances in the park.
In addition, an opening ceremony is held every day. Time: 9:30, including large-scale floats, and cartoon shows. The procession will parade around the park.
Folklore dance performance: dances of Asia, Africa and Latin America, Chinese and foreign national music, and wind instrument orchestra. Time: 14:50 every day.
How to Get There
Bus No. 905: Summer Palace - World Park
Special Bus No. 7: Qianmen - Changchunjie - Liuliqiao - World Park
Beijing Railway Station Special Line: Beijing Railway Station East Street - Qianmen - Tianqiao - World Park (at an interval of 30 minutes. Price: 2 -3 yuan per person)
Admission Fees: 65 yuan (US$7.8) per adult and 24 yuan for child.
Address: 158 Dabaotai, Huaxiang Township, Fengtai District, Beijing; Postcode: 100071
(China.org.cn April 22, 2005)
A reader from Taiwan says:
"Even if China don't mean to be disrespectful, they did.
I can only say that they're careless to many things, a big and unorganized country. Sorry to say this but I am a Taiwanese and maybe I have a bias to China."
There is a movie from CHINA
the review says
"The World" restores the immediacy and loneliness of the 21st Century global simulacra in which developed nations exist. Zhangke places the action within Beijing's enormous World Park, a Vegas-style touring garden of large-scale replicas of the Eiffel Tower, the Vatican, the Pyramids, and,
yes, a pre-9/11 Manhattan skyline...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_park
World Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
World Park is a tourist attraction located on the outskirts of Beijing, China. It consists of miniature copies of more than one hundred structures from fourteen countries and regions. Among others it has replicas of Stonehenge, Eiffel Tower, Atomium, ****Manhattan*****, Tower of London, and the US Capitol.
[edit] External links
Beijing Official TWIN TOWERS STILL STANDING? WHY? Website International article on World Park
Shijie (The World)
This Chinese corporation or company article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
This tourism-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Beijing World Park, a themed expanse in the suburbs that features ... Big Ben abuts Lower Manhattan and the still-standing World Trade Center;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dutchtom/2250472432/
THE SMOKING GUN
this show must come down!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dutchtom/2249674303/in/photostream/
see this
incredible the Chinese authorities would be so insensitive to world history!
i support your campaign to shame CHINA into taking these models down. GOOD ON YA MATE< and yes just before the Olumpics, it is time for CHINA To grow up
face reality
Visitors take a boat ride in front of the miniature skyline of Manhattan at Beijing World Park July 5, 2008.
Beijing World Park is a large area of gardens displaying miniatures of scenic spots throughout the world. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause (CHINA)
http://search.us.reuters.com/query/?s=USPHOTOS&q=%22beijing+world+park%22#
from a CHINESE PRC national woman:
I agree with you. China is being disrepectful about American cizizens feeling.
Chinese who make this moudle are not high educated, I think. Just using long before
moudle to express American. It is one wrong thing. During 911, American died over
3000 people, it is big tragaty for American citizens. Chinese who make this moudle
are stipute and maybe no knowledge about 911, It is possible. If American against it
Chinese will recognize their wrong and correct it. Maybe now they do not know that
they are hurting American citizens feeling. What a stipute Chinese.
I saw the photo; my first thought was
"Are those the twin towers there?" Then I wondered, "Are they out of touch?" "Are they rubbing salt in the wound?" or "Are they too cheap to tear it down?"
Mixed reactions.
Another thought, they are always finding insults to the Han Race, but don't seem to be sensitive to others.
Another thought, they are always finding insults to the Han Race, but don't seem to be sensitive to others.
Thank you for the information, agree with her that of course Chinese will correct it right away if they know they made a mistake. It is obviously that they are careless about many things as I said.
damn chinamen!
kreplach, is that photo from alaska, nice. i lived theret oo.
so
can you blogn on this iwth pics on you blog? p0ls do
Reuters Photo Shock!
SEE PHOTO HERE: from Reuters Wire Service:
http://search.us.reuters.com/query/?s=USPHOTOS&q=%22beijing+world+park%22#
Beijing Theme Park for Olympics tourists still shows Twin Towers of
NYC World Trade Center as Standing in New York mini replica show
Disrespect for Westerners? Before Summer Olympics?
