“They are eager to come to China but the country hasn’t builtup adequate facilities for them， so they can’t come. I think we shouldtake the Paralympic Games as an opportunity to quicken the pace ofgreen access construction for foreign disabled tourists. What I mostwant to say is that the Chinese disabled will also be the beneficiariesof this improvement.” In fact， there are many wealthy people amongthe disabled who have great purchasing power. But “a single step canstop them from spending money. Taking good care of the disabled inthis case is not a government responsibility but a matter of moralityand the social consciousness of the commercial， hotel and tourism industry. he says.
Lao Du points to a report in the China Daily which notes thatduring the Olympic Games in Beijing， 40 percent of TV programs willbe focused on local culture. Through the news media he wants to remindthe commercial hotel and tourism industries that they should takethis excellent opportunity to show the rest of the world the “CultureEnriched Olympics” we have promised. At present Du Dawei has beencompiling a handbook called Beijing Culture — a Guide Book， whichwill make it easier for foreign visitors to understand China. He has twoemployees to help him with the handbook and one of them is a youngdisabled man.
China needs “access” to the rest of the world， and the world needs“access” to China. The disabled need access， and cultural exchangeneeds access too. He has put all his efforts into the establishment ofaccess between the East and the West.
Conceiving a New Life PlanDu Dawei has found religious belief and new sense of life’ssignificance in China. He plans to work in China to his last day. Heeven has the idea to “scatter his cremated ashes in the Yellow River”。
Maybe because of theinfernal torture of theVietnam war， or maybebecause of the Buddhistphilosophy hehas studied， he has apeaceful， happy， andauspicious mind. Whenhe sees someone scaredor irritated about a lostkey， a cat’s death or asmall fire in a house，he calmly asks， “Any casualties?” “Since everybody is fine， why areyou worried so much?” Nothing in the world is more important thanlife. You will have much less worries and troubles if you see the worldwith an open mind and take things as they come.
Despite all of Lao Du’s involvement in these volunteer activities，his greatest love， and what he feels is his greatest service to China， ishelping his international trade and finance students and his translationstudents better prepare themselves for their role in Chinese society.
Though he has great respect for the historic role of the traditional educationsystem， he sees the need for change now in order for China totake its deserved position on the world stage. He says the Chinese peopleare too intelligent and have so much to offer. They can no longerjust be viewed as the factory labor force of the world.
The Chinese education system must do a better job in developinganalytical， innovative thinkers so as to meet the competition and to17 8 make a contribution to solving the world’s many problems. He holdsup Zhang Ruimin， the CEO of Haier， as a good role model， not onlyfor doing business， but for thinking and action. Zhang’s call for everyemployee to be a “strategic business partner” is a call that Lao Duwants all Chinese students to answer， not only in commercial enterprisesbut in all fields of science， of technology， of the economy andthe humanities.
China is far too important a nation and its people far too intelligentto just be a labor force for the world. There are great social andenvironmental problems that need the attention of this great intelligentnation. In China we must overcome the traditional reluctance of studentsto open their mouths and participate in class. He tells his studentsthat “every moment is a rehearsal for the rest of your lives”， andthat they must begin now to adopt the skills and ways of thinking thatwill make them more successful people in this competitive world.
It goes without saying that sometimes he feels a bit lonely. Afterall， he is living far from his family. “You were a Chinese monk in yourprevious life and a monk again in your present life，” I joke with him.
“It’s no problem. I have been trying to talk my wife and children intocoming over. I plan to buy a house with courtyard in the suburbs andhave them over. Then I’ll set up a shop for them to make jewelry andpottery. My wife likes to make jewelry and my son is a ceramic artistteaching at Berkeley University. I hope they can’t resist the temptation， he says with a sly smile.
May he succeed in carrying out his “tricks”！ May he and his familysoon be reunited in China！
Translated by Yang YaohuaPhoto graphs provided by Huang Jie