There is a small cafeteria next to the reception area of the first conference hall, which provides catering services for the staff of the "Olympic Bidding Committee" and the "Bidding Committee" 24 hours a day. The meeting that just ended was obviously very long, and as soon as Liu Qin finished the introduction, the charter warmly invited the two to the restaurant to eat and talk.

After dinner before coming, Li Yanjun didn't know how to refuse, and a cute little black girl ran over in white pajamas.

"Daddy, when are you going to get off work?"

The charter glanced back at Xia Yao, who was walking towards Yingying with a smile, bent down to pick up her daughter, kissed her on the cheek, and said slowly in English: "Daddy will not get off work for a while, Qingqing is good, go back to sleep with Mommy early." ”

"No, I'm going to listen to my dad's story."

The little girl's warmth around his neck made Chen Lan, the CCTV host who had also just walked into the restaurant, laugh. While hugging his daughter and beckoning them to sit down, he said apologetically: "Please wait, you two, take whatever you want to eat and drink, and if you don't send this little ghost away, you can't talk about anything." ”

"It's okay, it's okay, Mr. Zhang, you can be busy."

Looking at the back of a family of three walking out of the restaurant, Wang Qing, who had dealt with Chen Lan before and had always had a good relationship, couldn't help but ask: "Chen Lan, Mrs. Zhang is Chinese, how can there be a little black girl?" ”

Every time the little girl comes to this point, she will pester her mother to appear on time, Chen Lan has already seen it, picked up the plate and explained: "Qingqing is Mr. Zhang's adopted daughter, Mr. Zhang and Mrs. Zhang regard her as their own and love her very much." ”

"African, right?"

"Well, South Africans. My hometown seems to be in Johannesburg. ”

"No wonder." Wang Qing and Li Yanjun glanced at each other. He asked again: "Chen Lan, what is the matter with Mr. Zhang's invitation to come, is it related to Michael Jackson's BJ concert?" ”

Chen Lan put a few pieces of fruit on the plate, sat in front of the two of them and said with a smile: "Mr. Li, Mr. Wang, you have this opportunity, you must perform well, if you can get Mr. Zhang's support." That's half the story. ”

"Really?"

"What are you lying to!"

Chen Lan raised his fork and pointed to the office area being arranged outside, and said with a fluttering eyebrow: "Now BJ's bid for the Olympic Games has become China's bid for the Olympic Games, and from next week, all central ministries and commissions, all fraternal provinces and cities, all social organizations, and all democratic parties will send representatives to join.

Mr. Zhang has such great influence in the international community, and he is also the plenipotentiary representative of Hong Kong compatriots. From the time the committee was stationed in the conference center to the present, the opinions put forward by them have basically been adopted, including even cutting down the introduction video in which the general secretary spoke first. ”

In this environment where politics is more important than anything else, the general secretary was not even given the opportunity to give a speech to the International Olympic Games. Li Yanjun was secretly speechless, revealing a surprised expression.

"I've kept you two waiting."

The charter came back quickly. After saying hello to the staff of the Olympic Bidding Committee and the volunteers of the Bidding Committee who were dining at the next table, they hurriedly sat down in front of the two of them with half a plate of fried noodles.

"The meetings are one after another, and I have to take time to read the briefings, and I have to be busy receiving officials from various departments and people from all walks of life who are concerned about the Olympic bid, and in a few days I have to go abroad to participate in the bidding activities held by various overseas Chinese organizations, so I can only let the two of them come over so late."

"Although I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson, I know that as long as he can hold a solo concert at BJ, there will be at least 300 TV stations that will broadcast it live to the world via satellite," he said. He has so many fans all over the world, and this influence is very large. If done right, it could be an opportunity for the international community to learn about China, and as far as I know, he himself is willing to support BJ's bid to host the 2000 Summer Olympics. ”

Being able to get his affirmation, Li Yanjun was excited, twisted his hands tightly and said, "Yes, Mr. Zhang, so we have been working hard for this." ”

"Let's talk about the difficulties and see if there is a way to solve them."

"There are a lot of difficulties, but we have overcome all the things we can overcome, for example, the United States proposed that the concert should be held in TAM Plaza, which may be a very normal thing in the world, such as Moscow's Red Square, New York's Madison Square Garden have left his footprints, but in China it is obviously impossible, we explained to the American side: TAM Square is a center of political activities in China, not a place for cultural activities. So we gave four alternative venues: Wumen Square, Taimiao, Temple of Heaven and Workers' Stadium, and the United States finally chose the Workers' Stadium. ”

The current Workers' Stadium is comparable to the Bird's Nest of later generations, where the Asian Games were successfully held three years ago, and no commercial events such as concerts have ever been held.