Or What?
YOU DECIDE
BLOG INFO:
http://twintowers101.blogspot.com/
said a senior editor at the Washington Post today:
"It might be a little disrespectful if the Chinese stuck an airplane in the side of the model, but as it stands, there is no problem."
A college freshman in the USA tells me today:
"and how do you feel about this personally?
after reading that reply from the lady in Japan who is Chinese, i disagree in the fact that she is only noticing how "horrible" 911 is, and how it should just be demolished forever? I believe that even though 911 was indeed tragic and horrible, and many did die, it does not do justice to destroy memories of the actual event, especially if it was made BEFORE the tragedy. Not everything has to depict the world today, some parts of the past are just meant to be remembered and honored, good or bad. What about those brave firefighters and policemen and doctors who fought and risked their LIVES to save those who are in need during that time. What if firefighters and policemen died on that day trying to save those in need of help, do we want those people to be forgotten to and pretend as if it never happened? I believe those brave people should be honored, and the first step to honoring those is to not forget. I can see some americans feeling offended by this (and they do have their right to, it is their belief and interpretation and i respect that), but i can also see others (includng myself) saluting it, and looking at it with a feeling of great tragedy, history, but not something that should be erased from the world, no matter how fast the world is moving forward."
Reuters Photo Shock! 9-11 Twin Towers and Olympics?
Beijing Theme Park for Olympics tourists still shows Twin Towers of NYC World Trade Center as Standing in New York mini replica show Disrespect for Westerners? Before Summer Olympics? Or What? YOU DECIDE BLOG INFO: ...
This as-it-happens Google Alert is brought to you by Google...
A 50 yr old USA woman told me-
"Personally, I find it bizarre. I suppose that most Americans could find it offensive or disconcerting. I have no way of knowing, though, since I am not representative of the mainstream thinking in my outlooks, :-)
A reporter for a major newswpaper in USA told me today by email:
''Thanks for that blog link, pretty unbelievable!"
An AMERICAn woman in NYC says
"I don't feel as strongly about this issue as you do and hence will not
comment on it. The fact of the matter is that the model was created 6 years
before the attacks. There are tons of sculptures and models that still exist
after the fact. Are you going to campaign for each of them?"
American woman tells me''
"In the end, it is a non-issue -- a distraction with symbolic power to make a statement of sorts. Maybe the Chinese are doing it on purpose -- to make a point and to promote tension with USA government... but, as I mention, it is non-issue. The big issues, as usual, are being ignored, which should be everyone's main focus around the world. These involve fossil fuel use and CLIMATE CHANGE!... Who cares about some stupid model when the whole world and most of humanity is at risk! This exhibit is relatively so unimportant."
An editor in USA writes:
"Yes, I read this ...... I don't think the one person's views are representative of the way Chinese people in general think. Yes, they can be insensitive about other culture's values, but they are not unusual in that. Do you remember when we bombed their embassy in Belgrade? They were very upset about it, but all they got from the US amounted to "oops!"
As far as the US having lost 3000 people on 9-11, we have long since squandered any sympathy for that with Bush's wars, torture, kidnapping, etc. I seriously doubt that the people who run the theme park would be persuaded to tear down their WTC models because of the real or imagined disapproval of a bunch of gweilo. As Philip said, they didn't stick a model plane into the side of it.
Americans don't go to those places much, anyway; Chinese people do. With all the unique places Beijing has, you'd have to live there for a while to work down the list far enough to wind up in a theme park. I've been to Beijing six times, and have never set foot in one."
"I looked at the Beijing Twin Towers picture you pointed out, and yes its pretty bad. It is impossible for any American to look at and not think 9/11.
I don’t know who chose to put it in, maybe they thought it was respectful, maybe they just had an old picture of the NYC skyline and didn’t think about just copying it. (Scary but possible.)
I suspect this display is not long for the world. .."
Should people who happen have pre-2001 snapshots of the towers also destroy them out of respect?
