Committee of 100 Newsletter

John S. Chen Chairman, Committee of 100

June 2010

On behalf of the Committee of 100, I wish to express our deepest condolences to Major  General John L. Fugh’s family and friends for their loss. Former Chairman of the Committee, Gen. Fugh passed away on May 11 at the age of 75.

In the past three months, C-100 has completed several successful programs advancing U.S.-China relations and engaging Chinese-Americans. Under the theme of "Envisioning our Future Together," our 19th Annual Conference in San Francisco reviewed topics relating to our core advocacy: how can C-100 build bridges across the Pacific, and how can Chinese-Americans contribute more to our country. The Conference was informative and inspiring for all of us.

One Million a Month Visit USA Pavilion and “The Chinese in America” Exhibit at Shanghai World Expo

April-June 2010 | By Jane Leung Larson

“The Chinese in America: We are Family” Wall is an instant crowd-pleaser in the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. This constantly changing video wall flashes the photos, hometowns, and Chinese family names of over 10,000 Chinese Americans, interspersed with such Chinese American pioneers as AIDS scientist David Ho, Astronaut Leroy Chiao, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, architect I.M. Pei, and YouTube co-founder Steve Chen. Preview the wall on YouTube.

The exhibit especially appeals to World Expo’s Chinese visitors, and Expo officials have featured the “We are Family” wall in Expo promotional brochures, CCTV News, and Bus TV.

The Committee of 100 is a Strategic Partner of the USA Pavilion and created and organized this exhibit. It was also one of five major donors to the USA Pavilion, along with Roger Wang and his company, Golden Eagle.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton singled out the exhibit in speeches and in an op-ed that appeared in the Global Times the day before her Expo visit:

Public Fears, Domestic Problems Too Often Drive China Policy in U.S. and America Policy in China

Out of Sight, Positive Trends Developing

 

April-June 2010 | By Jane Leung Larson

Eminent scholars and retired diplomats and officials from the U.S., Taiwan and China, along with the top-ranking East Asia official in the Obama administration, reflected on the state of U.S.-China relations in panels, keynote speeches and live video feeds at the 19th Committee of 100 Annual Conference in April.

Much discussed at the conference was the impact on the U.S.-China relationship from ill-informed or nationalistic public opinion and new challenges arising from the faster than expected rise of China and the worldwide financial and economic crisis that originated in the United States. As a result, both American and Chinese leaders now must deal with a volatile, sometimes nationalistic citizenry as they attempt to fashion a cooperative approach to climate change, nuclear proliferation, cyberattacks, and terrorism, not to speak of negotiating such persistent problem areas as trade and human rights.

Thorny Immigration Issues Span Asian American-themed Conference Panels

 

April - June 2010 | By Jane Leung Larson

President of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Buck Gee.

The sensitive issue of unwelcome immigrants crossing our borders resonates in American society today just as it did a century ago when the Angel Island Immigration Station opened in San Francisco Bay to process Pacific immigrants, most of them Chinese who sought to live and work in the U.S. in spite of the highly restrictive Chinese Exclusion Act. Today most Chinese Americans are themselves immigrants or the children of immigrants, and the immigration experience continues to be an important part of family stories.

THE COMMITTEE OF 100 MOURNS THE PASSING OF Committee of 100 Chairman John L. Fugh, 1934-2010

April—June 2010 | By Jane Leung Larson

C-100 Chairman John L. Fugh at the Committee of 100 Second Greater China Conference in Beijing, November 2007.

John Liu Fugh, the Committee’s fourth Chairman (2006-2009), died of a heart attack on May 11. The first Chinese American general officer in the U.S. Army and the first minority person to hold the Army’s top uniformed legal post of Judge Advocate General, Major General Fugh will be buried with full military honors in Arlington Cemetery on August 24. Fugh’s early and later years uniquely bridged China and the U.S. at the highest diplomatic levels, and his legacy at the Committee of 100 was to strengthen the organization’s contributions to bettering U.S.-China relations. Current C-100 Chairman John Chen said, “I have deep respect for him.”

U.S. Appeals Court Nominee Goodwin H. Liu Supported for Confirmation by Committee of 100

April-June 2010 | By Jane Leung Larson

On May 26, the Committee of 100 issued a statement in support of U.S. Senate confirmation of Goodwin H. Liu, whom President Obama has nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco. On May 13, Liu’s nomination was approved by the Senate’s Judiciary Committee by a party-line vote. If Liu is confirmed, he would be the third Chinese American and first Taiwanese American appellate court judge in U.S.

If confirmed, Liu would be the only Asian American appellate court judge in the Ninth Circuit, the region with highest APA population.

Members Meet Officials and Delegations from Hong Kong and China in New York

April-June 2010| By Jane Leung Larson

A good friend of the Committee, C.H. Tung, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference and former Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, met with New York members to discuss U.S.-China relations on May 7. During his visit to the U.S., Tung spoke to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about the importance of mutual understanding and trust. His China-United States Exchange Foundation was formed to support activities furthering such understanding. Attending the Committee meeting with Tung were Anla Cheng, David Chu, James Li, Henry Tang, Oscar Tang, Lulu C. Wang, and Alice Young.

Experts Offer Insights on U.S.-China and Chinese American Issues

April - June 2010 | By Yong Lu

C-100 Chair John Chen opens 19th Annual Conference.

The Committee of 100 19th Annual Conference convened this April in San Francisco, welcoming more than 600 guests to the Conference and Awards Gala, including 65 C-100 members from all over the world.

The opening reception at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco was hosted by Wells Fargo. Michael Cohen, Director of San Francisco Economic & Workforce Development, delivered welcoming remarks, joined by Jay Xu, Director of Asian Art Museum and Anne Copeland, Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo’s Private Banking.

Four C-100 Bay Area members co-chaired this long-planned event: CEO and President of Broadvision, Inc. Pehong Chen, Former President and CEO of United Commercial Bank Doreen Woo Ho, Chief Legal Officer of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP Lawrence Low, and Founder and Director of Union Square Investments Leslie Tang Schilling.

China’s Globalizing Economy

April - June 2010 | By Jane Leung Larson

Looking over the economic horizon five or ten years, speakers at the San Francisco conference reflected on what we might see as China continues to drive its economic growth through globalization.

Dominic Barton

China as a major trade partner as well as an investor through numerous sovereign wealth funds has made a great impact on the global economic system. For example, said keynote speaker Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company, Chinese brands are going global. China has been the first to “re-discover Africa” and has revived historic trade routes like the old Silk Road from China to the Middle East and Africa. Barton said that China has many sovereign wealth funds investing in foreign entities, and American companies should not be left behind. Many multinationals are dong well in China, said Barton, as long as they make a commitment to understanding the complex Chinese market. “You can’t dabble. You must plant a flag. Either come in or stay away.”

C100 One of Nine Organizations Denouncing Racial, Ethnic Statements in Lawsuit against JM Eagle

April-June 2010 | By Jane Leung Larson

On April 15, the Committee of 100 joined eight other Asian American, Jewish, African American and Hispanic groups in issuing an open letter criticizing the repeated use of “gratuitous references to Asian ethnicity” in a legal document that initiated a whistleblower lawsuit against JM Eagle, owned by Walter Wang, which alleges the world’s largest manufacturer of PVC and plastic pipes “sold nonconforming pipes to government entities.”