EYES OF THE DRAGON

A Reflection on 

Past, Present and Future 

US - China Relations 

presented by

MR. JOHN HOLDEN

President of the 

National Committee on

US - China Relations

 

Co-sponsors:  

China Center at the University of Minnesota

Chinese - American Business Association of Minnesota

China Insight

Minnesota Trade Office

Minnesota China Tribune

Minnesota International Center

 

Sponsors:

Shaw-Lundquist Associates, Inc.

 

ABOUT JOHN HOLDEN:

John Holden assumed the presidency of the National Committee on United States - China Relations (NCUSCR) in 1998, after an eighteen-year business career focused primarily on China.  His China business experience (1986-1998) involved hi tech and low-tech equipment and commodities, and ranged from imports, exports, joint ventures, and technology transfer, to services and wholly owned ventures.  

He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Advisory Board of The Culture and Civilization of China, the Asia Law Initiative Advisory Council of the American Bar Association, the Commission on Civil Society in U.S.-Asia Pacific Relations, and is an adviser to the Peak Enterprise Program.

 

ABOUT THE

National Committee of US-China Relations

NCUSCR was established in 1966 as a non-profit organization to create opportunities for informed discussion and reasoned debate about issues of common interest and concern to the United States, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan.  Programs draw participants from private and public sectors, and currently focus on politics and security, education, legal reform, governance and civil society, economic cooperation, the media, and transnational issues such as the environment and public health.  We carry out our mission via conferences and forums, professional exchanges and collaborative projects, public education programs, internships, publications and a website.    Learn more through the website www.ncuscr.org.  

 

 

Members 

Shared An Evening Of Conversation With 

An Wei

Scholar, Writer, and Volunteer

 

25 members and their guests shared an informative  evening of conversation with An Wei, President of the Sino-American Society of Shaanxi Province and the China Program Host for Global Volunteers.

 

An Wei relayed his chance encounter with the writings of Helen Foster Snow while on his work assignment during the Cultural Revolution. The translation of her works for the Chinese government and people set in motion a passion which gave direction to An Wei throughout his life. The audience entered into the evening with questions regarding the Snows and their documentation of the revolution and revolutionaries. 

                      

Dinner was prepared in the Warpeha home by 4 members of the Zhejiang Trainees of the Minghua Leadership Institute at the China Center.  Besides attending classes and internships in the world trade business community, these young government officials showed their skills as chefs for the evening.  Food was delicious and the warmth of the evening made venturing out on a cold winter evening a worthwhile endeavor.  Chen Yadan, Wei Zhaohui, Shen Yu, and Li Lin enjoyed being part of the American audience listening to An Wei tell of his experiences during the Cultural Revolution and working his way up to opinions on present day leadership in the Peoples Republic of China.

 

 

An Wei This introduction of An Wei was found on the Global Volunteer website at http://www.globalvolunteers.org/1main/china/chinahost.htm.  An Wei is President of the Sino-American Society of Shaanxi Province.  He is also on the Board of Directors of the All China Translators Association and the Shaanxi Provincial Writers Association.  He is Executive President of the Shaanxi Provincial Translators Association, President of Edgar and Helen Snow Studies Center, and a member of the All China Writers Association. An Wei is an Honorary Professor of Maple Woods Community College, Kansas City, Missouri and was named "Honorary Citizen" of Kansas City, Missouri, hometown of Edgar Snow, for his contribution to the US-China people's understanding and friendship. He was selected by the National Committee of US-China Relations as one of 14 from among thousands of visiting Chinese scholars in America to tour and study in six American cities in the summer of 1986. An Wei also won five Chinese prizes in literary translation and for the Snow Studies between 1982-1992. He received The 20th Century Achievement Award by the American Biographic Institute in 1996. His biographic data has been included in a dozen of Who's Who in China as well as in the U. K. and the USA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Xi-Ru Wu

The USCPFA Board of Directors hosted Dr. Xi-Ru Wu on August 9.  Dr. Wu was the 6th scholar to participate in advance study at the University of Minnesota following the re-establishment of relations between the US and China.  From 1979 to 1982, she was a research fellow in the Pediatric Neurology Division of the Department of Pediatrics. In a Powerpoint display, Dr. Wu reminisced about her days in Minnesota through photos of gatherings with USCPFA members. 