I don't understand how it is more respectful to pretend that the towers never existed, which is basically what you're calling for.
http://curbed.com/archives/2008/07/08/wtc_redevelopment_going_just_fine_in_china.php
On the official website for the Beijing Olympic Games, one of the "scenic spots" listed for tourists is World Park, a 117-acre park that contains miniature replicas of some of the world's most famous cities and sites. World Park opened in 1993, and as it prepares for a wave of new visitors thanks to the Olympics, some may be surprised to find that the attraction still features the Twin Towers, which—as some may know—were destroyed in 2001, leaving behind a pit of despair and confusing timelines. We know this because, A) Reuters recently ran a photo of the replica towers, and B) We received an e-mail from someone who is very upset about this, and he has set up a blog with the catchy title "Beijing Theme Park Still Shows Twin Towers. Why?" We can't answer that question, but c'mon China, even Legoland has already put in the Freedom Tower, even if it's an outdated design. But World Park does have one thing going for it. According to Wikipedia, "they have the yummy mickeymouse chocolate fountain." And isn't that, friends, what freedom is all about?
· Beijing Theme Park Still Shows Twin Towers. Why? [twintowers10
Filed under Outside NYC, Beijing, China, Freedom Tower, World Park, World Trade Center, World Trade Center Redevelopment, Wtc
Take it easy. As a NYC'er, I'm am not offeded in the least. Made years before 2001, why should they take them down? We're even afraid to say "Twin Towers" anymore, as it as now become "Ground Zero". Anyway, they look pretty cool...and I'd rather have that model than the reality: a 10-year hole in the ground. We'll be lucky if the Freedom Tower opens its doors by 2012.
Damn we Americans are pussies. This is offensive? Now I won't feel as bad when the Chinese enslave us.
New Yorker
Seriously you people are ridiculous.
Just leave the Towers. Let them serve as a memorial.
Instead of demanding that China tear them down, why not ask that a plaque or other addition be added to memorialize the event.
It is a part of our & the world's history.
It would be nice if any of the "offended" commentors would explain exactly how this is supposed to be offensive, as opposed to just being emotionally charged...
Even if they had a plane crashing into it and scale figures jumping out the windows it would only be slightly more crass and tacky and in bad taste than the crass, tacky, bad-taste touristy stuff about the World Trade Center that is still sold IN New York itself. Anyone that's ever been to Times Square in NYC knows what I'm talking about.
Ask them to put a plaque or something describing the Towers and the events of 9/11 and move on...
Would you just relax?
I bet somebody thought they were honoring the tragedy by keeping the
models up.
You people are too sensitive.
A writer in NYC says:
"I'd heard about this theme park before, actually, and I have to say it really doesn't bother me, as a New Yorker. Theme parks are already out of sync with reality and I think it's actually kinda cool to have a scale replica existing somewhere, especially one so faithfully reconstructed. The towers really did define New York in so many ways, even though they were architecturally uninspiring. The Skyscraper Museum here still has a WTC exhibit and mentions it among the world's tallest buildings. This doesn't seem much different from a museum exhibit to me. But I guess everyone sees it a little differently."
Hey, Guy
Take it easy. As a NYC'er, I'm am not offeded in the least. Made years before 2001, why should they take them down? We're even afraid to say "Twin Towers" anymore, as it as now become "Ground Zero". Anyway, they look pretty cool...and I'd rather have that model than the reality: a 10-year hole in the ground. We'll be lucky if the Freedom Tower opens its doors by 2012.
MORE COMMENTS FROM THE COMMENTARIAT IN THE USA VIA GOTHAMIST BLOG:
http://gothamist.com/2008/07/08/twin_towers_still_standing_in_beiji.php
Are we supposed to erase the towers from history? Isn't that more disrespectful?
By JacqueMehoff[2] | 07/08/08 11:37AM
[ report this ]that look's pretty cool. I don't think I've seen beijing with a blue sky before.
Is it to scale?
By smokedgouda[3] | 07/08/08 11:37AM
[ report this ]
Who cares if they have replicas of the buildings. It's not like they have little planes going into them or people jumping out. This is not news.
By dr zippy[4] | 07/08/08 11:40AM
[ report this ]Aren't the towers still standing in the panorama at the Queens Museum of Art?
The better question to ask is why someone is promoting this totally manufactured "controversy".
By Toby von Meistersinger[5] | 07/08/08 11:40AM
[ report this ]For what it is worth, the Queens Museum still has the WTC as part of the Panorama of NYC. Although I don't think they have updated it since the early 1990s.