As expected by the charter, Li Yanjun moved the stool and continued: "But it is not easy to convince the workers of the stadium, they are worried that the lawn will be damaged, and they want us to pay a deposit of 1 million yuan in advance." Later, the American personnel said that they don't have to worry, they can rent some plastic beer crates and put them on it, so that the lawn can be breathable and will not die. After some efforts, the stadium finally said that it could consider waiving the deposit and reported it to the authorities. ”

The charter nodded slightly, put down the fork and asked, "What else?" ”

"The second request of the American side is much smoother than the first, they need at least three C-130 large transport planes for their equipment, and we hope that we can open a special route called 'Michael Jackson' on our own. Under the coordination of the air traffic control department, the competent authority actually agreed to our application. ”

"So there's still departmental support?"

"Yes, I have passed a few levels in a row, although there are some twists and turns, but on the whole it is still very smooth, but I didn't expect to get stuck on a piece of approval from the Ministry of Culture in the end."

The charter glanced back at Chen Lan, who was listening attentively, and asked lightly, "Did the two of you analyze the reason?" ”

Li Yanjun sighed lightly, and said with a bitter smile of helplessness: "Mr. Zhang, we have analyzed, and there are roughly three reasons. First, the competent departments are not open-minded enough. For example, some classic movements when MJ dances. It's hard for them to understand, or even to accept. It is said that the Ministry of Culture also specially invited three top domestic musicians to review Jackson's video, which is really funny to think about, they actually let three classical music masters decide whether a Western pop king can come to China.

Second, for some political reasons, I think the relevant departments may have seen a scene of college students rioting in the summer of '89 from an album by MJ through other means. In China, this is very sensitive, and it is easy to go online;

And then for fear of accidents, MJ held a concert in Bucharest, Romania. stood motionless on the stage for more than 3 minutes, cheering off the stage, fans kept fainting and being carried out of the venue, more than 300 people fainted on the spot during the whole concert, more than 200 people were carried out, and two people died, which is unimaginable in China. ”

Michael Jackson is too influential, too many fans, too crazy!

When the concert was held on Red Square in Moscow, the audience reached more than 700,000 people. Some Soviet soldiers even drove tanks to see it. In the minds of those leaders, it is easy to have accidents when there are too many people. Especially the fans of the pop king are still young people.

The charter asked Wang Qing again: "Mr. Wang, do you have anything to add?" ”

Under Chen Lan's encouragement, Wang Qing sat up straight and said, "Mr. Zhang, as practitioners in the pop music industry, we are ready. I believe that BJ is going to use MJ to bid for the Olympics, and I am ready to do so, but I don't think our country has it yet.

Now that the international situation and political environment are the most sensitive, for the relevant departments and leaders, putting the most representative performances of the West and condensing various advanced factors in front of China may have far greater 'influence' and 'destructive power' than books and media. They are serious, and because they are so serious, that a commercial performance carries too much responsibility. ”

Still sober-minded, the charter smiled noncommittally and asked, "What promises Mike Jackson to you?" ”

"Yes."

Li Yanjun took over the conversation and introduced it like a few treasures: "He has told us many times that he wants to donate $15 million from Pepsi to sponsor BJ's concerts to Chinese public welfare organizations; Ten Oscar-winning directors including Spielberg should be invited to shoot a short film to promote BJ and support BJ's bid for the Olympics, and the production costs required will be borne by him.

On the day of BJ's concert, the eve of the Olympic bid, he will call on hundreds of TV stations to join him in supporting BJ's Olympic bid. ”

Where can I find such a good thing?

The charter undoubtedly stood on their side, weighed it for a moment, stared at the eyes of the two and said: "Mr. Li, Mr. Wang, I personally support Jackson to come to BJ, but through the letter you wrote to the Olympic Bidding Committee, the understanding of the Olympic Bidding Committee colleagues about this matter, and the statement you just made, I found a lot of problems. ”

Li Yanjun couldn't help but ask, "What's the problem?" ”

"First of all, there is a big problem with your expression, knowing that it will be very sensitive when it comes to politics, and you still say 'the US side' when you introduce it. Why can't we be more specific, distinguish performance companies, economic companies, and the U.S. government, and try to make the political associations that come with them as much as possible? ”

The authorities are confused, and the bystanders are clear.

