Aesthetic Diplomacy —Republic of China

Function Scenario: Opening Ceremony of MOFA Office Building
Venue: MOFA Banquet Hall, 5th floor
Date: August 1971

Advanced Communication Series—Special Occasion Speeches, Project 2 Speaking in Praise

ROC Foreign Minister's opening address on Aesthetic Diplomacy —Republic of China!

Vice Premier Chiang, Chairman Chen, Ambassador McConaughy, Distinguished Ambassadors, Ladies and gentlemen, Good Afternoon!

Welcome to the Opening Ceremony of MOFA Office Building, Republic of China!

It is a big day for MOFA today as MOFA has a new home, designed and built by the most prominent architect in the Republic of China, Architect Wang Da-hong.

I'd first like to express the heartfelt appreciation to US Government and Taiwan Province for providing the precious land in adjacent to the Presidential Hall and the Taipei Guest House.

I'd like to thank Architect Wang for agreeing to build MOFA office within a short notice. Wang won the design competition of National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in 1965. During his tight schedule in building the national hall representing the father of our nation and his spirit of revolution, he completed MOFA office building in 14 month.

Mr. Wang was born in Beijing in 1917, son of celebrated law expert Wang Chung-hui, the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China. Mr. Wang was bought up by his grandmother in Suzhou. At age of 12, He went to high school in Switzerland where Spartan education was applied.

After graduating from Architecture Department in Cambridge in 1939, Mr. Wang continued his studies at Harvard where he and Ieoh Ming Pei were students of first generation architect Walter Gropius who taught them about modernism.

Wang opened a joint architect firm in Shanghai in 1947. He moved to Taipei in 1952. Wang holds very specific aesthetic views. He applies strict spatial rules. He believes less is more. With Wang's Suzhou background, he introduced interesting Chinese elements to functionalist modern buildings in the Republic of China.

MOFA office building was commissioned to Mr. Wang in 1969 with the theme of simplicity and modesty. Mr. Wang applied his aesthetic diplomacy in the symmetrical structure with two arms standing forward to embrace friendship from all over the world and to reinforce the image of stability of the Republic of China. The white walls of small mosaic tiles give MOFA a taste of dignity and solemnity.

Wang is an architect of arts, music, literature. He wrote his English novel Phantasmagoria when he studied at Harvard University. He translated Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" into Chinese, changed the scene from high society in London in late 19th century to that in Taipei in the middle of 20th century. Wang considered it an opportunity to hone his language skills in Mandarin. What a diligent and outstanding architect in pursuit of perfectionism.

My fellow diplomats colleagues, with the completion of MOFA office building, we can work in an elegant office with beautiful rectangular windows in odd numbers of 3 and 5 signifying the scrolls of Chinese paintings. Enjoy the fresh air and practice Tai chi during the coffee break at MOFA atrium gardens. Mr. Kissinger met Mr. Zhou last month. The Republic of China is losing the security council seat at United Nations any moment. Let's embrace the tremendous challenges held in store for us. Let's stay modest and proud by serving our country to the best of our abilities. No matter how strong the storm we shall face, we have faith in the fate of our country.

Allow me to propose a Toast to aesthetic diplomacy of Republic of China!

Long live the Republic of China!

Reference:
June 30, 1971 President Nixon spoke by phone with Walter McConaughy, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Taiwan. Nixon told McConaughy to, "Just say that we, that our—as far as the Republic of China is concerned that we have—we know who our friends are. And we are continuing to continue our close, friendly relations with them." Nixon explained that the U.S. would not support throwing Taiwan out of the United Nations, but he said there was no way to prevent Taiwan from losing the Security Council seat.
At the same time, Nixon stressed, "But we must have in mind, and they must be prepared for the fact, that there will continue to be a step-by-step, a more normal relationship with the other—the Chinese mainland. Because our interests require it. Not because we love them, but because they're there." Nixon noted the Taiwan government had just sent a nice wedding gift for his daughter. He said that if he were in their situation, he wouldn't worry about staying in the UN: "I would just say the hell with the UN. What is it anyway? It's a damn debating society. What good does it do?" Nixon went on to say that the Chinese, if they had a decent system of government, would be an economic powerhouse. (State Department, Office of the Historian)

Time magazine, July 26, 1971

National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger met with Premier Zhou. On July 15, 1971

Aesthetic Diplomacy--Wang Da-hong

I wish to express my appreication to Toastmaster Charles Teng, Immediate Past President of MOFA Toastmasters Club. He gave me a grand tour of MOFA building for my C7 speech (Research Your Topic) this afternoon, March 26th!

