[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 64 (Tuesday, May 19, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H3481-H3482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                JASON HU--A MODERN DIPLOMAT WITH VISION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, in the April 10 edition of the Central 
Daily News, published in Taipei, there was an excellent article about 
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Jason Hu. Jason was the former Taiwan 
representative in Washington, D.C. and a friend to many of us on the 
Hill.
  I would like to ask the permission to print the article, in an 
English translation by Professor N. Mao, for the reference of my 
colleagues and friends.

                Jason Hu--a Modern Diplomat With Vision

       Will Jason Hu be the ruling Kuomintang candidate to run for 
     Mayor of the city of Taipei?
       This topic stirred up considerable speculation in the 
     offices of the Taipei Economic Cultural Representative Office 
     in Washington, D.C. Most of Jason Hu's former assistants 
     professed high confidence in Jason Hu's waging a successful 
     campaign for the job, but they would prefer to see Jason stay 
     on as the Republic of China's Foreign Minister.
       One close aide of Jason's commented that the Republic of 
     China's diplomatic work needs someone like Jason, a non-
     career but highly innovative diplomat with fresh ideas and 
     vision. Nearly all of Jason's former aides expressed the view 
     that they would not want to see Jason leave his current post 
     as Foreign Minister.


                 breakthrough in Taipei-U.S. relations

       Will Jason Hu run for the office of the Mayor of Taipei? 
     Someone who knows Jason well commented that Jason would not 
     have any intention of running for the office, but if Jason 
     were asked by the Kuomintang, Jason will run. Why? Jason is 
     very loyal to the party.
       If the Kuomintang can't find any other candidate to run for 
     the office and if the Kuomintang leaders keep asking Jason to 
     run, Jason will run.
       Jason is not a career diplomat. During his tenure as 
     Taipei's highest ranking diplomat in Washington, D.C., Jason 
     shed outdated conventions and emerged a winner in gaining new 
     friends for his country during a period of diplomatic low 
     tide between Washington and Taipei.
       In June 1996, Jason assumed the post as Taipei's 
     representative in Washington, D.C. Immediately after arrival 
     in Washington, he was an enthusiastic participant in 
     activities sponsored by other diplomats, the U.S. Congress, 
     think-tanks, international organizations, U.S. Government 
     officials and any other persons or groups, whether or not 
     their countries recognize Taipei.
       He would meet with anyone if he thought that person would 
     enhance Taipei's diplomatic interests. Jason is a man full of 
     self-confidence, wit, humor, sincerity and considerable 
     personal charm. During his short tenure in Washington, he was 
     a highly visible diplomat and even earned the admiration of 
     diplomats in the U.S. State Department for his 
     professionalism. In fact, during Jason's fifteen months in 
     Washington, he won the confidence of the United States 
     Government, acceptance of the diplomatic corps, respect of 
     the overseas Chinese in the United States and loyalty of his 
     colleagues. He was also popular with the press.
       It has been less than 8 years since Jason Hu entered 
     government office.
       When he first served as the government's spokesman, he 
     impressed everyone with his leadership abilities. But what 
     distinguished him the most was his service as Taipei's top 
     diplomat in Washington. Before he came to Washington, Taipei 
     maintained low-level contacts with the U.S. Government. But 
     with Jason's efforts, within half a year after Jason's 
     arrival in Washington, the level of contacts between Taipei 
     and Washington was significantly upgraded. Moreover, being a 
     non-career diplomat, Jason was an innovative diplomat with 
     new ideas.
       His activities in Washington extended far beyond 
     traditional diplomatic circles; he had direct contacts with 
     many international organizations stationed in Washington.


                          persistent jason hu

       A man full of self-confidence Jason is gifted with the 
     ability to foster a favorable environment for talks with 
     friends and strangers. For protocol reasons, he could not be 
     formally addressed as ``Ambassador Hu'' in Washington but 
     could be properly addressed as ``Doctor Hu'' of Oxford 
     University.
       No one could ignore his impressive Oxonian credentials. In 
     1995 Jason held a face-to-face dialogue with Dr. Kissinger 
     and he equaled Kissinger in terms of knowledge and sharp 
     analytical ability. Jason is a confident man but definitely 
     not an arrogant man.
       In fact, Jason can make any adversary happy to be in his 
     company.
       After a few witty introductory remarks, Jason will make his 
     listener eager for more conversation. When the ``chemistry'' 
     is right, Jason tries his best to persuade his adversary of 
     his viewpoints. Even though differences of opinion may 
     persist Jason never allows his adversary to feel 
     confrontational.
       Even though Jason Hu has left Washington for more than six 
     months, friends still talk about his innovative personal 
     style in approaching friends and foe.
       Another characteristic of Jason's is his persistence. In 
     April 1997, during Speaker

[[Page H3482]]

     Gingrich's Asian tour the Speaker and his delegation made a 
     whirlwind 4-hour stop in Taipei.
       At first, everyone, including Gingrich himself, believed 
     that it was not possible to add Taipei to the Speaker's Asian 
     itinerary, but Jason Hu persisted in asking the Speaker to 
     reconsider his itinerary. Finally, he convinced the Speaker 
     of the uttermost importance for the delegation to stop in 
     Taipei. Gingrich relented and squeezed in four precious hours 
     in Taipei.
       At about the same time, in a number of articles the New 
     York Times mentioned the ``Taiwan factor,'' implying Taiwan 
     was a troublemaker in U.S. relations with China. Jason Hu 
     repeatedly communicated with the editors of the New York 
     Times, trying to convince them of Taipei's perspectives. As a 
     result of Jason's efforts, the New York Times has not again 
     mentioned the ``Taiwan factor.''


                      jason hu--a man of potential

       After the 1996 U.S. elections, Jason Hu visited former 
     Senator Robert Dole, former National Security Advisor Tony 
     Lake and former Secretary of Defense William Perry, briefing 
     them of the developments in Taiwan.
       It appears that Messrs Dole, Lake and Perry all have now 
     developed a good understanding of the issues affecting 
     Taiwan. Jason Hu deserves credit for making these opinion-
     makers aware of Taiwan's developments.
       Will Jason Hu run for the Taipei mayoral seat? The answer 
     will come in May of this year. Considering Jason Hu's 
     electability and potential, he will be a winning card for the 
     Kuomintang.

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