Li Yanjun and Wang Qing suddenly found that when communicating with the relevant departments, they didn't even notice such a sensitive issue of title, and attached so many political elements to a very normal commercial performance activity.

Looking at their face-to-face appearances, the charter continued: "Secondly, it was not well thought out, for example, the videotapes submitted to the cultural department for review were carefully edited by you, and some of the scenes that you thought were more sensitive were cut out. From your point of view, it's for Michael Jackson to make the trip; But what will the cultural authorities think, they will definitely think that you are deceiving and deceiving. ”

"But...... But ......"

"Not so much, but unless you can really see the full version of the album through other channels."

The charter took a sip of the drink handed by Chen Lan, and continued: "In the end, the performance schedule is unreasonable, the eve of the Olympic bid city vote belongs to the citizens of the bidding city and the people of the bidding country, at least I think if Michael Jackson can set the concert in early August a month in advance, it will be more helpful for the Olympic bid." ”

Li Yanjun was stunned for a moment, and then asked ecstatically: "Mr. Zhang." So you support us? ”

"Yes. But only support. ”

Charters glanced at the schedule he had with him. He looked at the two of them with a smile and said: "At three o'clock in the afternoon the day after tomorrow, we will invite the Minister of Culture and several vice ministers to guide the preparations for the Olympic bid. If I have time, I will make a statement after you.

There is only one opportunity, I hope you can grasp it, as for what kind of preparation to make, the "Olympic Bidding Committee" Publicity Department and our colleagues in the "Bidding Committee" planning team will give some suggestions, but in the end it is up to you. ”

The international community does not know much about China. China also does not understand how the international community operates, and these two points are the consensus of the "Olympic Bidding Committee" from top to bottom.

With the "Bidding Committee" joining, the way the international community operates is no longer a problem, and the key is how to let the international community understand China in just two months.

The "Michael Jackson BJ Concert" is undoubtedly an opportunity to show China to the world, and the officials of the "Olympic Bidding Committee" such as Secretary Chen, Member He, Secretary General Wei, and Dean Wu of the Foreign Affairs University are supportive, otherwise they would not have issued letters of appointment in the name of the Olympic Bidding Committee.

However, China is not open enough, and everything needs to be said by the competent authorities. Moreover, Jackson is too "trendy", too incompatible with China's national conditions, and the resistance is very great. Even the Olympic Bidding Committee needs to pay attention to ways and means, and it also needs to strive for support from all sides.

The specific work is done by specific people. Scitech Culture is betting all its attention on Michael Jackson's BJ concert, and if it doesn't go well, they will lose all their money, and the charter believes that they will go all out.

Even if those veteran leaders who are not emancipated enough to disagree, the "Olympic Bidding Committee" and the "Auxiliary Bidding Committee" should try by all means to let the international community understand and support China as much as possible in just two months.

Early the next morning, the leaders of the National Tourism Administration were invited to guide the work.

After visiting the various departments of the Olympic Bidding Committee and the functional groups of the Bidding Committee, the director and deputy director of the bureau were invited to the newly renovated reception room for the Olympic bid.

"Secretary Chen, Mr. Zhang, this exhibition hall is very Chinese."

"Yes, the comrades of the Propaganda Department have done a lot of work for this purpose, consulted a lot of experts, and spoke highly of Minister Liu of the Ministry of Finance when he visited in the morning."

The reception room for the Olympic bid organized by the Olympic Bidding Committee does have very strong Chinese characteristics.

The entrance is a wooden door frame in Chinese style, pasted with the couplet of "confidant in the sea, if the end of the world is next to each other", and the horizontal batch is "one family from all over the world". The interior is the quaint dragon pillar palace lamp, Duobao maple, arranged with calligraphy and painting, handicraft boutique. In addition to tasting Chinese candied fruits, guests can also watch craftsmen perform on the spot to paint snuff bottles and knead noodles.

The "beauty strategy" is a must, and the Olympic Bidding Committee specially invited two handsome girls from the China World Hotel and the VIP Hotel, dressed in red cheongsam, to introduce BJ to the guests.

The evaluation of the leaders of the tourism bureau is also high, and Secretary Chen is very satisfied.

It's a pity that in the eyes of the volunteers of the "Bidding Committee" such as the charter, this is simply a terrible idea, so he pointed to a hut in front of him and smiled: "Leaders, please here, there is another one here, by the way, give some advice." ”

The young man in front of him is a figure comparable to Mr. Gu, and his international popularity is many times higher than that of Mr. Gu. Secretary Chen is a member of the Politburo, and inviting them to come is to give them face and respect them, Director Wang of the Tourism Bureau did not dare to show their face, and hurriedly said: "Secretary Chen, Mr. Zhang, please." ”

Different from the reception room of the Olympic Bidding Committee, there are only two small palace lamps with strong Chinese elements, and some picture albums and Chinese clothes worn by guests with Chinese elements.

