Cui Jian, the godfather of China's rock 'n' roll, added environment protector to his rsum, when he announced he would perform at a two-hour outdoor concert, Green Now, on June 5, to celebrate the World Environment Day at the Shanghai World Expo.
The concert aims to encourage citizens nationwide to change their lifestyle and live a "low-carbon" lifestyle. The lineup includes pop duo Yu Quan, Beijing-based punk band New Pants, and Taiwan folk singer Zhang Xuan.
"A low-carbon lifestyle covers many aspects of modern life, such as transport and home air conditioning, which can be conducted in a way that achieves the maximum reduction of personal carbon emissions," says Cui. "Frankly, I am not a low-carbon hero myself, but I want to learn to live a low-carbon lifestyle from now on."
According to Cui, individual action and the government's effort are keys to tackling environment problems.
"I have been traveling and performing in developed countries that have many private cars on the road. But those countries have good air quality," he says. "Raising the nation's awareness of energy saving and emission reduction is just one side of the story. The government should take more actions to interact with citizens."
The singer-songwriter is often described as the voice of truth since he burst onto the rock stage in the 1980s with classics such as Nothing to My Name and Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March.
In 2002, he launched a campaign against lip-syncing, whereby singers perform by mouthing the lyrics of recorded songs.
"As a musician, the rock stage is my battlefield. But as a human being, I want to protect the environment in which I live," he says.
"If I make an album which talks about the environment, the people I work with should be environment protectors who will bring more green ideas to my music," he adds.
Though the songs he is going to perform at the concert have not been decided yet, Cui says: "What I want to do on the stage besides singing is to tell audiences about the low-carbon concept."
Organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and China Radio International (CRI), anyone with a Shanghai World Expo pass or ticket can attend.
China Daily
(China Daily 05/28/2010 page20)
