Oregon's Warm Welcome

Statistician and activist Nancy Lo was born in southwestern China, but escaped to Taiwan at age six. (see post one.) For most of her early days in Taiwan, she was sheltered with other Air Force families, only meeting the local children when she went to Middle/High School. (see post two.) 

Upon graduation, this very intelligent woman was accepted into her first choice university: National Taiwan University in Taipei. By this point, she had discovered she was interested in math and science.

Very few girls went into math in the 60's

“But at that time, very few girls would go to that field. So I kind of changed my mind.”

Instead of pure math, she studied economics, then accounting. When she graduated in 1964, and there was a push—and an examination--to send students abroad for further study, Nancy gladly took the challenge. She passed the exam, and decided to attend Oregon State University--as she was offered a tuition waiver, and the cost of living in Oregon was low. Also, as the least expensive transport was Flying Tiger Cargo airlines (what started as military transport), she took that.

“That flight—inside it was not so fancy like a regular airplane. They had seats along the wall-- not like regular seats in commercial airplane.”

"It was not so fancy...they had seats along the wall."

Nancy landed in San Francisco and took a Greyhound to Corvallis, Oregon, enjoying the sightseeing along the way. She was met by a representative from the international affairs office, quickly found a furnished room to live in next to the campus for $30/month, and was heartened by the warm reception she received.
“Corvallis is not that big city. It’s a college town. I just think people are very friendly. On campus people say, ‘hello’ to you even if you don’t know those people. I thought that was really nice.”

(To be continued. Next: Pioneer in Cross-Cultural Relationships.)

Middle School: Like Entering Another World

Statistician and activist Nancy Lo was born in southwestern China, but escaped to Taiwan at age six. (see post one.)

Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek moved his capital from China to Taiwan, and more than a million Chinese fled between 1945-49 with him to escape the Communist takeover. Nancy's family was part of that exodus.  I’ve often heard of people fleeing to Taiwan, but I wondered of the mechanics of it. Do you take everything? Where do you stay? Are the locals welcoming? 
Nancy said that a truck ferried all their family's belongings to and from the airfields. And, when they arrived in Taiwan, villages had been set up for the military and their dependents according to rank. A two-bedroom house was waiting for Nancy and her family in  Lo Chung Village, Kangshan, a small town in  Kaohsiung (高雄). It was a Japanese-style house, as Japan had occupied Taiwan for fifty years (1895-1945.) 

Nancy admits that the influx of over a million Nationalists to this island of roughly 5 million created conflict. In fact, there was something called "228," which referred to a riot between the Taiwanese and the incoming Nationalists on February 28 (Thus the name '228'), 1947.  Thousands of people were killed, and today there is a memorial park remembering the chaos. 

But, at the time, Nancy knew nothing of this. She didn't arrive in Taiwan until 1949. And even when she did move there, she didn't mingle much with the locals.  She attended Air Force Elementary School with other Air Force children.

“I had such a good memory of the time I was in Taiwan, and it just sometimes makes me tears. The school was not that far. The short-cut to get to school would be to cross the river. Sometimes we walked to school. Other students rode their bike. It was just wonderful.”

It wasn’t until she entered middle school that she encountered local Taiwanese students for the first time. 
"While the incoming Nationalist government promoted Mandarin, some Taiwanese students still spoke dialect." So, it was difficult for Nancy to understand her classmates. Additionally, she was used to being insulated in a middle-class bubble. In her new school, the student who scored highest on the entrance exam was a local girl whose father was a butcher. 
“It was kind of like entering another world.”
(To be continued. Next: Oregon's Warm Welcome.)

Activist Lo's Family Last to Leave for Taiwan

Activist and statistician Dr. Nancy Lo was born in  southwest China in DaDing (大定), Guizhou. The name of the city means “big determination”-- something that Nancy is filled with.  I first met her online—as a mutual friend pointed me to her San Diego group, the Association for Preserving Historical Accuracy in Foreign Invasions in China, (aphafic.org). I had the chance to meet her in person when she invited me to discuss Blossoms and Bayonets at their winter meeting in February.

Nancy was born in 1943, a time when Japan occupied many parts of China, but not Guizhou. “We were not in the front area where Japanese soldiers were. We were in the back. So we were pretty safe.”

Her father Wu Chia Lo worked with China’s Air Force. And, after the war (1945), he transferred to the Air Force Institute of Communications. So, their family of seven moved further northwest to Chengdu,  the capital city of Sichuan province. (Today known as “Panda Central.”) By this point China was engaged in a Civil War: the Nationalists (whom her father worked for) against the Communists.  

“We heard people mention, ‘This place was lost or that place was lost’ to the Communists. By 1949, many people had already moved to Taiwan.”

Nancy’s father didn’t see the need to leave.  His friends were telling him that everything would be okay.  In hindsight, those friends were probably Communist spies. Fortunately, Nancy’s mother insisted, “Let’s go."

“We were almost among the last of the Air Force Institute of Communications to leave for Taiwan.”

(To Be Continued. Next: Taiwanese School: Like Entering Another World)

The Change World Needs To See

On May 6th, the weather people predicted rain for the 9th Annual Walk of Remembrance in Pacific Grove. But, as Preservationist Gerry Low-Sabado, Councilmember Ken Cuneo, the good wishes of in-absentia Mayor Bill Kampe, community members, supporters, and descendants of the Chinese village gathered, the sun broke through the clouds--the ultimate metaphor.
For over a decade, Gerry has struggled to get the citizens of Monterey and Pacific Grove to remember their history, which included a Chinese village, which included her great-great grandparents.  She said there was this invisible wall blocking her--and the history of the area--out.
"It's important to rectify things that didn't go so smoothly," Councilmember Cuneo said. "And remember the pioneers of Pacific Grove. We put our arms out and welcome you back to this place you created."
"The 'wall' is gone," Gerry said Saturday through tears of joy. "We are the change that the world needs to see today."
Before the walk, attendees broke into small groups to brainstorm necessary steps to further change with kindness, as a city, as a nation.
The young people (middle school and high school) said it's important to introduce more Chinese culture to students. "We know nothing about the Chinese fishing village. We should learn about the place we live in." 
A point echoed again and again was non-judgmental communication.
"If I listen more than I speak," said one woman. "I can be a bridge."