     During these important years, countless USCPFA members offered personal friendship and opportunities for exploring American life through home visits, picnics, transportation, and more to Dr. Wu and others who came for advance study in their preferred fields.

  Dr. Wu was recently honored with the Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals by the University of Minnesota.  International alumni. students, and friends of the U of M who have excelled as leaders in their professional careers receive this prestigious recognition.

    At the USCPFA gathering, President Mary Warpeha shared that "Members and Board Members of USCPFA - Minnesota are honored to have been part of your social and learning community while you were a research fellow.  Today we are graciously hosted at the home of CC and Joyce Hsiao to dine with friends, share memories, and celebrate a career of accomplishments.  

 

     Dr. Xi-Ru Wu is currently Professor of Pediatrics at Beijing Medical University.  From 1984 to 1999, she held a prestigious appointment as Director of Pediatrics at First Hospital at Beijing Medical University.

 

Congratulations, Dr. Xi-Ru Wu!

 

 

US - China Peoples Friendship Association of Minnesota to Participated 

 In Waking The Dragon

2004 DRAGON FESTIVAL and BOAT RACES

The Dragon Festival has become a traditional  part of the colorful and diverse organizational history of US-China Peoples Friendship Association - Minnesota Chapter.  On July 17 and 18th, 2004, USCPFA participated in the 8th annual event sponsored by the Asian Pacific Community of Minnesota at Lake Phalen in St. Paul. 

"FRIENDSHIP DRAGON" RACE TEAM:             

We partnered with with SHAW-LUNDQUIST Associates Inc. and Chinese American Business Association of Minnesota to financially sponsor and staff a 20 person boat race team.   Holden Hsiao will  promote and organize the rowers for the organizations. 

The USCPFA-MN boat named "Friendship Dragon" participated with 20 other teams - an increase from the 13 of 2003. 

Volunteers staffed

a USCPFA sales tent at the Dragon Festival

Items for sale included dragon t-shirts, colorful HuXian peasant painting greeting cards,  cloisonné you pins and Chinese-American flag pins, terra cotta warrior statues, books, paper ornaments, kites and more.  

Volunteer participants included Linda Mealey-Lohmann, Wen Li, Jennie and Fred Hsiao, Li Zhao Ping, Judy Swanholm, Holden Hsiao, Charles Petersen.

 

PHOTOGRAPHERS' VIEW 

OF WESTERN CHINA

     

 

The Episcopal Center at the University of Minnesota displayed photos circulated by USCPFA featuring West China and its people beginning on April 14.  The Beijing Photographers Association provided these 55 colorful photos for display throughout the United States.  The circulating exhibit was a perfect addition to our Minnesota Chapter's 30th Anniversary Year continuous celebration.

Linda Mealey-Lohmann, Membership chair is quoted, "We're hoping that these pictures will show Minnesotans a side of China they're not familiar with.  West China has a lot of minority groups and cultural diversity which these photos show."

     "The Chinese government has an interest in the people of Western China and a desire to promote the area's economic development and improve their standard of living," says Charles Petersen, National USCPFA Treasurer. "There are 55 nationally recognized minorities in China and many of these are in Western China.  

     Minnesota Chapter members who participation in hanging of the display and opening reception included C.J. Liu, Exhibit Coordinatory, Linda Mealey-Lohmann, Barbara Harrison, Bennet Dy, Delin Qu, Charles Petersen, C.C. Hsiao.

     The photos have been on display at the Austin Public Library, Austin, Minnesota, Red Wing, and Duluth.  In September they can be viewed at the Campus Club, Coffman Memorial Union, University of Minnesota.   Watch this notice for new locations.

 

USCPFA-MN PARTICIPATES 

IN THE CHINESE EXPO AT THE TARGET CENTER

      USCPFA-MN sponsored a booth at the Chinese Expo held on March 5, 2004, in connection with the Timberwolves vs. Houston Rockets Basketball game at the Target Center.  

     It was an exciting evening as we watched 7'6" Chinese superstar Yao Ming play.  USCPFA chapter members working the booth had a chance to meet many new people and answer questions about our organization.  