By zpk[6] | 07/08/08 11:40AM
[ report this ]It should also be noted that the twin towers remain standing as a part of the Panorama at the Queens Museum.
By edEx[7] | 07/08/08 11:42AM
[ report this ]for what it's worth, anyone who thinks this is disrespectful they themselves should be erased from mankind.
By cuntry[8] | 07/08/08 11:42AM
[ report this ]same idiots who get mad at rachael ray's scarf.
By nomnomnom[9] | 07/08/08 11:44AM
[ report this ]I think all these past WTC towers should remain. It's kind of a nice memory of things past. Before everything went to shit.
By djwerdna[10] | 07/08/08 11:52AM
[ report this ]the towers are totally not to scale.
i agree with the comments posted here. nothing wrong with having these replicas around.
By UnrepentantFenian[11] | 07/08/08 11:52AM
[ report this ]First off, non-story. As evidenced by the unanimous comments below it.
Secondly, I agree with everyone who has posted so far.
As someone who has no love for China, they have done nothing wrong in this case. Bitch about them executing people or being the world's largest polluter. There is plenty of stuff China does wrong - this is not one of them.
By S.D.[12] | 07/08/08 11:54AM
[ report this ]Wow, this is a non-issue as it is hardly disrespectful.
IMO, They actually look pretty cool.
By Dave Hogarty[13] | 07/08/08 11:55AM
[ report this ]Know what's disrespectful? That giant damn hole in the ground between Church and West Sts. that has persisted for SEVEN YEARS.
I like the Chinese reproductions. Is it offensive to be nostalgic?
By ides_of_march[14] | 07/08/08 11:57AM
[ report this ]When a relative dies do you purge all their photos from the family album and shred them? That seems to be the logic at work here.
By zodak[15] | 07/08/08 12:02PM
[ report this ]smokedgouda is right.
By Kingpin[16] | 07/08/08 12:02PM
[ report this ]Obviously this Dan character has too much time on his hands, those replicas are frankly impressive... they're not the shoulder-high ones you usually see at attractions like that, but are tall enough to dwarf a 2/3-story building at least... and very accurate...
Why on Earth would it be disrespectful to leave them standing?
It's just the same sort of nonsense we've seen before, with people saying all shots of the Twin Towers should be erased from movies.
That isn't respect, that's called a whitewash.
By esquared[17] | 07/08/08 12:04PM
[ report this ]Maybe the Freedom Towers should be made in China.
By JenChungsBra[18] | 07/08/08 12:07PM
[ report this ]The only thing wrong with them is that they're probably covered in lead paint.
By jgee[19] | 07/08/08 12:08PM
[ report this ]I think it is more disrespectful to try to erase them from everything.
By dr zippy[20] | 07/08/08 12:15PM
[ report this ]There's something about this pr campaign that sounds pretty shady. It's as if someone is trying to create a rift between the US and China.
By thedroog[21] | 07/08/08 12:17PM
[ report this ]so 'infinite emails flooded inboxes citywide last night' requiring gothamist to write a tepid post about, as others have stated, what amounts to a non-story? do you guys just cover any piece of crap 'news' story that comes across your desks? what a waste of resources.
By 1987porsche944[22] | 07/08/08 12:19PM
[ report this ]I love this replica. Forcibly removing them would be another stab to my heart.
The Chinese director Jia Zhang Ke has some great footage of this attraction in his movie The World - the theme park also includes replicas of the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal and a lot of other international sites. It's actually very cool. I hope they don't take the towers down. Who would start this ridiculous campaign?
By ides_of_march[23] | 07/08/08 12:25PM
[ report this ]As long as they keep the Saudis from flying any model planes near them, what's the problem?
By kapusta[24] | 07/08/08 12:34PM
[ report this ]it's painfully obvious according to the photo that the replicas of the twin towers in the "theme park' in Beijing are completely out of proportion,completely wacky and their creeping me out visually, ascetically, and morally.
fyi...the model of NYC at the Queens Museum depicts NYC as it was in 1992. Of course it is absolutely in proportion visually, ascetically, and morally(not to mention a wonderful work of art).
