They came to walk in aid of charity - but there were so many
that the event had to be canceled.
"Fight Hunger: Walk the World 2007" - which was held worldwide -
attracted 30,000 people yesterday morning to the Beijing World
Park, far in excess of the 1,000 registration limit.
The announcement came around 10:20 AM when park authorities were
worried about public safety and asked that the walk be called
off.
Visitors are blocked from
the Beijing World Park yesterday because of big crowds.
Anthea Webb, director of the United Nations World Food Program
(WFP) - China the organizer of the event-said: "We are very
disappointed. It is a big pity."
The Beijing Times, a local newspaper, reported on
Wednesday that participants will be admitted free to the park,
which normally charges 65 yuan (US$8.4) a head, but it didn't
mention they have to register beforehand.
"It is a very simple journalism error," said Webb. "But a lot of
people read it and came here."
If there is anything to learn from this, it is that people in
China do care about hunger worldwide, she said, adding that the
world cannot be complacent as hunger is still a very serious
problem.
Some walkers, in white T-shirts with orange sleeves, were
surprised and downcast about the cancellation but decided to walk
anyway. "We are here to support the fight against hunger. It
doesn't matter the event has been canceled. We decided to walk,"
said Sheila Burch, coordinator of Western Academy of Beijing, who
led her team of 65.
Pak A-reum, a Korean student from Beijing Foreign Studies
University, said she was disappointed.
"We got up early and took two buses to come here, only to know
it was canceled... They could have managed it better."
Despite the cancellation, walkers donated money to the event.
Hua Xueliang, 25, a software engineer at IaSolution Technology,
said he believed the donation to organization such as the WFP will
be efficiently used to help those in need.
To increase public awareness of child hunger and raise funds to
finance projects for hungry children, the event was initiated in
2003 at the Great Wall and expanded to a global activity covering
24 time zones.
(China Daily May 14, 2007)