     Thanks to Minnesota Chapter members Linda Mealey-Lohmann (and daughter Elise), Andy Edgar, Bennett Dy, and David Hsiao for working the booth.  Andy provided table-side entertainment with his Chinese juggling sticks and even gave a few lessons in how to use them.  The booth area was beautifully decorated with the Chinese New Year scroll painted by Minnesota Chapter member Jiang Ling to commemorate the year of the monkey.  USCPFA-MN held a drawing that evening to win a free Chinese dragon t-shirt (dragon design by a Huxian County peasant painter) and we drew two names.  The two lucky winners of a t-shirt were:  Mike McGuire of Shoreview and Phillip Cai of Woodbury.  Congratulations to them.

________________

NEW YEARS 2004

 

Year of the Monkey

     

      Friendship was on the menu.  Yes, if our mission at US – China Peoples Friendship Association here in Minnesota is to promote good will, then we have succeeded again in 2004. 

     The arrival of The Year of the Monkey was greeted by 130 hearty souls who braved below zero wind chills to attend the event on Sunday, January 18 at the Seafood Palace Chinese Restaurant.  Children and adults savored the multi-course menu items with the favorite at my table being Walnut Crusted Shrimp.  The deliberately paced food service allowed us to be entertained with zodiac games, puzzles, map identification, prize drawings, Chinese Juggling Sticks, and presentation of an elaborate hand-calligraphed poem created especially for the evening. 

      Our guest speakers and entertainers were a highlight to the evening.  State Senator Larry Pogemiller and his family shared the evening with us.  Senator Pogemiller complimented USCPFA on being a bridge between the countries and cultures.  He encouraged increased sharing of all aspects of life in an attempt to maintain good political, economic, and social communication.   

 

 

State Senator Larry Pogemiller was Guest Speaker

     Dr. Alan Kagan, ethnomusicologist and accomplished performer on the erhu, performed classic pieces on the traditional two-stringed instrument. 

     Special guests for the evening included 17 members of a Sichuan Province leadership training delegation from the Mingda Institute at the University of Minnesota’s China Center.  Not only did these 13 men and 4 women add to the interesting table conversations, they also raised their melodic voices singing in chorus several traditional Chinese songs.  The “Song of Xiao Feng” and “China In My Heart” reflected the singers’ and audience nostalgia for a very special land that we all remember well and fondly.  One could not help but be warmly touched by this presentation.

     The satisfying delicacies and friendliness of the guests was clearly visible on faces as young and old bundled up to again brave the Minnesota cold.  The warm memories of times shared in the opening days of the Year of the Monkey will be with us much longer than the deep freeze  wind chills. 

The final song sung in Chinese and English was led by Linda Mealey-Lohmann and Zhu Mingcang

Sichuan singers in chorus

   

 

Photos of the 

Eyes of the Dragon Celebration

Professor Richard Mather introduces John Holden, Mather's former student at the U of Minnesota

Planning Committee members Linda Mealey Lohmann and Joyce Hsiao in conversation

Jennie Hsiao and Kathy Dunsmore mesmerized by artistry of 

Chin-Chin Lin

Tony Larusso and Li King Feng of the Minnesota Trade Office share conversation with National USCPFA President Barbara Harrison

The Western China Photo exhibit was a perused by guests 

*

Guests enjoying time together over an excellent meal and informative lecture

     If you would like to be informed of formal and informal opportunities to host visiting dignitaries, contact the USCPFA - MN Board of Directors by calling Mary Warpeha, 

at 651-638-0743 

or emailing uscpfa_mn@hotmail.com  

     We often spend enjoyable evenings meeting new friends and learning about their careers and changes in modern day China.  

     PLEASE JOIN US!

******************

Members of the Board of Directors were introduced by Mindy Ratner to

  Song Jinsheng,

international watercolor artist.  

 

     A reception was hosted at the home of the Warpehas in November.  Song Jinsheng displayed his paintings - many with seasonal  themes of hutongs in Beijing - as well as presented insights into his work habits and interests as an artist.

     Song Jinsheng will return to the Twin Cities at a later date. Learn more of the artist and his works is available at www.art-mind.com on the web.