A small photo exhibition was held in the reception to reflect the graceful demeanor of the new BJ; The large-screen NB future window flat picture tube color TV point plays a very high-definition Olympic bid propaganda video. There are no candied fruits to eat, and there are no artists to perform, but there are many functions to bear, listening to light music, standing in the hall that is both simple and elegant, full of modern atmosphere, you can get more information, including historical heritage.

Encouraged by the charter, the college student volunteers who had just been recruited from the College of Foreign Chinese introduced generously in fluent English: "Leaders, the exhibits and exhibits are entrusted to the world's first-class professional design companies and NB Electrical Industry Design Center to design, maybe you will ask." Why do you have to use a foreign design company? It's expensive and difficult to communicate. I think. We use foreign companies to engage in design, not because we think that there is a problem with the level of domestic design, but because we fully consider the publicity effect.

We disseminate our main messages and ideas in a way that is most acceptable to the eyes of foreigners. Just as foreign companies should also localize in China, fresh blood is the soul, and form is at the service of the soul...... At the same time, we want to express not only the long history of thousands of years, but also to show the IOC members an open and progressive China. ”

Director Wang took a few steps back. looked left and right, and then pointed to the reception room of the Bidding Committee and said with a smile: "Secretary Chen, Mr. Zhang, there are more traditions over there, and this side looks more atmospheric, and entering the reception room over there seems to be a temple fair, and what about here...... It's like an exhibition. ”

Secretary Chen asked with interest: "Director Wang, which do you think is more suitable to move to Morocco?" ”

Those who engage in tourism are those who manage money in the morning.

Director Wang crossed his arms and said in a matter-of-fact manner: "Bid for the Olympics." It's not an exhibition of traditional Chinese culture and art. I feel that this side is more suitable, with Chinese elements. It has a modern atmosphere, and more importantly, it can show a China that is reforming and opening up in an all-round way. ”

The charter didn't want to embarrass the staff of the Olympic Bidding Committee, and while beckoning a group of ministerial-level high-ranking officials to go to the reception area to rest, he said with a smile: "In my opinion, these reception rooms have their own merits. I propose to move them all to Morocco, one in the Paris hotel where the delegation of the host city is staying, and the others in the surrounding hotels. ”

"It's a good idea, hold a Chinese culture week, and use this opportunity to promote it."

As soon as Director Wang's voice fell, the charter wasted no time in saying: "Leaders, in our opinion, if we want to win the right to hold the event, these alone are far from enough. In order to increase our chances of success, we have a global rollout plan, which in turn needs the help and even leadership of the National Tourism Administration. ”

In the morning, the Ministry of Finance was knocked on a bamboo bar, Director Wang was very well-informed, how could he not know that there was no good banquet, even Secretary Chen condescended to accompany him personally, and he would definitely not be able to leave without leaving anything.

Despite this, he still knowingly asked, "Mr. Zhang, what is the plan?" ”

"We are going to do a campaign all over the world, mainly in the television media, after all, there are sounds and images, which can give people a more intuitive feeling. Taking into account international practices and the influence of various aspects, we believe that it is most appropriate for several tourism companies under the China National Tourism Administration to come forward, and can achieve the ultimate goal of promoting China and supporting the Olympic bid in disguise through normal commercial activities. ”

"Shoot a tourism promotional video and send it to a foreign TV station by the tourism company to broadcast it?"

"Yes, and we're working on the trailer, and it will be edited by next Monday at the latest."

Director Wang and several deputy directors glanced at each other, and said to themselves: "The prime time is not cheap, and the publicity effect will not be achieved from the cheap time, and this cost is not small!" ”

Can I beg you?

Secretary Chen looked around as if he hadn't heard anything, and the charter had to open his mouth: "Leaders, part of the funding has been solved in the city, and we've tried every means to squeeze out part of it, but there is still a little gap." Thinking that this can greatly promote China's tourism industry, we ask all leaders to help us solve this difficulty. ”

The Olympic bid is a political task, and the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council have both made speeches, and all ministries and commissions, provinces, and municipalities can no longer regard it as a matter of BJ, shout slogans, and hang banners.

Director Wang weighed it and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Zhang, how much is missing?" ”

"Three million dollars."

"So much?"

