Patty's Travel Blog - China

Statement

Day Four -- Thursday, January 14, 2010

Part One

We woke up early up early Thursday morning and watched as CNN international continued to show the devastating pictures and video from Haiti. The suffering there is truly heartbreaking and my thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Haiti, Haitian-Americans who are struggling with the loss of life, and families in Washington state who are working to get in touch with their loved ones. I also want to commend the countless Washingtonians who are opening up their pocketbooks or preparing to lend their personal expertise to help the disaster relief efforts.

Here in China things continue to be very busy with the news that Google may pull out of China. We had heard whispers of that yesterday but no one was officially commenting to us.

One thing that was clear throughout every official visit yesterday was how important face-to-face meetings are. The Chinese leaders I met with repeatedly mentioned how important President Obama and Secretary Clinton's visits have been.

The Senators joining me on this trip have been impressive throughout. I was glad to have Senator Bond, who is the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, speak up forcefully on our concerns regarding Iran and North Korea. Senator Burris, a former Attorney General in Illinois, was extremely helpful in adding his expertise regarding piracy.

Another favorite moment of mine this week was when Mr. Lu Yongxiang was explaining that he self taught himself English so he wasn't proficient, but had learned German in school. Senator Burris who had participated in an exchange program in Hamburg immediately began a dialogue with him in their shared language...German.

Today I am looking forward to a meeting we will have with women in China about their role in government and later this afternoon I head to Shanghai. It will be another busy day!

Part Two

This morning we had a very interesting meeting with Madame Meng, Vice Chair of the All-China Women's Federation. She described to us her organizations work to promote women in top level positions, work on educating young girls, and focus women particularly in rural areas on preventative health care for breast cancer and other issues. I was impressed with the respect and level of attention being paid to issues like domestic violence and human trafficking. Ms. Meng said there was much work to be done and we had a really good exchange. I hope she will be able to travel to DC one day to meet the women in the US Senate.

We then met with the Former Chair of the IPG, Mr. Wu Bangguo. I knew him from previous visits. He expressed his desire that the US renew its commitment to the IPG. He and Senators Inouye and Stevens started the IPG in 2004. He asked that I convey his regards. We then had lunch with him and other former members. I must admit a 10 course lunch is beyond my ability to comprehend. Fortunately we spent a great deal of time chatting about Shanghai, the upcoming Expo, and the meetings and issues important to both our delegations rather than trying to eat it all!

We then headed to the airport to start the two hour flight to Shanghai.

I leave Beijing feeling that a lot has changed since my first trip, the traffic has increased dramatically, Americans are not a rarity here anymore, and many factories have left the city. But the people still truly value their relationship with the U.S. It is our responsibility to keep that relationship going.

Part Three

We arrived in Shanghai late due to a delay leaving Beijing. We were met at the airport by officials from Shanghai and boarded a bus to head to the dinner with local officials. We had an interesting discussion during dinner that covered everything from our health care debate, to their one-child policy, to how they wrote their budget.

Shanghai is nothing like Beijing. Beijing is a very old traditional city. Shanghai is neon lights and 18 million people. It's quite a transition in a day!

I am looking forward to tomorrow's schedule as we will be having breakfast with American business leaders and visiting a Chinese school.

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