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Welcome to MOFA Toastmasters Club! What is your first impression about the white building of Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Did you notice the hand-chiseled 8 pillars of the entrance arcade?

Fellow Toastmasters, good afternoon! Among all prominent Taiwanese architects, Mr. Wang Da-hong certainly comes on top of the list. He is the laureate of National Culture Award in 2014. He is the architect of MOFA office building.

At age of 97, Wang shares his secret about his keen eyesight. Every morning before he gets up from bed, he looks around four corners of his bedroom to massage his eyes. To see is to believe!

Wang was born in Beijing in 1917, son of celebrated law expert Wang Chung-hui, the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China.

Wang was bought up by his grandmother in Suzhou. At age of 12, He went to high school in Switzerland where Spartan education was applied. After graduating from Architecture Department in Cambridge in 1939, Wang continued his studies at Harvard. He and Ieoh Ming Pei were students of first generation architect Walter Gropius (1883-1969） who taught them about modernism.

After World War II, Wang founded a firm in Shanghai in 1947 and moved to Taipei in 1952. Wang holds very specific aesthetic views. He applies strict spatial rules. He believes less is more. With Wang's Suzhou background, he introduced interesting Chinese elements to functionalist modern buildings in Taiwan.

Wang won the design competition of the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in 1965. The building represents the father of our nation and his spirit of revolution. The yellow roof is a hat, the front is tilt upward to see the bright future of our country.

Wang was invited to build MOFA office in 1969 with the theme of simplicity and modesty. Wang's aesthetic diplomacy is found in the symmetrical structure with two arms standing forward to reinforce the image of stability. The rectangular windows in odd numbers of 3 and 5 signifies the scrolls of Chinese paintings. The white walls of small mosaic tiles give MOFA a taste of dignity and solemnity.

Wang is an architect of literature. He wrote his English novel Phantasmagoria when he studied at Harvard University. He translated the novel of Oscar Wilde’s "The Picture of Dorian Gray" into Chinese, and changed the scene from high society in London to that in Taipei in the 50s.

After Wang settled in Taiwan in 50s, he never went back to UK, US, he didn't travel abroad. He leads his life on this land, Taiwan. Wang is not a showman, he is a quiet hero. A crowned reticent poet of architecture, Wang believes architecture bridges the gap of ideals and reality.

It feels blissful that we can enjoy MOFA Toastmasters Club meetings at such an exquisite and magnificent building designed by a great architect of the Republic of China, Mr. Wang Da-hong!

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Bologna Illustrators Exhibition

I bought the discount ticket to Bologna Illustrators Exhibition (2/14 ~ 4/6) at the CKS Memorial Hall before Chinese New Year. Since then, I had look forward to selected illustrations from all over the world.

Among seven days a week, I'm free on Mondays. I work on Tuesday and Friday mornings. I have dance classes Wednesdays and Thursdays. On weekends, I prefer to stay home to avoid the crowd.

When my brother informed me of the family tomb-sweeping on March 30th (Monday), I knew I had to see the exhibition as soon as possible. Today would be the last Monday before the exhibition comes to an end. I arrived at CKS before 10 in the rain. I left my raincoat at the information center.

The prepaid ticket of NT$250 covers one-day admission and an audio-guide. In order to see as much of the exhibition as possible, I stayed at the exhibition for more than four hours, including a coffee break for 30 minutes and a drawing break at the designated area for another 30 minutes.

It was exciting to see many techniques and media used by the world famous illustrators. It was inspiring to read many illustrated stories. I like the story of seven penguins traveling around the world and the fate of dust particles before and after the clean-up from Korean illustrators.

