Canadians drink to record haul

Canadians: Drunk or success. And Booze. Photo: Wang Zi

In area, Canada may be one of the largest countries in the world, but with a population of only 34 million, it barely beats Chongqing. Still, those northern folk know how to party: At the Annual Canadian Spring Cocktail Party, sponsored by the Canadian Alumni Network and hosted at the new Fairmont Hotel, a bustling crew of smiling faces chatted over wine and hors d'oeuvres, reveling in the evening's true purpose – to celebrate Canada's record-breaking 14 gold medals at the recently-wrapped Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

"It's safe to say that [Roberto] Luongo has made everyone proud to be Canadian," said Vancouver native Danni Zheng, in reference to the goaltender for the gold medal-winning Canadian national hockey team. "In Canada, patriotism is directly correlated with how well the hockey team is doing."

Zheng also mentioned Communist activist Norman Bethune and CCTV host Mark Rowswell — better known to Chinese audiences as Dashan — as Canadians who've made a significant impact in China. "But I can't say I'm too impressed with James Cameron," Avatar director and fellow Canuck.

"The Olympics brought the world to Canada," said event organizer Richard Liu, founder of canadiansinchina.com, a web portal whose aim is to serve as a bridge between Canadians and Chinese.

"It showed that Canada is a nation of competitive athletes," Liu said. "Of course, China didn't do too shabby either, considering how new they are to the Winter Games."

Though the Canadian embassy didn't have any formal role in planning the event, embassy minister Jeff Nankivell attended and gave a speech detailing Canada's best attributes, such as its welcoming attitude and the diversity of its population.

"The emphasis on diversity in Canada is more about integration than assimilation," said Montreal native Eileen Wong in response to Nankivell's speech. "There's a real pride in maintaining the culture of your homeland."

Over a video retrospective of the games – featuring a somewhat bungling white rapper extolling Canada's liberal culture – Canadian International School teacher Grace Esty, a four-year Beijing resident, noted the rapid evolution of the Canadian expatriate community in Beijing, from practically non-existent to fairly ubiquitous.
"There are more and more events like this where you practically forget you're in China," she said.

In addition to videos and speeches, the party included a charity raffle, with the proceeds going to the Special Olympics. Prizes included a very typically Canadian memento: An Olympics-themed pair of mittens touted on the Oprah show.

"Once Oprah showed them off they started selling like hotcakes," said event co-organizer Kevin Tsui, managing director of the British Columbia International Trade and Investment Representative Office and president of the McGill University Beijing Alumni Club.

In comments to the Global Times, Nankivell praised the event as "a great asset in China- Canada relations" and placed great importance on how Vancouver successfully received the world during its moment in the Olympic spotlight last month.

"Every visitor came away with a good impression of Vancouver and its enthusiasm for winter sports," he said.

Tsui echoed this assertion, positing that though Canada isn't particularly known for vocal nationalism, the Olympics were "a release valve for the country."

"I noticed a ton of spontaneous patriotism," said Tsui, who attended the Games as a spectator. "In sports bars and clubs, whenever Canada won, people would get up on the piano and start singing the national anthem," he said, right before the crowd launched into its own spirited refrain of "O Canada."