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Chinachem Group
25th August 1995
BY FAX & COURIER
Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton
The First Lady
Office of the First Lady
2nd Floor, West Wing
Main Building, The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington DC 20500
USA
Dear Mrs. Clinton,
Further to my earlier invitation for Photographic Exhibition of "World Women Today" I
would like to invite you also to join the 3rd Award Giving Ceremony for "Ruxin Agriculture
Award" to be held at the Great Hall of The People in Beijing on the 7th September 1995 at
9:30 am.
The award is created and solely sponsored by me personally for the farmer of the grassroots
level. There are 900 million farmers in China, half of which is woman and particularly woman
farmer in China play an very important role.
One award is given each week to a farmer for their contribution and outstanding performance
in their own field. This ceremony is very special as all the awards are given to women to
commemorate the World Women Conference.
To show my sincere wish that you can come to Beijing during the World Women Conference, I
will leave Hong Kong for United State to-morrow to deliver the invitations personally.
It will be a great honor if I could meet you soon.
Yours truly,
Nina Kung (Nina T.H. Wang)
C.C. Mr. Mueller Richard W.
Consul General
Consulate General, USA, Garden Road, Hong Kong. Fax No. 2845 1598
Top Floor, Chinachem Golden Plaza, 77 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kln. Fax: 2311 3258 Tel: 2739 8811
Chinachem Group
24th August 1995
BY COURIER
Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton
The First Lady
Office of the First Lady
2nd Floor, West Wing
Main Building, The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington DC 20500
U.S.A.
Dear Mrs. Clinton,
I am pleased to send you two copes of "World Women Today" for your pleasure reading.
Yours truly,
Linezology Nina Kung (Nina T.H. Wang)
Encl.
Top Floor, Chinachem Golden Plaza, 77 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kln. Fax: 2311 3258 Tel: 2739 8811
A
=
2
a
PRODUCE
y
NOAH'S WORLD TELEVISION
P.O. BOX 9276
BARDONIA, NEW YORK 10954
Tel: 914-358-8815 Fax: 914-358-8498
Memorandum
DATE:
August 27, 1995
TO:
Foreign Desk
FROM:
Ken Klein
RE:
Mrs Clintons Trip To China
PRESS RELEASE
SCREENED PRODUCTIONS, INCORPORATED has Just signed an agreement with the
SHANDONG PROVINCE In China to act as their exclusive representatives In New York
State, New York Metropolitan area and Israel. The PROVINCE seeks to establish
joint ventures, attract operations, and conduct bilateral Investment and International
trade. SHANDONG PROVINCE, is the second richest province In China and has a
population of 87 million people.
SCREENED PRODUCTIONS Is also a major producer of cable television programming
throughout the United States and abroad. SCREENED PRODUCTION'S programs are
broadcast on 700 cable systems throughout the United States, reaching some 26
million viewers, and are also broadcast In China and Isräel.
P.01
AUG-28-95 MON 01:11 AM
MON AM
INSIDE
this issue of
Kenneth Klein
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL
ockland man films in China
ican firm and the government officials or
tell Shantung business story
economic attache Danny Cataravas. He
directors of the company which is going
was economic attache in Hong Kong then
to come into existence. His goal is to ar-
the production process to the end product
in Beijing, China. He was at the
range investment, finances and setting up
NDRA LEVY
that is, the time of manufacturing until
Casablanca conference. He told us about
of the factory.
ARDONIA When Ken Klein vis-
the finished product is in the showroom."
Israeli-China business relations."
According to Klein, China is also very
China for 10 days in June, his camera
Another outcome of Klein's trip to
interested in American/ Israeli/China eco-
Klein is no stranger to traveling w for-
his constant companion. But Klein
China was that he met with labor secre-
nomic cooperation. "They would like Is-
eign lands and producing programs. A re-
i'l taking photos for his personal
cent trip to Israel was likewise successful.
taries and many heads of provinces. "They
raeli technology, American investment and
) album.
