|
A presidential visit is always taken so seriously in China that nothing is left to chance. But nobody could have scripted the most memorable moment of United States President Barack Obama's visit early this week. I'm sure the PR teams had thought of every scenario and the security personnel every contingency, but who'd have known? To many ordinary Chinese, Obama made an immediate and positive impression even before he stepped on Chinese soil, while he was still on the staircase from the plane, on a dark and rainy day. It was all because Obama held his own umbrella. It was an iconic image, beating all the rhetoric, elocution and eloquence the smooth-talking president could have mustered. Simply put, few in the country he landed in would expect a president - any president of any organization - to hold an umbrella. That is the job of underlings. The horde of reporters waiting for hours at Shanghai's Pudong Airport did not think it was Obama. They could not see clearly and many assumed the second person who walked out of the plane was the real McCoy. It's rumored the second guy received a round of applause. Americans like to call their president "the most powerful person in the free world", but in the minds of most Chinese, holding your own umbrella does not convey power. In fact, it exudes humility. It was a typical example of: "No drama Obama". Power in China is often manifested by drama, and sometimes pageantry. The umbrella is just a prop. In ancient times, the dragon seat, sheltered by an umbrella-like canopy, was where the emperor presided over court affairs. It would follow his procession wherever he set his royal sedan. | 
