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Recognizing services to city by foreigners
From:Shanghai Daily  |  2019-10-01 00:29

Since its early days of reform and opening-up, Shanghai has welcomed the help of talent from around the world in building the social and commercial infrastructure of a major global center. The city has been generous in its gratitude.

In January 1989, 18 foreigners working in Shanghai were given bronze medals with the city flower magnolia on one side and a view of the Bund on the other. It was the start of the city’s honors recognizing the contributions of expats.

The original honors were called Shanghai Gratitude Awards but were later renamed the Magnolia Awards.

Thirty years on, their bestowal has become a prestigious honor cherished by foreigners in the city.

“The awards have acknowledged, year after year, the enormous contributions and dedication of countless foreign friends who love Shanghai and lend their wisdom and talent to this metropolis,” said the head of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office.

In 1997, the Shanghai People’s Congress established the honorary citizen program. The Foreign Affairs Office then decided to incorporate the honorary citizenship into its Magnolia Awards program to recognize foreign nationals who have made big contributions to the city’s development. In June that year, then Shanghai Mayor Xu Kuangdi bestowed citizenship certificates on the first seven recipients.

They were Maurice Greenberg, then chairman and chief executive of American International Group; Wada Kazuo, founder and chairman of the Japanese supermarket and department store chain Yaohan; Martin Posth, who helped build and lead Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive Co; Christian Morel, who set up Belgium’s first joint venture in Shanghai; and three other Japanese — Seki Nagaomi, Shinkawa Ryusaku and Egusa Yasuhiko.

Nowadays, the Magnolia Awards are usually announced in September. Silver Award recipients are presented by the Foreign Affairs Office, while Gold Award and honorary citizenship winners are the purview of the mayor.

In the past 30 years, 1,216 expats from all walks of life have been given Magnolia Silver Awards, 332 have won Magnolia Gold Awards and 44 people have become honorary citizens.

The head of Foreign Affairs Office said Shanghai, the economic center of China, has great numbers of foreign nationals working, studying and living here.

“Many international friends have made Shanghai their second home for a long time and have actively promoted cooperation and exchange between Shanghai and the rest of the world as well as the economic and social development of the city,” he added. “Their wisdom and hard work benefit the prosperity of Shanghai. Their dedication and sincere friendship will always be remembered by the people of Shanghai.”

He said the Magnolia Awards have played an active role in encouraging foreigners to become more involved in the economic and social development of Shanghai and its international exchanges.

“In this new era, Shanghai has special missions and responsibilities,” he said. “We are accelerating its development into an international economic, financial, trade, shipping and innovation center, a cultural metropolis, a global city of excellence and a modern international socialist metropolis with global influence. Against that backdrop, we sincerely hope the awards will encourage more of our international friends in Shanghai to make fresh contributions to the city. Building a Shanghai that is attractive, innovative, humanistic and ecological is our shared dream.”

Two recipients of honorary citizenship highlight the depth of his remarks.

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