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.