By Spiritof76[25] | 07/08/08 12:43PM
[ report this ]Are we supposed to erase the towers from history? Isn't that more disrespectful?
Isn't that what some TV show did in its opening credits soon after 9/11? I think it was Friends, NYPD Blue, Law & Order or something like that.
I think New York New York in Vegas is far more crass than these models.
By AvenueHebrew[26] | 07/08/08 01:29PM
[ report this ]If anything is in bad taste, it's sticking them right next to the ESB and the Plaza Hotel. That's just poor geography.
By JacqueMehoff[27] | 07/08/08 01:56PM
[ report this ]nah, worse is if they put in the Statute of Liberty between them.
what is that brown building between the WTC and ESB?
By Maybrick2001[28] | 07/08/08 02:48PM
[ report this ]The shameful part is that at the real site there is nothing but a hole in the ground "7 Years LATER"!
The Twin Towers should have been put right back up the way they were...period. (With the necessary improvements needed of course.) The Freedom Tower is a joke as is the handling of the construction...or lack of construction.
I would hope that China does not take down the replica. I consider it a sign of respect that they left them there and that is a good thing.
By mocanlagunas[29] | 07/08/08 03:25PM
[ report this ]hahaha, what a moron!
By Spiritof76[30] | 07/08/08 07:35PM
[ report this ]The Twin Towers should have been put right back up the way they were...period.
Not a chance. The 9/11 families would have fought that to their dying breaths. "It's hallowed ground!" They want nothing on those footprints.
I rather hope Bush won't go to the Olympics. The man is an embarrassment in every corner of the world. Lock him up in the White House until January 20.
By NannyState[31] | 07/08/08 09:31PM
[ report this ]Definitely the towers were erased from the opening credits of The Sopranos the season after '01. I thought it was both respectful as well as an eerie whitewash. I would have left them in. What's funny is that while the towers are gone, they are still iconic of New York.
comments fromk CURBED blog, both con and pr. mostly con:
"ohh so what.
i'm sure they will put up the freedom tower in the park too someday."
Comment #1, left at 07/08/08 10:49 AM. guestwhat a bunch of cry babies.
Comment #2, left at 07/08/08 11:03 AM. guesti don't understand the upset about failing to remove the twin towers. what are they supposed to do, knock them down again? and wait approximately 35 years before anything is built again?
no thanks.
Comment #3, left at 07/08/08 11:04 AM. guestWho fricken cares.
Comment #4, left at 07/08/08 11:32 AM. ianmac47 Why is it that midwestern yokels think they have a right to be offended by this?
Comment #5, left at 07/08/08 11:36 AM.
ianmac47's stats.
ianmac47: 40 comments, 0 followers, 0 ignores. guestI think its kinda cool and I miss the twin towers. Have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on downtown. The design is hideous to top it off. Perhaps someone finally stepped in and said the design is shit.
Comment #6, left at 07/08/08 11:37 AM. Monkey Butter Darn, I thought that the Chinese were just really, really tiny people and that was a new development.
Then again, I bet they could outsource rebuild that area downtown for 1/3 the price, and in half the time than we could. At least they have a the manpower, and actually make stuff in their country.
Comment #7, left at 07/08/08 11:44 AM.
Monkey Butter's stats.
Monkey Butter: 702 comments, 1 follower, 0 ignores. guestWhy would anyone be upset by this? Since when did an image of the WTC become offensive? The real crime here is the commentary on how American is falling in world stature. Remember when we sent people to the moon? Now it takes us years to design a freedom tower. That empty pit is emblematic of all the things that is wrong with America today.
Comment #8, left at 07/08/08 01:04 PM. guest#5 You are a haterating moron, the blogger is from NJ. Now call your parents in Kansas and make up with them, I'm sure they are sorry by now that they called you their little nancyboy.
Comment #9, left at 07/08/08 01:10 PM. AggieAngst I suppose it's one way to remember a portion of the old skyline. I feel zero offense at a replica of the towers. It would probably be a great tool for teaching children.
Comment #10, left at 07/08/08 01:46 PM.
AggieAngst's stats.
AggieAngst: 7 comments, 0 followers, 0 ignores. ianmac47 @guest (#9):
Those are some big words for an anonymous poster.