The World At TMU

Dr. Val Crawford gave me a copy of "The World at TMU—International Students Share Their Stories" after my visit to TMU International Office yesterday afternoon, March 19th.

I met Val at TMC TMC meeting Wednesday evening, March 14th. She gave me valuable suggestions after she listened to my international speech "Seven Minutes and Thirty Seconds". I wrote her a thank-you email after I got home and Val invited me for lunch at TMU the following week.

I rode my scooter to TMU and found a parking space right in front of the hospital. I saw Val waiting for me at the Starbucks Café. She gave me a hug and a caramel waffle. Wow, sweet Val, I love sweets. Val suggested her fluent Café Chuang (since 1986) and I didn' t mind trying new restaurants. It felt good to reconnected with TMU campus after almost four decades.

TMU has grown a lot, it is like a small university town. The old clock has been relocated. I had the sense of homecoming when I saw the clock. I could remember good old times at various cafeterias on Wu-xin Street corners. I won the nickname of hippopotanous (I weighed 70 kilograms). It wouldn’t be hard to imagine how much I enjoyed eating back then.

It was fun to read The World at TMU 2014. I knew some of them as Toastmasters. I noticed that they were quite a few internaqtional students from Mongolia. Most international students are relustant to join Toastmasters because of the membership fees. Maybe a gavel club can solve the problem.

A Bilingual Cat in Disguise

Somebody has to say something! If not me, who? If not now, when? There is a joke about a bilingual mother cat who gives a lesson to her kittens about the importance of a foreign language when they encounter a junkyard dog on the street. What if the bilingual cat crosses the line to fetch the food in the territory of the canine world?

In this flat world now, many people speak more than one language to see the world with more perspectives. The multilingual people are more humble and modest, because they know the world is so big that there are all kinds of people in existence.

But if people of language skills take advantage of the system, say in Toastmasters, it's disturbing. Take bilingual Toastmasters clubs, for example, they seize the opportunity to compete at contests of different languages. They cross the line to another territory, namely another area to loot. Being a toastmaster, I'm obliged to safeguard the system, in the name of Fairness.

Birds of a feature flock together, so are people. I am a polyglot, and I am proud of myself. But I shall stay away from those bilingual cats in disguise. There is a Chinese saying, "If you live with a lame person you will learn to limp. 近朱者赤，近墨者黑". People just can't be too careful to be selective about friends in the human societies, including the Toastmasters.

7’30”

I was lucky to rehearse my international speech at Taipei Medical University Toastmasters Club (TMU TMC) Wednesday evening, March 11th.

It was a chilly and rainy evening. I put on my raincoat, rode my frayed scooter in the mist of dim street light, meandered through small slippery alleys, asked a trembling food vendor for directions, saw the road sign of Wu-Xin Street, parked my scooter in front of a dental clinic, walked through Taipei Medical University Hospital, got lost on campus, asked for directions from a security guard, eventually I made it through the labyrinth, reached Room 8004, Teaching Building, Taipei Medical University, just on time for social gathering session, 15 minutes before the regular weekly meeting.

The warm-up variety session was entertaining. Toastmaster Anas Khalil from Jordan, a PhD student at Department of Pharmacy, hosted the session. Anas must have prepared a lot of time collecting celebrity photos of past and present. We were requested to find missing halves in a group of 30 Toastmasters members and guests. I was given the present photo of Nicolas Cage and Toastmaster Andrew Lee had the young Nicolas.

At the first sight of Nicolas, I thought he was Oscar Wilde, the author of the Picture of Dorian Gray. Gradually, Nicolas came to my mind. Nicolas played in many movies, the most impressive one that flashed over my mind was Face Off. I saw that movie by myself at Plum Blossom Theater near the Mall on Dun-hua South Road many years ago. Half way through the movie, I had an urge to leave, because it was so horrifying. But I stayed, finished the movie, and liked it. And I remember it.

Andrew and I volunteered to share our story about Nicolas Cage. Anas gave us beautiful souvenirs of fridge magnet from Dubai as tokens of apprencitation for our active participation. Being a movie fan myself, I need to know more about the past of celebrities and their endeavours to become who they are today.

