A Family Journey

Dear Ling,

First of all, I'd like to show my respect to your great-grandfather, Dr. Wu Lien-teh. As a pioneer to "modernize China's medical services and medical education", he did great job to help Chinese people, and he is honored by Chinese people. I found a biography book of him, , 王哲 著, 福建教育出版社, 2007年。Here is the link to this book:
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9307505

Secondly, I don't agree with you on your opinion about Lei Feng. Lei Feng is honored by Chinese people for his "selflessness, modesty, and dedication", not because he was "utterly loyal to the Party" as you said. Lei Feng was always kind, warm-hearted, and always be ready to help other people. When he was a student, he studied hard. When he was a worker (in several different fields), he worked hard. when he was a soldier, he trained hard. No matter in what kind of position, he was dedicated to his job (role) and did great work. He died on duty. That's why Chinese people honor him, just like we honor your great-grandfather.

dmpclipid is right,

Lei Feng is just an ordinary man who died on duty and did not get much honor until his death. Lei Feng and other ordinary people were honored by the communist party, because Mao and the communists believed the mass of ordinary people "Qun Zhong" are the driving force of the history instead of emperors, generals, and politician, as traditionally/historically viewed in China.

Ordinary/poor people, in 5000-year of Chinese history, were regarded "subjects" or "objects" of the emperors and the ruling class, until the nationalist (Dr. Sun Ye-sian's party, now in Taiwain) and communist ideas came. I think to the honoring of Lei Feng and other early ordinary people, Zhang SiDe and Dr. Norman Bethune, is a great leap and advance forward for the Chinese society, toward democracy and humanity, if you like.

Therefore, I would rather regard the honoring "Lei Feng" as a way of honoring an ordinary citizen who performed his duty, and scarified his life for his duty, just like you farther did. He died so young though, without having any offspring. That is the saddest thing for a Chinese, in a traditional view.

You said: “As China modernizes at speed, its icons are resembling those of other developed nations: athletes, pop stars, entrepreneurs. To some extent, that represents a normalization of Chinese society.”

What is “normalization”? Obviously, your norm is from a western standard. I would use the world “materialization”.

Big difference is that Dr. Wu Lien Teh is real, Lei Feng is fake, created by CCP fantasy.

Obviously, people are facing identity crisis, particularly older folks - to side with CCP fantasy or to reconcile with reality.

All young goons and thugs Fengqi, as well as Ms. Ling Wu Liu are equally ignorant of the past and present.

"Big difference is that Dr. Wu Lien Teh is real, Lei Feng is fake, created by CCP fantasy."

That's why Lei Feng should be even more respected. This is a new China. Fake is good. Fantasy is even better.

I must congratulate Dr Wu for his foresight to move back to Malaya. If he did and stayed till CCP took over, his family, like most returnees from abroad,especially those well to do ones, and received higher education from foreign countries, would not survive the endless power and class struggles, and certainly not the cultural revolution. He may still be honored now, but without any family or descendants to watch the ceremony.

I just wonder how the doctor would treat the stiff neck resulting from this:

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5e9f35ea0100er93.html

Warning: These people have been under extensive training to be able to hold their heads this way so that they can figure out where is "front". So, kids, don't try this at home, or you will find yourself a member of the Chinese Armed Police.

Ms. Ling Woo Liu

You should have written more about the place where your great grandfather 伍连德 (Ng Leen-tuck) was born. A place has significant contribution and influence on modern Chinese history, it is called Pulau Pinang, known as Penang 槟城 in Chinese. Dr. Sun Yet-Sen planned the entire Canton uprising in Penang, and had most of his anti-imperial Qing revolution fundraising solicited there. Penang produced numerous high ranking KMTs, as well as CCPs. A private Chinese high school by the name of Chung Ling High school in George Town (small capital of Penang) inspired 27 of its alumni to be graduates from Huangpu military academy 黄埔军校, later all serving both KMT and CCP efforts in anti-Japanese invasion. Penang also produced numerous elite ministers in LKY's cabinet from Singapore independence to the very present day. Penangite is more “Chinese” than anyone from Taiwan, HKG, mainland combined.

Another place you should do research and write about is Taishan (台山), your great grandfather's ancestral village. This place produced 7 million overseas Chinese worldwide but only has less than one million in population today. The current US Commerce Secretary and former Governor of Washington State Gary Loke is a descendent of Taishan immigrant to “Gold Mountain”. The former Governor General of Canada The Right Honorable Adrienne Louise Clarkson (伍冰枝) is also a Taishan descendent, she could be your distant relative.

So much for this, listen to what Gao Ren Gull-up Long (incidentally a Penang veteran roller coaster rider in modern Chinese history) has to say today:

中共宪法，已悄然取消反革命条款。
以言入罪，也违背唯物论原则。
知而不言， 文人无行，难怪竖子当道， 奈何！
不言不快
___________________________________________

万里长征者, 非红军, 实国军, 藉追剿之机, 清扫沿途军阀, 以备统一抗曰.