Comment #11, left at 07/08/08 03:01 PM.
ianmac47's stats.
ianmac47: 40 comments, 0 followers, 0 ignores. guestand no one says boo about the guys selling postcards on the street with WTC pictures?
At least the Chinese don't take 12 years to build a memorial.
If anything, it reminds the Chinese about 9/11 and the effects it had on the world.
Why do we have to completely forget about those buildings?
Comment #12, left at 07/08/08 03:10 PM. guest@ianmac47 (#12):
I'm not #9 but, damn, are you stupid or something? And, you're not anonymous? What's your real first and last name? Where do you live? What's your SSN?
Without the aforementioned information, you're anonymous as well.
Comment #13, left at 07/08/08 03:47 PM. wwworldclique "I'm not #9 but, damn, are you stupid or something? And, you're not anonymous? What's your real first and last name? Where do you live?"
---
Someone doesn't know how to Google usernames.
Tsk, tsk.
A French-Canadian blogger tells me:
"I feel weird when I see a pre-911 movie and there’s a scene with the towers, so I might just be too sensitive.
But look at it this way – had this been a French theme park, guess what the reactions would be !?
But China – different.."
"That is in bad taste in China – disrespect no,..... more like somebody's bad idea put into
motion with no feedback !"
"ANYTHING THAT MINIMIZES LIFE IS DISREPECTFUL
FROM ANY COUNTRY "
says an email today from an American who often travels to China and loves that country....
''Definitely the towers were erased from the opening credits of The Sopranos the season after 2001. I thought it was both respectful as well as an eerie whitewash. I would have left them in. What's funny is that while the towers are gone, they are still iconic of New York. ''
''I would hope that China does not take down the replica. I consider it a sign of respect that they left them there and that is a good thing''
I love this replica. Forcibly removing them would be another stab to my heart.
The Chinese director Jia Zhang Ke has some great footage of this attraction in his movie The World - the theme park also includes replicas of the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal and a lot of other international sites. It's actually very cool. I hope they don't take the towers down. Who would start this ridiculous campaign?
Obviously this [Dan] character has too much time on his hands, those replicas are frankly impressive... they're not the shoulder-high ones you usually see at attractions like that, but are tall enough to dwarf a 2/3-story building at least... and very accurate...
Why on Earth would it be disrespectful to leave them standing?
It's just the same sort of nonsense we've seen before, with people saying all shots of the Twin Towers should be erased from movies.
That isn't respect, that's called a whitewash.
Know what's disrespectful? That giant damn hole in the ground between Church and West Sts. that has persisted for SEVEN YEARS.
I like the Chinese reproductions. Is it offensive to be nostalgic?
http://curbed.com/archives/2008/07/08/wtc_redevelopment_going_just_fine_in_china.php
http://gothamist.com/2008/07/08/twin_towers_still_standing_in_beiji.php
http://animalnewyork.com/news/2008/07/heartless-chinese-rub-in-loss.php
Sir
I read through the comments and saw the trend.
>
> 1) I think you are finding out about the China trolls.
>
> 2) I think you are also fighting the New York minute; New York has moved on
> to whatever else.
>
> 3) New Yorkers are removed from the rest of the world.
http://curbed.com/archives/2008/07/08/wtc_redevelopment_going_just_fine_in_china.php
http://gothamist.com/2008/07/08/twin_towers_still_standing_in_beiji.php
http://animalnewyork.com/news/2008/07/heartless-chinese-rub-in-loss.php
POLL
Towers in Beijing's World Park be taken down?
Yes - It's disrespectful. 6% (35 votes)
No - The model was put up in 1995, and wasn't meant to insult anyone. 94% (527 votes)
Ab American professor living in Taiwan says:
"Think of something that would be infuriating to PRC:
A small scale building of Dalai Lama's former favorite monastery that he can return to no longer.?
Tank man at Tiananmen?"
And put those replicas at Disneyland in California!
"Dear JK
your idea is very good idea......imagine a diorama in NYC of the tank man from 1989 Tiananmen Square in
Beijing, at a theme park like Disneyland for historical replicas? The
CHinese would throw a hissy fit!"
let's calm down a little bit.