Walk of Remembrance

Our March BOTP Interviewee Gerry Low Sabado will lead the Annual Walk of Remembrance at the Pacific Grove Museum (165 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove) this Saturday, May 6, starting at 1pm.

U.S. China Relationship Needs to Go Beyond Economics

Former NY Times Asia Correspondent and author Howard French spoke in conversation with Dr. George Koo at the Commonwealth Club in March, and discussed his reason for writing Everything Under the Heavens. French was puzzled as to why the countries in Asia (Japan, Korea, China) did not behave like those in Europe (Germany, France, UK), putting the World War behind them and moving on. (See post one.) He discovered China's size made the comparison impossible. China went from a small country made up of 4 provinces to a giant. (See post two.) From the early 19th-20th Centuries, China suffered from colonization: The Century of Humiliation. But they are back on their feet, "eager to be pre-eminent in the world" (French), "eager to be respected as a peer"(Koo.) (See post three.) 

Moderator George Lewinski: "In China, we have a man who says he wants to 'Make China great again.' In America, we have a man who says he wants to 'Make America great again.' What are your thoughts right now on the current Trump Administration?"

Author Howard French: "...I’m still just dumbfounded every time I see him speak. Every day brings—and I don’t say this just because of an ideological opposition to Trump...But the dumbfoundedness comes from something much more essential than ideology: Twitter. The way he comes across on Twitter. 

This is a person who clearly doesn’t have preparation for the job. He doesn’t have a history of consistent positions that are well thought through. He has a kind of infantile picture of things. His world view stopped developing in the 1980s. I could go on and on. And I don’t know where this is going to go for the United States, specifically, or with the larger relationship with China. I have a hard time imagining that this is going to end well. 

Dr. George Koo: "To make America great again, Trump is going to have to work with China. Because where is he going to get the money and the skills to build up the infrastructure that he promised? And we all know the United States badly needs infrastructure rebuilt. 

"China is already doing it: China Construction America (CCA) based in New Jersey bid and won an already established contract to build and refurbish the Alexander Hamilton Bridge...They are all American workers being supervised by CCA.  

"There’s CRRC, which is a rail car building company. They won a contract to re-supply the subway cars in Chicago. They’re building a plant in Chicago to make those cars.

"There’s an auto-glass company investing in Ohio...They will hire 3,000 employees. They will inject 20-30 million dollars every month into the Ohio economy. 

"This is what the Chinese typically call, 'Win-win arrangements.'"

French: "I don’t want to come across as the Prophet of Doom. But...economic integration between countries has very rarely served as a sufficient buffer to prevent war when other serious differences of national interest come to the fore. I can go back as far as Greece, or up to Syria.  Era after era it happens. I don’t mean to say this because the U.S. and China are predestined to have a war. I don’t think any of us want war. But finding a modus vivendi between these two countries is something that goes well beyond economic matters. It goes to kind of dispositions towards international order that’s barely begun to be worked out, and  needs to have a much more frank sustained and mature conversation.

(This concludes highlights of The U.S. and China in 2017. To listen to the full podcast, visit the Commonwealth Club.)

Of Course China Wants a Say

Former NY Times Asia Correspondent and author Howard French, who spoke in conversation with Dr. George Koo at the Commonwealth Club in March, discussed his reason for writing Everything Under the Heavens. He was puzzled as to why the countries in Asia (Japan, Korea, China) did not behave like those in Europe (Germany, France, UK), putting the World War behind them and moving on. (See post one.) French discovered China's size made the comparison impossible. China went from a small country made up of 4 provinces to a giant. (See post two.)
Moderator George Lewinski: "And then something happened to China and its sense of self..."  
Author Harold French: "What you’re talking about is commonly referred to in China as 'The Century of Humiliation.' 

"The middle of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century when European powers—and in the tail end of the century, also the United States—became involved in a series of imperialist quests around the world. I think it’s easily forgotten by non-specialists the extent of this.  Europe basically conquered and colonized the entire world.  The countries that were not colonized –off the top of my head--I can think of Japan... China was semi-colonized. Protectorates of various kinds were established... This was a great loss to Chinese wealth, to Chinese momentum...China was already –many historians believe—beginning to successfully industrialize when the Europeans showed up in this invasion mode. 
"In recent times, it’s been used as a kind of motif in nationalist education to get young Chinese people in China to adhere to an idea of national rejuvenation or resuscitation...What that all means is that Chinese people should put their shoulders to the wheel and all contribute to this national reconstruction."
Lewinski: "Does it mean China wants to regain its place at the center of Asia?"
French: "...I think if you’re a country of China’s size, if you’re a country of China’s recent economic success, if you’re a country of China’s long history, success in development and innovation and technology and achievement in science, you put those things together and it’s normal...for China to want to be pre-eminent both in its region and in the world."
Dr. George Koo: "...I think Xi Jinping has been expressing that China is not looking to compete as a hegemon and replace the United States in any way whatsoever. China would like to be respected as a peer.. It’s going to be in our national interest –the United States and China—to figure out where to get along. Not figuring out a way to become adversaries. That’s where I think we should be heading."
(To Be Continued. Next: U.S. China Relationship Needs To Go Beyond Economics.)