The lack of preparation has a lot to do with the lack of funding. Secretary Chen figured it out, the Olympic bid is not only a matter for BJ, but also for the whole of China, and it can't just be paid by BJ, and said coldly: "Director Wang, from its establishment to today, the 'Bid Committee' has spent more than 260 million Hong Kong dollars for the Olympic bid. Counting the central allocation, the Olympic Bidding Committee also spent tens of millions. It doesn't seem to be much, only a fraction of the Hong Kong compatriots. But this is just the beginning, once the right to host is won, there are places to spend a lot of money. ”

The State Council is in the process of rectifying the management of the financial sector, and in order to tighten the monetary system and curb inflation, Vice Premier Zhu has even gone into battle shirtless and personally concurrently served as governor of the People's Bank of China. In this environment, although BJ is the capital, although it has to bid for the Olympics, it also has to tighten its belts and live a hard life.

More importantly, the big plan of the "Olympic Bidding Committee" and the "Auxiliary Bidding Committee" requires precious foreign exchange.

They were obviously eyeing the foreign exchange income of the National Tourism Administration, and Director Wang realized that there was no way to retreat, and agreed with a wry smile: "Since Secretary Chen and Mr. Zhang have opened their mouths, let's go back and think of a way." ”

The next two months spent money like water, and the charter didn't want to dream a lot at night, so he said with a hot iron: "Director Wang, thank you so much, the plan will officially start next Tuesday, everything is ready, just wait for your east wind." ”

As he spoke, there was a sudden noise in the conference hall.

Looking back, I saw that the volunteers of the "Bidding Committee" had all put down their work and swarmed around the TV.

"Zhang Gong, something happened, something happened!"

Yi Wanyi squeezed out of the crack in the human and said in shock: "CNN is reporting that the United States claims to have conclusive evidence that the 'Yinhe' freighter under NB Shipping carries conclusive evidence that can make chemical weapons thiodiglycol and thionyl chloride and is ready to be shipped to Bandar Abbas, Iran, and asks the 'Yinhe' to be investigated."

The US Secretary of State has just sent a note to all countries along the route that the 'Yinhe' is strictly forbidden to dock at the port to unload its cargo. The US Navy has dispatched warships and planes to track and monitor the 'Yinhe' and forcibly ordered the 'Yinhe' to return home. He even said that if the "Milky Way" sailed to Iran, it would be sunk by all military means. ”

When NB Electric signed a contract with Guangdu Ocean Shipping Company in Hong Kong and announced the official establishment of NB Shipping, Wu Jinhua invited consuls or commercial counselors from various countries in Hong Kong, including the U.S. consul. Unexpectedly, Uncle Sam was so confident in the intelligence source that he actually took action against the "Milky Way" at the risk of staging the "oolong incident" again.

No is no, the charter was not worried at all, and asked casually: "Where is the ship now?" ”

"In the international high seas of the Indian Ocean."

The warships and planes were dispatched, this is not a trivial matter, Secretary Chen, Director Wang and others were taken aback, and were about to ask him if he wanted to go back to deal with it, but the charter actually clapped his hands and said loudly to the Hong Kong volunteers crowded in front of the TV: "Colleagues, the matter of the 'Galaxy' is handled by NB Electric colleagues, our job is to bid for the Olympic Games, I hope you will not be affected by this." ”

A volunteer from Hong Kong Satellite TV said indignantly: "Mr. Zhang, the U.S. government has made it clear that it is targeting you!" ”

"Yes, they oppose BJ's bid for the Olympics, but you support BJ's bid for the Olympics, so you want to knock the mountain and shock the tiger."

"Maybe it's revenge for last year."

A volunteer from the strategy group leaned on the back of a chair and said: "Last year's investigation into NB medical ended without a problem, and it made a big appearance in front of the world, and those intelligence agencies must be disgruntled; Immediately afterwards, NB Electric announced that it would no longer fund the Olympics and would no longer be a top partner of the Olympic Games, and the next Olympics would be held in Atlanta, USA.

And now Mr. Zhang and Mr. Wu have clearly supported BN's Olympic bid, and have been singing against them from beginning to end, I think this is the total outbreak after many things have come together, and if you don't do it, you will be dirty, so even if you want to be investigated, they can't be investigated unilaterally. ”

The impeccable conspiracy theories, they can naturally think of it, and the people of the United States and the people of the world can also think of it, all eyes have shifted to NB Electric, and the Chinese government is just being affected by the pond fish, and the purpose has basically been achieved, and the charter almost burst into laughter. (To be continued......)