I might've stayed at home watching DVDs from Taipei City Library, if I was not invited to TMU TMC TMC. I was glad I accepted the invitation to get another chance to rehearse my international speech. Luckily Former District 67 Governor Mike Yang was my individual evaluator. He gave a lot of feedback for my improvement, such as facial expression, body movement, blocking, I really appreciated it.

Professor Vallaurie Crawford was the language evaluator. She listened carefully to my speech and gave comments about the wording of my speech. Being a native speaker of the English language and professor of English, she stressed the correct usage of words with right connotations.

In my speech, I mentioned when I was young and “insatiable”. The reason I used "insatiable" is to stress the over-supply and insatiable demand in the market. I had no idea what-so-ever, “insatiable” has sexual connotation, especially for a woman. Who knows, maybe it was sheer luck, a dead rat fell into a blind cat's clutches,  I was young and "insatiable" after all.

Dr. Val also commented about my use of "causes" in the sentence, "I found the value of my life when I offer my helping hands for free for bigger and more meaning causes". She suggested that I use purposes. And I took her advice accordingly.

I was lucky to rehearse my international speech in cold early spring rain Wednesday evening for three reasons. Firstly, I had a seasoned Toastmaster Mike Yang to evaluate my speech; secondly, I had an English professor to check my vocabulary; thirdly, I had the chance to speak in front of a group of energetic and enthusiastic students of alma mater. What a fruitful evening to feel thankful and grateful!

Friends from Afar

Emiko already checked in Grand Hotel Room 1201 when I received her email after I came home from the lecture on Food Safety at Anatonia Formosa Association Saturday afternoon, March 7th.

Emiko likes Taiwan. She enjoys Taiwanese food, scenery, and people. Emiko and I met two decades ago at a language school in chambery, France. We have kept in touch ever since. Emiko is more interested in the English language now. For me, I stopped learning French after I shifted my interest to Japanese two decades for at least three reasons. My parents-in-law spoke Japanese fluently. There are more Japanese speaking people than French speaking people in the world. Japan is close to Taiwan.

Last week, I borrowed the Story of Four Seasons by Eric Romer from Taipei City Library. After watching 4 DVDs with subtitles in French, I regained my interest in the French language. I found it easy now to study French with on-line Larousse dictionary by listening to real people pronunciation of examples. I considered living in France for some time in the future to bring back old memories.

Emiko invited two of her belly dance friends to Taipei this time. On Sunday, we visited the Gold Museum at Kinkaseki 金瓜石,  saw the sunset from the famous tea house in Kyufun, enjoyed the most delicious dumplings for dinner at Dingtaifung. On Monday, we visited the National Palace Museum, National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine, went shopping Ximen District, and enjoyed the most delicious beef noodles in Taipei. Emiko and I spoke Japanese most of the time. Only once a while, we conversed in English and French.

 Taipei is ever-changing lady. Everyday she puts on different veils to allure tourists from all over the world. Many thanks to Emiko, I could visit Taiwan from time to time as a tourist. For all scenic places in Taiwan, they are new to me every time I pay them another visit, because a lot of renovations takes place.

On top of that, during different seasons, I could appreciate different flower blossom. There is a Chinese saying, "the time isn't as important as the terrain, but the terrain isn't as important as unity with the people, 天時不如地利, 地利不如人和. It's the joy of meeting friends from afar that stays in our heart for the rest of our lives.

Eat for Health

When I saw the invitation from Mrs. Sencan Arikan, Vice Chairman, Anatolia Formosa Association, I was thrilled to know it was about the food safety. On top of that, the keynote speaker is Professor Tsung-Yun Liu, an old colleague of mine at the Department of Health. Not having seen Professor Liu for more than three decades, all I saw was wrinkles of his profile photo. I thought I might just look old to him, too, when he sees me.

Indeed, it's a great pleasure to see an old friend with whom I worked with on Hepatitis B Prevention Project when I just came back from the US in 1983. Dr. Liu has not changed at all, easy-going and friendly as usual.