1. The park was built a long time ago -- possibly before 1990? On the other hand, are you sure that all the models of twin tower all over the world are taken down?
2. It is a kind of respect to sync model with reality. It could be more respectful to keep model up to remind us of what had happened. Efforts were spent to keep World War II camping sites, earth quake aftermath...
3. The reporter did not notice earlier the model which existed ~20 years, the possible explanation could be to show his/her boss that he/she is working hard.
Michael said:
[let's calm down a bit. ] !!!
GOOD ADVICE!
1. The park was built a long time ago -- possibly before 1990?
1992
On the other hand, are you sure that all the models of twin tower all over the world are taken down?
JAPAN's TOBU THEME PARK STILL HAS MODELS OF TWIN TOWERS UP YES. IN JAPAN TOO.
2. It is a kind of respect to sync model with reality. It could be more respectful to keep model up to remind us of what had happened.
GOOD POINT
Efforts were spent to keep World War II camping sites, earth quake aftermath...
GOOD POINTS YES
3. The reporter did not notice earlier the model which existed ~20 years, the possible explanation could be to show his/her boss that he/she is working hard.
SMILE
''Sir, did you make an effort to determine when they were built? It is my understanding they were constructed in 1995. So would you then also imply these sinister asiatics knew the tragedy of 9/11 would occur six years beforehand, so they would subsequently term them "heartless."
"Sir
I send your email to my classmates of Peiking univeristy. Many of them are working at America. follow is one opinion
I don。t think China government will take them down for two reasons. One, they spent a lot effort to do it, and two, no one knows which way is better 。
V
taking down shows more respect or keeping there shows more. I think maybe someone can suggest putting some respectful words on the buildings towards the
911 victims.
I don。ヲt think President Bush will make it an issue. It was made long before and he has a much bigger fish to fry at home."
Many tv shows in the US still have the twin towers. Should they be banned? Can't imagine this crowd here can be so whining.
Good point, anonymous above
re
"Many tv shows in the US still have the twin towers. Should they be banned? Can't imagine this crowd here can be so whining."
But I don't know if anyone here is whining. It's just a non issue that could be food for thought. CNN is looking into this now, believe it or not.
"But this Beijing theme park (non)issue has not been taken up by any major media in the U.S., nor by any government official."
CNN is now.
In Jia Zhangke's 2004 film "The World," a tour guide at the
Beijing attraction World Park notes, "America has lost her Twin Towers,
but we still have ours. ...
That is THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reporting on this non issue....
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/07/10/best-of-the-china-blogs-july-10/?
July 10, 2008, 12:57 am
Best of the China Blogs: July 10
A daily look at what we’re reading.
–In Jia Zhangke’s 2004 film “The World,” a tour guide at the Beijing attraction World Park notes, “America has lost her Twin Towers, but we still have ours.” The Beijing theme park that features miniature replicas of famous sites—such as the pyramids, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and, yes, the pre-9/11 Twin Towers– has got one man up in arms. [via Curbed.com]
Comments
Report offensive comments to chinajournal@wsj.com
Americans like to critise the Chinese for being over sensitive. Look at the comments in that blog. Seems Americans are equally sensitive, if not more sensitive, over such tiny non-issues. Only toward the end of the comment section do I see some cool-headed American commentators.
Comment by we - July 10, 2008 at 1:53 am
Sorry. I was referring to the twin tower blog.
Comment by we - July 10, 2008 at 2:26 am
Yes, I understood that. And you are right that Americans can be stupidly oversensitive too (such as too many of the comments on the Twin Towers blog). But this Beijing theme park (non)issue has not been taken up by any major media in the U.S., nor by any government official. In other words, the sensitivity is limited to a minority of rock-headed private persons. The same is definitely not the case with, for example, the Chinese sensitivity over protests in cities the Olympic Torch was to travel through.
Comment by Observer - July 10, 2008 at 3:00 am
Local News
Posted: Thursday, 10 July 2008 3:30PM
NYC Adds Doctor to 9/11 Victims List
NEW YORK (AP) -- A doctor missing since the day before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was added to the city's official death toll Thursday, months after an appeals court declared there was no other plausible reason for her disappearance.
