China Beijing Olympic Games

My collection of well-wishes from well-known individuals

My name is Chen Jianfeng. I am 34. Eight years ago, I was just a clerk at Huangpu People’s Hospital in Zhongshan ,Guangdong. But now, after eight years of effort, I have successfully collected more than 100 signed notes and photos from world leaders, including Kofi Annan, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Jacques Rogge, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair, to name just a few. The Olympics have connected me with people whom I see only on TV and in newspapers.

As for my Olympic story, it can be traced back to National Day in 1999. I was looking through newspapers and came across the news that Beijing was going to bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. This got me excited but also worried – what were the odds of China succeeding in their bid? I thought Samaranch, then president of the IOC, would be the only person who could answer my question. So, I wrote a simple letter to him on National Day in 1999. His reply was completely unexpected. In his letter, he said, “No country can get anything done without peace.” This left a deep impression on me.

So I got the idea to write to heads of state in the world. But writing a letter, which seems simple, was a hard job for me. In order to get their replies, I spent a whole year preparing. Letters going to different places needed to be written in different languages. This was difficult because my foreign language ability is poor. I had to find new words in dictionaries while writing the letters. I’d ask my friends to correct and edit each draft. Finally, I asked English teachers and colleagues, as well as those who knew Russian, for a final read. Each letter went through five revisions before being sent.

A letter from IOC President Jacques Rogge

But the most difficult part was not the language. The most difficult part was respecting the customs and taboos of every country. I thought that violating a taboo might create trouble and also prevent me from receiving a reply. Also, everyone has their own likes and dislikes. So, as part of my careful preparations, I read the biography of each head of state and looked online for relevant information about each country. I discovered that French President Chirac did not like soft and romantic style writing, so I went out of my way to include a quote by Dufu, a famous Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty, “The influential lead an extravagant life while the poor starved to death.”

On January 1,2001, I anxiously mailed 40 personal letters, with Beijing Olympic postal cards in them, that shared the theme: Call for world peace and support for Beijing’s bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. In the letters I made it very clear that I hoped leader who received the card would reply with their good wishes for the Beijing Olympic Games and a signed photo.

Against all expectations, the process was a success. By early November, each letter got a reply. Despite the numerous affairs that the leaders had to deal with each day, they still wrote me back, or asked their secretaries to reply. And most of them sent me their autographs or photos.

What impressed me most was the reply from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.His secretary said in the reply” Mr. Chen, do you know he is the busiest person in the world?” And yet, I received a signed photo from Annan every year until he completed his term as Secretary-General. And what touched me most is that each photo was different.

The process was not without mistakes. A reply to my request for the autograph of the queen of one European country told me that it was impolite to ask for the queen’s autograph. Another letter said the same for a different leader. I wasn’t aware of this; I didn’t receive any more letters or photos from them.

An enthusiastic response from former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch

When I was younger, I used to like disco and the internet. But now I’ve said goodbye to those hobbies, and I write letters. Several years ago, a Taiwanese businessman offered me 150,000 yuan to buy my collection. But I declined. I started donating parts of my collection to the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games in the hope that the replies and photos can pass along Olympic spirit and contribute to the Games.

Last Friday, I received a signed reply and photo from the Portuguese president. Overjoyed by this, I’ve decided to collect more Olympic wishes and inscriptions, which I am ready to donate to the 2008 Olympic games at any time.

These people all support our Beijing Olympic Games.