Dr. Liu mentioned about the recent news about carcinogens of McDonald’s French Fries in Taiwan. In fact it was old news of acrylamide produced in the heated condition of carbohydrate and aspartagine. Fortunately, I am not crazy about French Fries. But I don’t mind having tiny amount of acrylamide in my favorite pork stew. For pregnant women, they can't be too careful to pay attention to the food they consume.

The biological condensation was a catch-up for me. I must have learned it before, but I just forgot all about it. As some toxic substances are deposited in the fat tissue, it is important not to lose weight suddenly to increase the toxic compound level in the blood.

Everyday, five kinds of vegetables and fruits (three vegetables and two fruits) are recommended, for the purpose of chemoprevention. Photochemicals, such as sulforaphare (green), procyanidins (red), indole-3-carbinal (yellow), are anti-oxdiants. They are good for beauty and youth. The greener, yellower, redder vegetables and fruits, the better. Consuming local vegetables and fruits in season is the key to stay healthy and fit.

The Art of Essentialism

At MOFA Forum in March, we discussed about an article contributed to Forbes by Lawton Ursrey, advocating simple and actionable ways to simplify small business life, Thursday noon, March 5th.

Forum Facilitator Toastmaster Howard Chien briefed the art of essentialism by quoting "Do Less and Earn More" and "Less means more and more = mediocre". He mentioned his personal story happened the night before. When his friend's relative asked for an urgent translation service, he agreed instantly. But he regretted immediately after he said yes, he didn't sleep well, he was regretful the whole morning. He felt better after he decided to increase the charge for his translation service before he attended the forum.

In this mad, mad world, everybody has an urge to saturate his or her life with work and more work. We rush to say yes to everything. Being nice as "Yes Man” in the movie can lead to unhealthy/non-essentialist decisions. We should refrain from being impetuous to just say yes, practice "let me get back to you", to evaluate if things are essential.

Essentialism is a discipline proposed Greg McKeown. Greg says, "We've been oversold the value of more and undersold the value of less." Essentialism is the art of discerning between external noise and internal voice, it is a mindset to pursue doing less, resulting in greater success. Essentialists are a highly discerning folk, being open and honest to communicate with others to benefit everyone.

When I was young and insatiable, I valued a packed calendar. I wanted more friends, more money, more titles, I couldn't bear to miss out any opportunity. Now at face of 60, leading a life of simplicity, I think twice when I go shopping. Do I really need one more clothes in my closet? I have enough of almost everything till I expire with one exception. I’m insatiable just the same, about reading, writing, and toastmastering. They are priorities in my life in pursuit of KNOWLEDGE!

MOFA forum proved to be a great initiative to benefit all participants. Members can boost the fellowship through discussion about specific topics extensively and intensively in a small group. As the General Evaluator of MOFA's #26 meeting, I suggested MOFA Forum facilitator consider calling upon any member to conclude the group discussion for 1 to 2 minute. It would keep the spirit of Tabletopics to give every member a chance to speak up impromptuly in a timely manner.

On the lantern festival today, we took a group photo after the meeting in front of the auspicious flower decoration at MOFA's grand lobby on the first floor. We wish everyone a prosperous and happy year of golden goat.

Ready for the Battlefield

At Grand Toastmasters meeting Wednesday evening, March 4th, it was another small but smart gathering of 12 participants, including 9 members and 3 guests.

Toastmaster Helen Lin and I were given two topics to practice before Area H1 Tabletopics contest at Tatung University Sunday afternoon, March 15th. I was asked how to make the world a better place for all and what new things I planned to do in 2015. Helen was asked about the service leadership and fun activities on Lantern Festival.

During the prepared speech session, I rehearsed my international speech on 7'30", I felt the connection of audience. When I saw the receiving eyes of the audience, I burst into laughter to surprise everybody. I left people with an impression that I forgot my lines. Maybe I did.

During the intermission, many members complimented me about my progress in PERFORMING 7'30" and gave me valuable suggestions to claim a trophy at the area contest. Winning or not, I am happy to be able to seize the opportunity to share my thoughts about life with fellow toastmasters and friends.