Will Trump and Kim Receive Orchid Diplomacy in Singapore?

 

When Presidents, royalty¹ or celebrities² visit Singapore, they often receive a specially³ grown orchid⁴, the national flower of the city-state, named after them.

Barack and Michelle Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Nelson Mandela all have multi-colored orchids⁵ in their names.

Botanists⁷ and others want to know if Singapore will extend its “orchid diplomacy⁸” to U.S. President Donald Trump⁹ and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when they arrive on the island for Tuesday’s historic talks.

Nicholas Fang¹⁰ is with the research group Singapore Institute of International Affairs. He said Singapore might do it as a sign of goodwill¹¹ and friendship.

Fang said: “This kind of soft diplomacy is something that is uniquely Singaporean.” He said that it is possible the two leaders may lend their names to a single orchid.

The special orchids live in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It is the only tropical botanical garden on the world heritage list kept by the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO.

The gardens are near the special area where the summit will take place.

The June 12 meeting will start a discussion on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. In return, North Korea hopes to gain diplomatic and economic recognition from the West. An agreement could also bring peace to the Korean Peninsula.

Singapore has not yet made public any plans to present orchids to either leader.

NParks is the agency that operates the gardens. It says orchid diplomacy “plays an important role in building bilateral¹² ties.” It said last year that more than 200 orchids have been named after important visitors.

Both Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong il, and his grandfather, Kim il Sung, have flowers named for them. They are called “Kimjongilia” and “Kimilsungia.” They are cultivated at a center in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang that opened in 2002.

But the current leader is not known to have a flower named for him.

The latest orchid named in Singapore was the Dendrobium Narendra Modi, marking an official visit by the Indian prime minister this month.

Members of the British royal family have several, with the most recent named for Prince Charles and his wife Camilla in 2017. Even British popular music singer Elton John has his own.

“When Singapore names an orchid after a foreign leader, it is usually a hybrid¹³ orchid,” said one of the employees at Woon Leng Nursery in Singapore.

“And a hybrid orchid is difficult to make - it takes at least five years. This is why it has become something rare and unique.”

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

orchid – n. a plant with flowers that are brightly colored and that have unusual shapes

botanist⁶ – n. one who studies the branch of science that deals with plant life

unique – adj. very special or unusual

tropical – adj. from the part of the world that is near the equator where the weather is very warm

heritage – n. the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc., that are part of the history of a group or nation

bilateral – adj. involving two groups or countries

hybrid – adj. plant that is produced from plants of different kinds

cultivate –v. to grow and care for

1 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

2 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

3 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

4 orchid   

n.兰花，淡紫色

参考例句：

• The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
• There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。

5 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

7 botanists   

n.植物学家，研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Botanists had some difficulty categorizing the newly found plant. 植物学家们不大容易确定这种新发现的植物的种类。 来自辞典例句
• Botanists refer this flower to the rose family. 植物学家将这花归入蔷薇科。 来自辞典例句

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 fang   

n.尖牙，犬牙

参考例句：

• Look how the bone sticks out of the flesh like a dog's fang.瞧瞧,这根骨头从肉里露出来，象一只犬牙似的。
• The green fairy's fang thrusting between his lips.绿妖精的尖牙从他的嘴唇里龇出来。

11 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

12 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

13 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。