The
Bicentenary of Victor Hugo's Birth
-Sophie Barovski,
France
2002 marks the
Bicentenary of the birth of Victor Hugo. This great French writer was also a talented
politician. France will enjoy paying homage to this "great man" all year along.
Various events, commemorations and performances of his works will be held to celebrate the
author of the "Ligende des Siecles".
A symbolical widescale
initiative set the start for this year of commemorations for the bicentenary of the birth
of Victor Hugo. The French Education minister, Jack Lang, requested that, in all classes
and whatever the subject taught, the first hour of lessons in the new year should begin
with a reading of a text by Victor Hugo. It could be a way of getting students to read or
reread "Ruy Blas"; Les Miserables or "Notre-Dame de Paris-The Hunchback of
Notre-Dame. Teachers are invited to surf on the www.victorhugo.education.fr site where a
lot of information is given on this writer and politician whose fame has spread far beyond
the French frontiers. On 6th January, Jack Lang himself went to a school to be present at
a reading. He read aloud a few paragraphs from ""Les Chatiments" which,
according to numerous enthusiasts is an apology of poetry, beauty, light and nature. The
text entitled "Stella"- Star,, was written in Jersey where Victor Hugo was
living in exile in 1853. The French education minister asserted that "reading aloud
had to be reinstated" adding that there is "nothing more wonderful than speaking
texts to oneself" and that "poetry has to come down from heavenly
spheres"'' and become accessible to everyone. Many other events have been organized
for 2002, in France and abroad, to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of the writer
who came into the world on 26 January 1802 in Besancon.
Between 25 and 28
February, two events made a particular mark on the Bicentenary. ON 25 February, the eve of
poet's birth, his native town had organized a big evening of entertainment on the theme of
childhood. Bertrand Poirot-Delpech, a French writer and chairman of the French national
committee suggested the theme for Hugo's birth centenary. In Paris, on 26 February, the
Senate where Hugo had sat, paid homage to the writer and to the politician through the
voice of Christian Poncelet, the president of this institution, in collaboration with the
national Paris Odeon Theatre. Victor Hugo had sat "both as a French peer under the
July Monarchy and as an elected Senator in the Third Republic". An official session
has been planned for 16 November in the Senate to close "Hugo Year". Secondary
school students will take part in this session during which speeches and poems by the
writer will be read. Since 20 February, there has been an exhibition in the Upper Assembly
on the theme of Victor Hugo, a witness of his century, as a "politician, Member of
Parliament and a writer committed to the noblest causes". On 28 February, the Academy
Francaise devoted a session to the Great man" who had been elected as a member on his
fifth attempt and was one of its keenest members.
Many other events will
be organized throughout the year on the initiative of the committee headed by Bertrand
Poirot-Delpech but also of the French ministers of Education and of Foreign Affairs as
well as other participants. Performances, exhibitions and conferences will be held. There
is , for instance, the exhibition called "Victor Hugo:; the ocean man" at the
Bibiliotheque de France in Paris. Manuscripts, letters, drawings, caricatures and pages
from notebooks, 380 items in all, coming mostly from Hugo's studio, will be presented
there. The French National Library will also present a series of conferences based on the
exhibition, in particular with former Justice minister Robert Badinter who, on 14 March
spoke on the theme of Victor Hugo and the death penalty".
With pen and ink
drawings, and etchings as well as figurative pictures, the writer expressed the depth of
his imagination in sketches and tormented rough drafts playing on the chairoscuro effect.
The Comedie Francaise already started this Hugo year by presenting "Ruy Blas".
Belgium, a land of asylum for Victor Hugo who had to leave France after violently
criticizing Napoleon III, will also take part in these commemorations. Exhibitions and
conferences will be organized there. Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Algeria, Morocco, Cuba,
China and Vietnam might also participate in these Bicentenary celebrations, once again
showing, for those who still doubt it, the enormous extent of Victor Hugo's heritage.
-
A v i e w f r o m A br o a d -
A Common Currency for Asia
-Kim Jong-han
Since I relocated
to Japan from the United States a few months ago, I have traveled quite a bit throughout
Asia. During that time, my business has taken me to Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong and even back
to the United States. Seeing new countries and cities is always fun, but there is one
annoying drawback. Each time I travel, I have to exchange money for the local currency.