Klein produces a program called, Israel
asked us if we could broadcast our pro-
to have the factory built in China. They
lein, President of four-year-old
Today, which focuses on Israeli-American
grams OD China's TV. As a result we have
are big 00 joint ventures," he said.
ened Entertainment here, which pro-
relationships, culture, economics, news,
a reciprocal exchange. They send us mate-
Where will Klein travel next? He plans
S and broadcasts programs which are
rial and we send them material on Ameri-
w visit Israel again later this year. "We
and special events.
on 700 cable stations nationwide and
can businesses. The program, to be
will be filming businesses and villages
What's more, a four-month-old sub-
able stations at 350 colleges and uni-
launched in August, will be hosted by
and cities on Israel and Arab peace cooper-
sidiary, Israel Business Today on Televi-
ties, was filming joint business ven-
sion, goes one step further: highlighting
Klein's son, Andy, who is an attorney.
ation and the second Casablanca conference
between China and the United States,
Israeli industries and featuring interviews
Klein, who indicated that China is in-
in Amman in October," Klein said, noting
ralia, Canada, Israel, Taiwan and
terested in programs that deal with Ameri-
that future plans will have him meeting
with company CEOs and spokespersons to
5 Kong.
provide viewers a look at the entire manu-
can technology, business and production,
King Hussein in Jordan and the Prime
Nc met the mayors of Shantung
facturing or service process of the industry
is only too happy to acquiesce. His firm,
Minister of Turkey.
ince, which has 87 million people. It
which has already grown from serving 30
Klein also doesn't rule out the possibil-
showcased.
: largest, the richest and most capital-
cable stations to 700 today, has signed an
ity that Israeli educational TV will soon
If that's not enough, Screened Enter-
province in China. In the last couple
tainment also produces Noah's World
economic agreement that gives it exclu-
be broadcasting Noah's World and Israel
ears, $150 billion for investment has
Television, a series of one-hour programs
sive representation for the Shantung
Today.
ed into this province," said Klein.
featuring various countries.
province with the entire state of New York
nthusiastically he declared, "We were
While in China, Klein, who produced
and in Israel for any bilateral investment
Subscribe to
1 VIP treatment." Klein visited textile
several programs on the Shantung
or joint venture or trade agreement
The Hudson Valley
banies, an extinct volcano where sap-
province and its principle cities, visited
(import/export).
Business Journal
are mined, silk companies, and food
Beijing for two days where he met Israeli
For example, if an American company
clothing manufacturers. "We spoke to
wants a joint venture in China, Klein
1-800-289-4007
tors of major corporations and filmed
would work with the officers of the Amer-
NOAH'S WORLD
TELEVISION
educational institutions.
Utilizing state-of-the-art
satellite technology
connects the world.
mission is to provide
television programming to enrich and
enhance knowledge of the world.
All programming is seen in its
unedited original form.
touches the lives
of millions of people:
Thousands of educational institutions
(Primary, secondary and colleges/universities)
Educational channels on local cable systems
Businesses and organizations
Special interest groups
Countless individuals
20'd
AUG-28-95 MON 01:13 AM
file
china
BAZAR
WOMEN IN
BREAST
CHINA
CANCER
BY HILLARY
10 BIGGEST
RODHAM
BREAK-
CLINTON
THROUGHS
DIARY OF A
BEAUTY
COUTURE
EMERGENCY:
VIRGIN
25 SPECIALISTS
TO THE RESCUE
FEELS LIKE FALL
CHUNKY SWEATERS CASHMERE COATS,
WOOL SKIRTS
OCTOBER $3.00
10
Amber Valletta Wears
Donna Karan New York
0
754724 7
DING
DURING HILLARY
RODHAM CLINTON'S
VISIT TO CHINA WITH
THE PRESIDENT LAST
SUMMER, SHE MET
WITH A WIDE RANGE
OF CHINESE WOMEN
AND LEARNED ABOUT
THEIR EFFORTS TO
BUILD A BETTER
FUTURE. HERE,
SHE SHARES HER
INSIGHTS AND
IMPRESSIONS
PHOTOGRAPHED
BY PATR
DEMARCH
I
Scenes from the Clintons history-
making trip to China. Left: The First Lady
is welcomed outside a girls' school in
Shanghai. Below, clockwise from top left:
Meeting her audience at the Shanghai
HE FIRST LACY OF THE
Children's Medical Center; the First Family
in Xian; the band at a Shanghai girls'
school; Hillary Rodham Clinton with her
daughter, Chelsea, and Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright at the Beijing University
Library; children greeting the First Lady at
Beijing University; a young Chinese girl.
here's an expression in China that "women
hold up half the sky." I thought of that powerful
image often as I accompanied the president on
his historic trip to China a few months ago and
met with women who are struggling to improve
their lives and expand their freedoms. Their
achievements-some of which astonish even
the women themselves-are helping to shape
that country's future as it undergoes a period of great change.
