[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 15, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S214-S215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DR. CHI WANG

  Mr. RISCH. Madam President, today I wish to honor the long and 
distinguished career of Chi Wang, Ph.D. The year 2018 marked the 90th 
anniversary of the creation of the Chinese Section at the U.S. Library 
of Congress in 1928. Dr. Wang spent nearly 50 years working at the 
Library of Congress, ultimately serving as the head of the Chinese and 
Korean section until his retirement in 2004.
  Dr. Chi Wang came to the United States from China as a high school 
student in 1949. He completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in 
the Washington, DC, area, ultimately earning a Ph.D. in American 
diplomatic history from Georgetown University in

[[Page S215]]

1969. He also began pursuing his own American dream by becoming a U.S. 
citizen, getting married, starting a family and starting a career at 
the Library of Congress.
  Dr. Wang worked for 3 years at the State Department's Foreign Service 
Institute before starting at the U.S. Library of Congress. He served in 
several positions during his 47-year career at the Library and reached 
the position of head of the Chinese and Korean section in 1975, which 
he held until he retired. During his tenure, he expanded the library's 
Chinese collection from 300,000 volumes to more than 1 million. Under 
his guidance, the Library of Congress became a top resource for the 
study of China in the United States. Dr. Wang met with countless U.S. 
Representatives, Senators, officials, and academics to help them 
effectively use the Library resources.
  After President Nixon traveled to China in 1972, Dr. Wang embarked on 
a trip to China in his role at the Library of Congress to promote 
library and educational exchanges. The trip was a great success, 
leading to future exchanges, large book acquisitions, and an increase 
in mutual understanding between the U.S. and China during a very 
delicate time when the two countries were only just beginning to 
establish ties.
  Although the Library of Congress Chinese section was abolished and 
its collection integrated into the larger Asian division, the legacy of 
the Chinese collection and the contributions Dr. Wang made to develop 
this important resource still remains. His efforts over the years have 
helped deepen the U.S. understanding of China, something that is 
especially necessary today. Professor Wang continues to dedicate his 
time to improving U.S.-China mutual understanding as the cofounder and 
president of the Washington, DC-based nonprofit, the U.S.-China Policy 
Foundation. He also contributes his own scholarship in the field, 
having published multiple books and articles on U.S.-China relations.
  Dr. Wang still remembers fondly his decades working at the Library of 
Congress. What started simply as a job turned into a career and 
lifelong passion. He especially enjoyed the times he met with various 
Members of Congress.
  As we, again, face a challenging time in U.S.-China relations, the 
resources and information available in the Library of Congress can help 
in providing increasingly useful information in understanding the 
complex and ever-changing U.S.-China relationship.

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