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US President George W. Bush (R) shows a typical, handmade "gaucho" belt given to him by his Uruguayan counterpart Tabare Vazquez March 2007.
In 2006, gift-minded world leaders made sure that US President George W. Bush could listen to all of Mozart while smoking a cigar and reflecting on Gandhi's "Seven Social Sins," according to a US State Department list revealed on December 7th.
An Indian lawmaker, Nirmal Deshpande, gave the US president perhaps the least expensive present of his time in office: The yellow linen scroll with Gandhi's warnings, with an estimated worth of seven dollars-or one per sin.
At the other end of the spectrum, Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra gave Bush an 11,000-dollar Cartier Santos Dumont watch in April 2006. The Thai military toppled Thaksin's government in September 2006.
The Saudi king Abdullah gave Cheney the most expensive present on the list, which is required to make public under US law -- a 55,000-dollar, 18-karat white gold, ruby and diamond jewelry set.
As is common practice, Bush did not keep most of the gifts -- except for Gandhi's autobiography and a book about him, both from Nirmal Deshpande -- but passed most along to the US National Archives or other US government offices.
Bush received athletic equipment from several leaders, including a leather horse saddle from Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and black leather Huszar riding boots from Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany.
Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt gave Bush, an avid bicyclist, two gray and navy blue cycling jerseys and tights, embossed with the president's name.
Junichiro Koizumi, the former Japanese prime minister numbered among Bush's closest friends on the world scene, gave the president an electric-power assisted bicycle, as well as a collection of Elvis Presley works.
In a more classical vein, Austrian President Heinz Fischer gave his US counterpart the "Mozart Complete Edition" -- a massive set valued at 1,276 dollars.
美国国务院于本月7日公布了2006年白宫的“收礼清单”。布什总统收到的来自各国领导人的礼物可谓五花八门，有雪茄、《莫扎特音乐全集》和甘地的《社会七宗罪》等。布什总统可以一边叼着雪茄、听着莫扎特的音乐，一边领会甘地的大作了。
印度立法委员娜玛拉 迪什潘德送给布什总统的那本甘地的著作《社会七宗罪》可能是这份白宫“礼单”中最便宜的礼物，这本牛皮纸质的书估计仅值七美元，“一宗罪”差不多一美元吧！
而布什总统收到的最昂贵的礼物则是泰国前总理他信去年4月送给他的一块价值1.1万美元的卡迪亚 山度士 杜蒙特表。他信政府于去年九月在军事政变中被推翻。
沙特阿拉伯国王阿卜杜拉送给副总统切尼的一套18克拉的白金、红宝石和钻石首饰是“收礼清单”中最名贵的礼物，按照美国法律规定，这套价值5.5万美元的礼品得上交政府。
按照惯例，布什总统将大多数礼物都上交给了美国国家档案馆及其它政府机关，自己只留了娜玛拉 迪什潘德送给他的两本书——一本是甘地自传，另一本也是关于甘地的书。
此外，布什总统还收到几位国家领导人赠送的运动装备，其中包括巴基斯坦总理阿济兹送的一个皮马鞍以及匈牙利总理胡扎送的一双黑皮马靴。
布什总统酷爱骑车，比利时首相伏思达的礼物是两套蓝灰相间的骑行服和运动紧身衣，上面镶有布什的名字。
日本前首相小泉纯一郎算得上是布什在国际范围内为数不多的密友之一，他曾赠送给布什一辆电动自行车和一套“猫王”的歌曲精选集。
奥地利总统海因茨 菲舍尔的礼物则似乎显得更有“品位”，他送给布什一套价值约1276美元的《莫扎特音乐全集》。 | 
发表于 2007-12-17 16:42
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