World leaders say 'cheese' in raibow of coats
World leaders say 'cheese' in raibow of coats
Agence France-Presse
It is the moment they all dread -- grinning awkwardly for the camera in distinctly unpresidential fancy dress.
They wore ponchos in Chile, silk shirts in China, bomber jackets in Canada and batik shirts in Indonesia.
And on Saturday Asia-Pacific leaders continued the APEC tradition by putting on the national dress of South Korea, the durumagi, a V-necked silk robe fastened by a large bow over the chest (photo above).
U.S. President George W. Bush looked relaxed in blue and gathered a considerable coalition of the willing, with six other leaders going blue including key allies John Howard of Australia and Russia's Vladimir Putin.
The summit host, President Roh Moo-Hyun of South Korea, and five others went gold while Philippine President Gloria Arroyo wore pink, Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang went green and New Zealand Premier Helen Clark dressed in purple.
And there was just a hint of a cross-strait rapprochement between Taiwan and China.
While Chinese President Hu Jintao rebuffed Taiwanese delegate Lin Hsin-i's request for official talks, the two men found themselves both dressed in brown -- albeit with a considerable gulf between their positions in front and back rows.
It is an established tradition for leaders to put on the national costume of the host nation for the closing family photo of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum summit.
Organizers described the durumagi as "comfortable but graceful". Leaders had the added bonus of being able to conveniently slip the robe over their business suits, ensuring they stayed warm in the chill Busan autumn air.
The robes were decorated with elegant symbols including "the pine tree, which symbolizes unchanging faith and loyalty; bamboo, which stands for a wise man's dignity and fidelity; and clouds, representing freedom."
The South Korean APEC organizers launched a national competition to find a suitable costume for the leaders and examined 26 design entries from 14 cities and provinces nationwide.