By Patrick O'Donnell & Wang Ke

China.org.cn staff reporters in Shanghai

Miriam Lee, vice president of the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT), spoke with China.org.cn for a few minutes about the XIII FIT World Congress and the world of translation.

"I think that it's a great honor and it's a marvelous opportunity to show the world how China can definitely run the FIT Congress," she said. "And it will also show the world how China is part of a global team as far as translations are concerned."

Lee said that the translation industry is being affected by globalization and the temptation is often to go for the cheapest service. Instead she said that it is important to focus on doing quality work while maintaining a global presence.

She said that translation standards are important, and that FIT helped pass on knowledge about standards from the European Union to China. China then used this information to help create its own standard which was appropriate for its market.

Lee expected the FIT World Congress to be a great success.

"I am looking forward to it being the most successful translation congress yet organized by FIT," she said. "We have had a record number of delegates from over 73 countries so far and all the registrations are still not in. So expect it to be our biggest congress and our most culturally diverse as well."

(China.org.cn August 2, 2008)