1980s: China Visits

In 1985, Mom & Pop vacationed in St Maarten. Then, as NY State’s Tax Commissioner working for possible U.S. Presidential candidate Mario Cuomo, I was invited by the Minister of Finance of the Republic of China to make an official state visit with my parents and grandpa – suggested by my NY State colleague Walter Kiang. I gave lectures on tax administration and we toured many sights in Taiwan, including the treasures in The Palace Museum, where a government photographer took photos not permitted by any visitors. 

 

 

 

 

In 1987, I was invited by the Minister of Finance of the People’s Republic of China to make an official state visit with my parents. NY Budget Director, Wayne Diesel & his wife Carol accompanied us on what would be a trip of a lifetime. I was accorded the courtesies of a visiting head of state - with police escorts getting us around traffic everywhere – and provided the accommodations they gave President Nixon and Queen Elizabeth on their China visits. Mom, Pop, & I started in Mom’s hometown of Shanghai, where we were hosted by the Deputy Mayor. We visited Mom’s aunt in the home in which Mom was raised. Visited the headmistress of the former McTyeire girl’s prep school, which Mom had attended. Sightseeing at Jade Spring. On to scenic Hangzhou, my ancestral Song Dynasty capital, and its famed West Lake. In Beijing, we were housed in a villa in Diaoyutai 釣魚臺國賓館, the State Guesthouse – formerly the Qing emperor’s fishing retreat – where the Deputy Finance Minister hosted our stay. The Diesels joined us in Beijing and we climbed the Great Wall together. Dinner with the national Minister of Finance in the Great Hall of the People, then visits to the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City. 

 

 

 

 

On to Xi’An and a banquet dinner of 32 courses of different types of dumplings, a museum with Buddha’s newly discovered ashes, and the Terra Cotta Soldiers dig site. In Nanjing, visited the Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum and Ming Tombs, and paid a return visit to Jiangsu Gov. Gu Xiulian 顾秀莲. – first woman provincial governor in China. To Guilin and a cruise down the majestically scenic Li River and Reed Flute Cave. Paid respects at Guangzhou’s Tomb of the Martyrs and enjoyed a banquet featuring Drunken Shrimp. Fed my ancestors’ spirits at their graves – sited with perfect feng shui – in Yeh-Yeh’s home village of Fow Shek in ToiShan, where the entire school turned out to greet us and we planted a tree before we visited Yeh-Yeh’s home with another ceremony honoring my grandmother. Ended our trip in Hong Kong, visiting Maria and May Lee in their magnificent family villa, Maria’s and Fong Yim Fun 芳艷芬’s art studio, and the Kwan Yin Temple.