One of the women I met was Xie Lihua. She's in her 40s now,
but as a teenager she was a passionate revolutionary and a
member of her school's Red Guard committee. Today she's
turned her energies to helping some of China's poorest women
raise themselves and their families out of poverty. When banks
refused to offer some of these women credit, Xie pooled mon-
ey of her own-from an international prize she had received for
her work with rural women-along with a donation from Bing
Xin, one of China's most famous writers, and parceled out
loans and advice about how to start up new businesses. To ex-
plain how microcredit is helping rural women gain greater eco-
nomic independence, she says, "If I give you an apple, you will
eat it once. If I give you a seed, you can grow your own tree."
Xie told me about how her microcredit program helped a dis-
abled woman in a rural village open her own bean-curd shop. Her
husband had always viewed her as a burden, but with the money
she earned in her new business, she was able to help him with
expenses for their small farm, gaining respect not only within her
own family but also throughout the village. During our nine-day
trip, I was to hear many such stories of the challenges facing
women in China today-and of their efforts to overcome them.
The president went to China to strengthen the ties be-
tween China and the United States, and to address critical
issues like human rights and the nonproliferation of missiles.
To make significant progress on these and other complex
problems, the president has said, "Our two nations will be far
better off working together than apart." We also wanted to
see for ourselves the dramatic changes sweeping this vast
country, and to help the Chinese people learn more about
who we are and about our hopes for an open and dem-
ocratic future in China. Although I accompanied the presi-
dent on many official and informal occasions, I also had my
own schedule of events and meetings. And nowhere did I
learn more about the challenges and the possibilities facing
China today than in my conversations with Chinese women.
260
One of the most pleasurabie parts of the trip for me was
open up new opportunities for its citizens-including women.
having the delightful company of both my mother and my
I had first visited China three years ago, as honorary chair
daughter, Chelsea. There's a Chinese saying about the value
of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Fourth World
of having "three generations under one roof," and being able
Conference on Women, in Beijing. I remember how moved I
to share some of these experiences with them made this an
was to look at that extraordinary gathering of women of differ-
especially meaningful trip for me. During our lifetimes the
ent races, cultures and beliefs who had come together from
three of us have witnessed such dramatic changes in our own
every corner of the globe to discuss common concerns and
country, notably in the area of expanded women's rights. So I
to build a common future. In my address in Beijing, I said, "If
treasured hearing their impressions of China as it begins to
there is one message that echoes forth from this conference,
it is that human rights are women's rights-and women's
rights are human rights." The Platform for Action adopted by
the conference emphasized that the progress of a country
depends on women having equal access to life's basic tools
of opportunity, like health care, education, credit and jobs.
Everywhere I went in China, I heard echoes of that UN
conference as I met women from all walks of life determined
to improve their own lives and the lives of their families-
often against formidable odds. I met Xie Lihua at a forum of
Chinese women leaders in Beijing, hosted by the All China
Women's Federation, what we would call the government's
women's bureau. It was an experience I will never forget.
We were told that this kind of open dialogue had never
occurred before, and we were concerned that the women
who did come might feel intimidated and wouldn't speak
out. How wrong we were. I don't think I have ever met ad-
vocates more excited about the progress that women are
making or more vocal about the hard work that remains to
be done to ensure women's basic human rights.
From these courageous women, I learned about the high rate
of illiteracy among women in China, particularly those living in
rural areas. Many can't even write their names. Xie and others
now publish a magazine called Rural Women Knowing All,
which is designed specifically to reach those who can't read. It
uses colorful pictures to inform women about jobs, health-care
services and basic legal rights. A university professor told me
about programs she's involved in to keep girls in school, and to
convince those who have dropped out to return to class.
I also learned at that forum-much to my surprise-that Our
Bodies, Ourselves, one of the most popular self-help health
books ever written in America, had just been translated and
published in China. That such basic information about
women's health has been so scarce until now underscored for
me how far China still needs to go in educating its citizens. But
that such a book is now available is also a sign of progress.
NEW
YORK
CITY
PEKING "IVERSITY LIBRARY
WE WERE TOLD
teach her daughter. Once again, I was reminded that no matter
THAT THIS KIND
what country we live in or what language we speak, we share a
OF DIALOGUE
fierce determination to create a better world for our children.
HAD NEVER
These young women are growing up in a country undergo-
OCCURRED
ing a profound transition as it. moves from a centrally con-
BEFORE, AND
trolled economy toward a free-market economy and as its cit-
WE WERE
izens gain a level of freedom in their personal lives unimagin-
CONCERNED
able even a few years ago. Today those citizens enjoy greater
THAT WOMEN
flexibility to travel within and outside of China, to buy their
WHO DID COME
own homes, to choose a job or to attend a better school.
