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A Northern Irish man, based in China, writing on St Patrick’s Day

By Mark Logan | 13:48 UTC+8 March 17, 2016 | Online Edition

GROWING up in Northern Ireland I was fascinated by the sizeable ethnically Chinese population in urban areas. Certainly, it was often said that Cantonese was the second most widely spoken language in Northern Ireland.

In my hometown I recall spending an afternoon driving around with my sister to count the number of Chinese restaurants. We counted at least 20. With a population of around 50,000 this represents astonishing culinary influence.

Cuisine is culture. Having lived in Chinese mainland for a decade I can testify to how particular the Chinese are about food.

Do a simple Trip Advisor search for restaurants in Shanghai and up pops 13,029 places to eat.

For the last 4 years in my role as Spokesman at the British Consulate in Shanghai I have seen first-hand the excellent offer that our country (Northern Ireland) of 1.8 million people has shared with this vast nation of 1.4 billion people.

Every year in November a large group of Northern Irish businesses travel here for the FHC China. Moy Park, Cookstown and Irwin’s Bakery are just some of the companies with a strong presence at the humongous food and beverages exhibition.

This is linked to the tireless drive of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and InvestNI in China. UKTI have offices in several major Chinese cities. And InvestNI have a presence in both Beijing and Shanghai. Watch out for the Exporting is GREAT campaign, including the Export Hub, which is coming to Northern Ireland in May. Northern Irish businesses will be able to gain advice on their doorstep about how to access the China market.

To further strengthen Northern Ireland-China ties a new NI Bureau has been established in Beijing. The Bureau is led by Tim Losty and helps mirror the newly announced diplomatic presence of China in Belfast.

The benefit of these increasing links is apparent. In my role I have been part of events and planning where Northern Irish Ministers such as Jonathan Bell, Arlene Foster (now First Minister), Former FM Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have spearheaded cultural, economic and political links between Northern Ireland and China.

A touching story during my time in Shanghai was when we helped someone from Northern Ireland in finding the resting place of a long lost relative.  Patrick McGowan was killed in Shanghai in 1937 and his gravestone was only identified in 2013 when we recruited the help of a historian to help research the past.

I do enjoy introducing the culture of Northern Ireland to our Chinese audiences. Even if that means great difficulty for Chinese friends who try to decipher what I’m actually saying when speaking Northern Irish-Mandarin. One of my linguistic highlights was when I interpreted for the Prime Minister in 2013 when he met with China’s most famous blogger (who has 42 million followers).

We have 55,000 (effectively same size as my hometown) followers on our British Consulate Shanghai social media account, and often share interesting facts about NI and post eye-catching pictures of our wonderful landscapes.

When developing interest in media discussions with budding young Chinese journalists I often introduce some sporting T-shirts, and do a simple quiz about NI that invariably features Game of Thrones, Titanic, Giant’s Causeway and George Best.

There is real intrigue for the beauty of Northern Ireland. And traditional folk music is strikingly popular amongst young people in China. In 2015 Cara Dillon performed a sold out concert in Shanghai. I was there too and was amazed that everyone in the audience could sing along to lyrics in perfect sync, where I struggled.

I’m sure everyone in Shanghai and across the world had a wonderful St Patrick’s Day!

Foreign Views


 

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