[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 2, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM AND FUNG HSIEH

                                 ______


                            HON. BILL BAKER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 2, 1995
  Mr. BAKER of California. Mr. Speaker, today it is my pleasure to 
recognize two remarkable people from my District, William and Fung 
Hsieh. Recently, reporter Ben Fox wrote in one of the leading papers in 
my District, the Tri-Valley Herald, that the Hsieh's are ``an 
advertisement for graceful aging.'' Their remarkable lives and their 78 
years of marriage--yes, 78--have been a testimony to what William 
rightly calls three of the great essentials of marriage: love, mutual 
trust, and reasonableness.
  William, then called Wen-Lung, and Fung were married in 1917 in 
China. In the early 1920's, William traveled to the United States, 
where over the course of 5 years he obtained a doctorate in 
transportation and economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He 
returned to China to become a civil engineer, and was awarded the Medal 
of Freedom from the American Government in 1946 for his work in 
assisting the U.S. Army transport military supplies during the Second 
World War.
  After fleeing China in the wake of the Communist takeover in 1949, 
the Fungs were separated again as William remained in Hong Kong and 
Fung lived in the United States pursuing the citizenship she had lost 
as a result of marrying a foreign national. Eventually, the Hsiehs and 
their eight children arrived in the United States, and William became a 
naturalized citizen in 1986.
  Currently, the Hsiehs live in Livermore, which is a lovely city in 
the East Bay region of the San Francisco area, where they are near 
their son, Ed, and his wife, Cynthia.
  The Hsiehs have much to teach about love, loyalty, and long-term 
commitment. They have weathered many storms in their lives, and yet 
their marriage has endured. In our era of family breakdown, the Hsiehs 
are a welcome reminder of the importance of the traditional values on 
which our country is based. It is a pleasure for me to honor the Hsiehs 
today, and to thank Mr. Fox for his touching piece about this wonderful 
couple.


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