The first few times, it
is somewhat fun to change currency. I get to see the different monies. For example, when I
traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, I exchanged $100 for some thing like a million Turkish Liras
or more. After a while, however, it gets to be real nuisance. Every time I land at the
airport, after waiting in line for the immigration and the customs clearance, I have to
wait in yet another line to change money. Oh, yes, the hotels change money also, but their
rates are generally not very favorable.
Waiting in line and
filling out the forms to change the money is only a small part of this nuisance. With the
conversion into the local currency, I almost always get small coins that I rarely seem to
use. Between meetings and hotels, when do have I the opportunity to use the small coins?
Nevertheless, I always get them.
Speaking of "Life
is unfair". Whenever I ask for a change from the US dollars to the local currency, I
seem to get small coins. However, upon departure, when I ask the coins to be converted
back to the US dollars, most moneychangers refuse to accept the coins. "Only large
bills"! They say. As a result, I have already collected an impressive array of coins
ranging from Japanese yen to Korean won to Hong Kong dollars to US coins. Sitting in my
drawer, these coins seem like dead money. I have only one regret. I should have deposited
them in the UNICEF boxes at the airports. At least, my coins could help unfortunate
children. May be there should be a box to help starving North Korean children. I will
surely deposit all my coins there.
In any event, in
waiting at yet another money exchange line, a thought occurred to me. "What if Japan,
Korea, China and other Asian countries had one common currency just like the Europeans who
have the euro?" Imagine traveling from Japan to Korea to China, and buying the
airline tickets, booking hotels, riding taxis and paying for meals all in one currency!
Travelers would not have to worry about the currency conversion or the constantly changing
exchange rates or having to pay the commissions to the moneychangers. It would make
traveling so much more convenient and pleasant.
That's not all. If a
common Asian currency can help travelers, imagine the benefit it could provide to
businesses, especially to the companies that engage in international trading. Companies
could avoid uncertainties and unnecessary business costs such as costs associated with
hedges and swaps.
A few weeks ago, George
Stiglitz, the former number 2 man at the World bank, was reported in the Korean press as
advocating Asian countries to adopt a common currency. Stiglitz, who is a Nobel laureate
in the field of economics and currently serving as a Columbia University professor,
reportedly analyzed the current international financial system as one which forces
developing nations in Asia like Korea, China and Taiwan to acquire as much foreign capital
as possible. Remember that the immediate cause of the Asian financial crisis, a. k. a. the
imf crisis, was the dwindling supply of US dollar reserves held by the Asian countries.
According to the Korean
press, Stiglitz pointed out that these Asian countries are not able to use the reserves to
invest in their own economies but instead, they are forced to hold them, which is not the
best use of the money.
In fact. Stiglitz
reportedly explained that the Asian countries purchase US Treasury bonds with their
reserves, thereby actually resulting in investment in the US. Imagine lesser-developed
countries like Taiwan, Korea and China investing in a better-developed country, the US.
According to Stiglitz, this unnatural and paradoxical phenomenon can be avoided if the
Asian countries adopt a common currency.
Well, I am not quite
sure how all this works, and I am not about to quarrel with the winner of a Nobel laureate
for economics. But Stiglitz's argument, at least the way it is reported in the Korean
press, seems to have some logic. However, even if we don't think about the complex level
of how to prevent another Asian financial crisis, having a common Asian currency would
make life easier for millions of people and businesses in this part of the world.
No doubt, abandoning
one's own currency and adopting a common currency with other nations is a shocking and
disruptive issue for any nation. However, it is quite possible that the trend of the
international financial system in Asia may be moving in such a direction. If a small-time
traveler like myself felt the need, major multinational corporations probably have felt an
even greater need.
As unthinkable as this
issue might appear right now, one day this issue may become a real challenge presented to
the leadership and the people of Korea. Rather than reacting to the situation when
presented, it may be prudent for Korea to study the issue in advance and prepare for it.
Text
courtesy: Korea Now, May 18, 2002. Embassy of Korea in Kathmandu, Nepal. |
