Lee Wen Ho, Chinese and China: Another Inconvenient Truth

- Campaigns in Iowa are heating up. (I am getting numerous phone-calls every day from "Iowans for XXX.") But what about all the fuzz on trade and China?

By Thomas Huang

I still remember the summer of 1999, when newspapers, cable networks and websites in China filled their headlines with stories about the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia by the US-led NATO forces and images of frenzied students protesting the atrocities of “American Imperialists.” Six months later came the case of Dr. LEE Wen Ho, a Taiwan-born Chinese American wrongfully accused of spying for Beijing.

At that time, these events were beyond what my seventh-grade mind could possibly interpret. Eight years later, when I had a chance to revisit Dr. Lee’s story, I was struck by the tribulations that still traumatize many newcomers who embark on their journey to the New World with unwithered American dreams. Dr. Lee’s case is another inconvenient truth, not only for the then-Secretary of Energy, Mr. Bill Richardson, but also for the many native-born citizens in this country who forget how their own ancestors came here as immigrants.

Yet beneath the turbulence of ethnic politics, a greater problem is that, as long as the two countries, China (Mainland) the United States, cannot comfortably trust each other, mistrust toward the first-generation Chinese Americans, especially those who work with politically sensitive, state-of-arts technologies like Dr. Lee, will persist in every corner of the social and political paradigm. Similarly, the several E-Coli-contaminated food recalls this year by American companies from domestic markets certainly cannot compete with the similar incidents on Chinese cat-foods in terms of publicity and degree of politicization. Most media news sources will keep on telling the fairy tale that, when there is no more import from China (tomorrow, maybe Vietnam and Thailand as well), the prince and the princess can live happily ever after.

At the Democratic debate in Chicago, candidates refused to clarify whether China is a friend or adversary but agreed to call China a “strategic competitor.” It is not entirely obvious what the euphemism is alluding to, yet one thing is clear: as China exuberantly marches towards industrialization and modernization, fear toward this export juggernaut will not evaporate any time soon. But pointing fingers at China does not teach one how to make structural adjustments or how to take care of the poor in an age of globalized economy without shutting down trade: China is also bogged in its own income-gap problems. American people and their leaders must call on their own wisdom to sort out the mess in domestic distributive justice. But, so far, aside from stereotypical fanfares condemning the great evil of corporate America, few politicians have elucidated the practical economics of trade and taught hard-working Americans how to take advantage of globalization instead of being taken advantage of.

In fact, a more rational voice on trade will fit comfortably into Democrats’ agenda along with other proposals on healthcare, education and green energy. A successful healthcare reform that enables American workers to switch jobs easily without losing healthcare coverage will greatly reduce anxiety in the midst of a structural adjustment. By improving the education system, America will have an even more competitive workforce that can quickly adapt to the demands of the market. By developing renewable or alternative energies, America will not only be able to reduce its reliance on Middle-Eastern oil, but also foster a whole new industry that creates jobs, exports and revenue. Meanwhile, raising import standards and the level of inspection for imported goods would not only ensure that American consumers, especially lower-income families, obtain cheap and safe commodities, but also push producers abroad to adopt better practices in manufacturing. This list goes on and on, but no one in this campaign has even started telling the other side of the story.

Therefore, Dr. Lee Wen Ho’s story is still not the most inconvenient truth for the xenophobes. The more troubling story is that, as the wind of populism blows, many citizens are too easily driven by the campaign rhetoric while shying away from trying to think in a rational way.

Also published in SandB.