红军无以为敌, 万里逃命, 四度赤水, 无非借土军阀私念, 挡中央军之追逐. 计不得逞， 惟朝死绝之地逃命，翻雪山，过草地，但求死里逃生，何言光荣，侥幸如己。

遵义夺权，率众六万，逃抵吴起，不足三千，前无去路，毛酋当诛，以平军心。

天地不仁。杨成武偶而发现陕北土共，毛氏虚张声势，挑播离间，杀刘子丹，收买高岗，雀巢鸠占，反客为主，稍得喘停，井岗山故智也。

张学良花花公子，不思蒋氏保全之恩，反藉剿共之机，养匪自重，暗通莫斯科，窃以为仿新疆康世恩，取得苏联军械支持，不但取蒋氏而代之（蒋氏购买德国军火己难），兵压廷安残卒，固一世之雄也。

斯大林两刀三面，，拥蒋氏抗日，保延安残喘，绝后顾日军之忧。张学良投机失败, 枉作小人，附蒋氏以保命, 民族罪人也。

毛氏乘机扩张，发国难财，八年抗战，国军捐躯将领，几近三百，元气伤尽。反观共方，仅左权一人，死于航空意外。

其间毛氏屡次利用国军力量，暗通情报，清除党内异已，如陈浩祥，张国焘，项英，手段毒辣阴险之极。

蒋氏急于重建，陈诚遣散东北50万兵力，林彪乘虚而入，一夜暴富，兵力军火，转弱为强，岂真天意也。

毛氏以自身八字全阴为念，开国大典，选时下午三时，以避午前阳气，唯物论者，欺世愚民也。

毛氏无能，蛮干糊搞，独夫自逞，死难上镱，尤以伟人之姿，高居庙堂，涂脂抹粉，无耻至此，夫复何言。

陈云称毛氏‘开国有功，建国无能，文革有罪'。

究之，毛氏‘乱（中华民）国有罪，建（中华人民共和）国无能，文革罪大滔天（毛秘书李锐语），庶几近矣。

Another die-hard patriotic overseas Chinese (from Indonesia) Gao Ren Liu 高人刘老 has this to say today:

_________________________

濟世狂言：華僑愛國超凡入聖

北京大學者楊憲益一九九○年寫詩：「世事而今盡倒顛，羨君海外獲桃源。迎來亞運強充胖，一見華僑便要錢。人血饅頭難續命，狗皮膏藥豈延年。會看三峽功成日，一片汪洋浪接天。」如今中國政府人民幣多得不得了，各級官員已不會「一見華僑便要錢」了。然而，華僑一旦事業成功，不必任何人提醒，都會報效國家。前日在香港華僑華人總會聯歡會上，見到李常盛、李碧葱伉儷，知道他倆多年來到處捐資興學，造福了大量少年兒童，我表示衷心佩服！

這次聯歡會自始至終都有人唱愛國歌曲，而且富含毛澤東色彩，《東方紅》當然要大合唱，梁淦基會長更帶頭唱毛語錄歌《世界是你們的》，還唱《到農村去到邊疆去》，上山下鄉的生活艱辛備嘗，但其時大家充滿理想，苦中有甜也值得回味。我感覺最可惜是大家不多唱新疆民歌，不多跳維吾爾族舞蹈。

新知舊雨歡聚，免不了要談一下國家大事，我說：「近日重判三名新疆罪犯，我當然不知道量刑是否適當，但非常時期用非常手段，似乎無可非議；不過我對官方傳媒強調三人是『維族人』非常反感，這只會加深民族矛盾，無助解決問題。就像『文革』時期，那時法庭癱瘓，逮捕法辦靠批鬥大會，判刑勞改靠公審大會。我經歷過萬人批鬥，發言者無不強調『反革命分子劉濟昆』是華僑，那當然是殺一儆百，四川、貴州的華僑知道了無不發抖，最後個個想申請出國，『敬而遠之』地愛黨愛國。如今新疆，判刑針對罪犯個人就可，不可針對群體或民族。」

劉濟昆

Dear Ling,

I read your article with great pride. You write very well. I have the utmost respect for Dr Wu Lien-teh. I have followed his life history & his work most of my life. In my humble opinion, the honor of being the ultimate hero should go to Dr Wu.

Whilst I have not met you, I met your sibling several years ago.

Why am I familiar with Dr Wu's life story? Well, he was my great grand uncle.

Yvonne

I mean that what a very friendly and polite and meanwhile not formal sentence could be to utter when you see a friend and come to know that her/his loved one has gone abroad. Will somebody name a site helpful in such kind of language problems?
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2149951