China and I
My name is Nigel Clark. I am British. I have lived in China for ten years and remember very well the excitement in personally joining the Beijing celebration parades when Beijing won the bid for the Olympics 2008. I have been a fan of climbing since my youth and it had been my dream to climb the highest mountain of the world. Finally, I fulfilled my dream. In 2005, at the age of 56, I climbed on Zhumulangma Feng (ÖéÄÂÀÊÂê·å) raising US$50,000 for a charity helping Chinese orphans.
When I first came to China, I was General Manager of one of the largest mining companies in the world and then managed the British Chamber of Commerce in China (BCCC) for four years and am now their Vice-Chairman as well as the leader of their Corporate Responsibility Forum. I also chaired their Western Provinces Committee for several years, helping promote international investment into the Western Provinces at an early stage of this initiative and have been the Chairman of China International Mining Group (CIMG) for four years now. All this has helped foster and improve international business relationships with China and particularly the Western Provinces.
I have lived and worked in many different countries of the world before I came to China but finally settled in this great country ¨C as they say ¡®save the best until last¡±. All my experience seems to have focused on preparing me for the amazingly rich experience of living and working in China - these ten years have certainly been the best of my life.
China has so many wonders and not only a rich culture, but also incredible beauty and amazing development. But it is not just the development, the beauty or the sheer scale, it is the people ¨C incredibly hospitable and welcoming ¨C that make my China experience so rich and impressionable. I am very proud to be living in Beijing at the time of the Olympics and in this part of China¡¯s history when China has become the fastest developing economy in the world.
I continue to visit the Western Provinces and assist in the development of these areas through not only my Chairmanship of the CIMG, but also as Vice Chairman of the BCCC, and as Chairman of Central China Goldfields, a public company listed in the London market. I have a very keen regard for sustainable development and the theme of ¡®Green Olympics¡¯ specifically promoted by the government. I will continue to work and travel in China and contribute in my small way in the economic development of China to realize its worthy ambition of harmonious development.
Why I should be chosen as an Olympic torchbearer
I am a great supporter of Sino international friendship and economic cooperation and have devoted much of my time in the past few years in this regard. I have always been a great believer that sport is the ideal theme for uniting people in a common goal of achievement. I love the theme of ¡®One World, One Dream¡¯ and it has also been my dream to be part of this meaningful moment of history. I would love to be on Zhumulangma Feng (ÖéÄÂÀÊÂê·å) again to help carry the torch from the highest point of the earth to my home, Beijing.