President Mary Warpeha, artist Song Jinsheng, Board Member, Mindy Ratner

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DELEGATION HOSTINGS

     The Minneapolis Sister City Committee hosted a dinner banquet in May for a 4-member delegation from Harbin, including Ms. Ren (Ronnie) Wenxia, Ji Ping, Ma Jian Min, and Zhang Jiang.  Minnesota Chapter Members Ben Zhou and Lois Herman coordinated plans for the delegation to visit with Minneapolis Mayor Rybak, the Minnesota Trade Office, and selected corporations.

     A second delegation from Harbin was hosted at the Peking Garden Restaurant in September.  Visitors included Ms. Wang Ying, the Vice-Mayor of Harbin, and Robert  Song, Han Ren, and Shi Yong Ming.  Chapter Member Lois Herman helped arrange and attended meetings between the Delegation and Minneapolis Mayor Rybak, the China Center, the Minneapolis Public Library, and the Minnesota Trade Office.

     Chapter members Joyce and C.C. Hsiao hosted a dinner in their home in May for a 20-person delegation from Beijing, including Mr. Ma Liangwei, Deputy Director and Senior City Planner of Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design.

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MEMBER ACTIVITIES

     Chapter members Barbara Harrison, Randy Folsom, Charles Petersen, and Lois Herman attended USCPFA’s 16^th Washington Seminar on U.S.-China Relations in April.

     Minnesota Chapter Member and USCPFA National President Barbara Harrison, along with Minnesota Chapter Member Charles Petersen, traveled to China (Shanghai, Chingqing, Chengdu, Lhasa, Beijing) in May with other friendship delegations from Australia, Canada and New Zealand to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC or Youxie).

     Congratulated Barbara Harrison, Minnesota Chapter member and USCPFA National President, who received the Friendship Ambassador Award from of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries during her China trip in May.

     Congratulated Minnesota Chapter member Fred Hsiao, who was inducted into the National Association for Minority Contractors’ Hall of Fame in June at its national convention in Philadelphia.  In 1974, Fred formed Shaw-Lundquist Associates, Inc., a general contracting company that is one of the largest minority-owned businesses in Minnesota.

     Chapter Member Linda Mealey-Lohmann led the USCPFA China Brocade tour to China in June.  The six-person tour traveled to Beijing, Xian, Hu Xian County, Nan Suo Village, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, and Shanghai and visited a number of schools and hospitals.

     Minnesota Chapter President, Mary Warpeha, in a visit to Shandong Province in June, explored possibilities of the donation of a Confucius statuary through an arrangement with  the Office of Foreign Affairs of Shandong Province.  Officials in the cities of Heze and Liaocheng hosted meetings to discuss options for Sister City relationships arranged through USCPFA.

     Board Members Barbara Harrison, Mary Warpeha, and Charles Petersen attended USCPFA's Kansas City Midwest Conference on October 15-17, which included a visit to the Nelson-Adkins Museum.

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CO-SPONSORED ACTIVITIES

     Assisted China AIDS Orphan Fund with their educational efforts and location venues for display of a traveling children’s art exhibit.

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ON-GOING ACTIVITIES

     Continued research by the Chinese Garden Committee into the feasibility of building a Northern-style Chinese Garden in the Twin Cities.

     Minnesota Chapter members acted as editors and authored articles for the US-China Review and local newspaper, China Insight; and produced “The Bridge” – the Minnesota Chapter Newsletter.

     Maintained a website with up-to-date information for members and the public at www.uscpfa-mn.org

CHINESE EXPO

Andy Edgar introduces Chinese Juggling Sticks to avid learners

Board Member volunteers Linda Mealey-Lohmann and Bennet Dy introduce a panda to the China Expo visitors 

Board member Bennett Dy and fans meet "Crunch" the Timberwolves mascot.

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NEW YEAR 2004

Program Chairperson Linda Mealey-Lohmann receives help reading and translating the specially created banner which is shown in detail below

Xu Chunman, Sichuan Delegation Leader, presented thoughts of the group as they experience life in a Minnesota winter

Board Member, Mindy Ratner visits with Ren Jie and Yin Qizhi

Fei-Fei models her new Dragon shirt - a USCPFA fund raising item

Chair Linda Mealey-Lohmann receives assistance from Elise

Chinese Stick Juggler and Board Member, Andy Edgar, captivates and challenges children