The city medical examiner's office said that Dr. Sneha Anne Philip, 31, was the 2,751st victim killed at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
It cited the Jan. 31 court ruling in a brief release, saying the state Supreme Court's appellate division ``determined that Sneha Anne Philip died at the World Trade Center. Therefore, we have added her name to the list of World Trade Center victims.''
Philip's family went to court to restore her name to the victims' list. She was cut from the list in 2004 by officials who said they couldn't definitively link her to the site because she didn't work there and went missing a day earlier.
Philip, a resident physician at a Staten Island hospital, was last seen on videotape buying shoes and lingerie at a department store across from the trade center on Sept. 10, 2001. Investigators once thought she could have been a victim of another crime, or had disappeared on her own to escape troubles with her marriage and alcohol.
Her family believed she likely attended a party held by the city's South Asian community in a hotel in the trade center complex on Sept. 10, and died while helping wounded people in front of the towers before they collapsed.
``The evidence shows it to be highly probable that she died that morning and at that site, whereas only the rankest speculation leads to any other conclusion,'' the court wrote.
Her father, Philip K. Philip, said Thursday his family would attend this year's anniversary ceremony to hear his daughter's name read, as it was the first two years after the attacks.
``We waited and we waited, and everything came out right,'' Philip said. ``Sadness is there all the time, but at last, you know, we are happy that they recognized that Sneha was a victim of 9/11.''
A New York court issued a similar ruling in 2002 after the family of a computer analyst who worked several blocks away from ground zero fought successfully to add him to the victims' list. In May 2007, the medical examiner's office added the name of a woman who died five months after the attacks of respiratory illness linked to breathing in toxic trade center dust.
Philip's name will also be listed at the memorial to the 2001 attacks being built in New York. The number of people killed when four hijacked jets crashed into the trade center, the Pentagon and a western Pennsylvania field is now 2,975.
TM & Copyright 2008 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO & EYE Logo TM & Copyright 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. TheAssociated Press contributed to this report.
Dear Writer,
I read that your new book was partly inspired after the 911 terrorist attacks in NYC on the World Trade Center. And that you got back into fiction writing after that. It's a very interesting idea.
Congrats on your book. Am looking forward to reading it. Just ordered it today.
Did you know, vis a vis the Twin Towers, that there is a theme park in Beijing, even now, even today, called Beijing World Park, just a few km from the Bird's Nest stadium, that still shows the Twin Towers standing in a replica of a model of Manhattan that people can float by on a tourist boat? Yes, even today, now, China still shows the Twin Towers standing. Is this an insult to the USA, or is this sensitibity to the USA, or are both questions not valid here? The park's twin towers were built in 1995, long before 911. But they were never taken down, so tourists can still see them standing there. Is that odd, or surreal or shocking? To you? Or is it just par for the course, and has nothing to do with China or the USA? Wonder how you feel about this? Some blogs in NYC have discussed this already. Most people don't care.
Here is blog and images:
http://twintowers101.blogspot.com
Hello,
May I suggest a link related to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games?
Our site:
URL: http://www.2008chinaolympics.com
Title: Beijing Olympics
Please let me know if you want a link back.
Many thanks for your reply.
Best Regards,
Don
chinaolympics8@gmail.com
Yes, Don, thanks . Do give us a link back.
Thanks
hardly disrespectful, shut your god damn mouth, nigger.
It's hard to tell why Beijing, has the Twin Towers on display--to know the minds of another person is a challenge, to know the minds of another culture is a life long process.
http://mysticsilks.blogspot.com/
mystic silks, you are right. and wow, your mystic silks creations are beautiful. i loved your website.
danny
I think they should leave the Towers standing, but the Chinese authorities would do well to cover the Towers in black mourning cloth as a respectful memorial and a fit tribute to the mass murder that occurred there. ......Philip De Genova
I respect the twin towers and all that happened on 9/11, but people are being paranoid with removing the towers from every little thing. If we keep this up we'll completely erase the towers from existence. Next thing you know future generations would start denying it. This breaks the "we will never forget rule"
Yuki R, good point, i agree.
danny
I love how they still show the towers. LET THEM ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED. AND if anyone didn't know...the Freedom Tower is getting ready to be scraped at Ground Zero and this plan is going to be built with the Twin Towers back again. www.twintowersalliance.com
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