MIGHT FEEL
The president and I saw some of these changes firsthand on
INTIMIDATED
the initial stop of our trip. We were welcomed to Xian, China's
AND WOULDN'T
ancient capital, in a beautiful ceremony at a fort on the outskirts
SPEAK OUT.
of the old city. The next day we explored an excavation site
HOW WRONG
where more than 2000 years ago, thousands of life-size terra-
WE WERE.
cotta warriors had been buried with the first emperor to rule a
From far left: The
Great Wall of
China; Hillary. and
Bill Clinton at one
of many receptions
during their visit;
on the Li River;
President Clinton
giving a press
No matter where I went, women
conference in
spoke to me about the need to pro-
Hong Kong.
vide women and girls with greater
educational opportunities. China is
a country that has traditionally
placed a premium on education,
and it has set a goal to eliminate
adult illiteracy by the year 2000. Yet
even as educational reforms are un-
der way to help students succeed in these more competitive
unified China. But we saw anoth-
times, girls are dropping out of school at a disturbing rate.
er kind of history being made
Many parents, feeling the pressure of tough economic cir-
when we visited the village of Xia-
cumstances, are taking their children-especially their
he just a few miles away. It's one
daughters-out of school to work in factories or on farms.
of the half-million villages around
But the high dropout rate-and the shocking incidence of
China that now elects its own
suicide among women-reflects another, more troubling reality
committee leaders. And many of
in China: that girls and women traditionally have been less val-
those selected at this subgovern-
ued. As a result of a strict and intrusive family-planning policy,
ment level are nonparty candi-
the goal of which has been to limit families to one child, there's
dates. This is the first tentative
a significant incidence of abandonment of girls and sex-
step-but a critical one-toward
selective abortions, and a resurgence of the practice of female
building a more democratic
infanticide. These brutal practices continue even though offi-
society from the bottom up.
cial government policy prohibits them. There is also an alarm-
However, the oppression of political freedoms and human
ing rise in the number of girls and women being forcibly sold
rights persists. Our trip was marred by the arrest of Chinese
into marriage, explained at least in part by the skewed birth
citizens who used our arrival to test the political system by at-
ratios that result in far fewer women than men living in some
tempting to register a political party. Chinese dissidents have
rural areas. China's own official news agency reported that be-
also been arrested and jailed since our return, and the issue of
tween 1991 and 1996, police rescued 88,000 women and
serious and widespread human-rights violations-including
children from traffickers. The situation has spurred the govern-
those in Tibet-continues to be a major impediment to the re-
ment's All China Women's Federation to launch a campaign
lationship between our two countries reaching its full potential.
entitled "Girls Are Just As Valuable As Boys."
Since 1978, China has experienced perhaps the fastest
So I was especially pleased to visit an all-girls' school in
rate of economic growth in history. Millions of Chinese citi-
Shanghai that has a rigorous academic curriculum and a highly.
zens have risen out of poverty, an extraordinary accom-
competitive sports program, clearly challenging future female
plishment. Yet others-particularly uneducated women-
leaders to excel. These smart young women asked me all kinds
have been left behind. One reason for this disparity is that
of questions, from whether I had mastered the skill of eating with
while the Chinese economy has been growing, the govern-
chopsticks (sort of) to what kind of music I like (provoking a sym-
ment's closing of inefficient and money-losing state enter-
phonic response!). One student told me her mother had just fin-
prises has dramatically pushed up the unemployment rate.
ished reading my book It Takes a Village, and wanted to know
And all too often, women are bearing the brunt. They are
what I thought were the most important lessons a mother could
more likely to lose their jobs and their benefits, to be forced
262
into early retirement or to be the victims of job discrimina-
center," she said simply, "and I got justice." But she and her
tion, and less likely to benefit from retraining programs.
daughter are still living with her ex-husband because their
In a small building on a side street in Shanghai, I climbed
apartment was assigned to him by his work unit, and she is un-
up four flights of stairs to visit a women's job-retraining cen-
able to find housing of her own. I applauded with everyone else
ter, established to address some of these growing problems.
when she said she was raising her daughter to be a lawyer.
There I watched women learning new trades, such as tailor-
Another client spoke about how she and other women
ing and flower arranging. This is also the site of a women's
she worked with in a factory had been denied their pay.
hotline, where volunteers field questions ranging from how
The center had launched a class-action suit against the
to find a job to what to do to control unruly children to how
factory's manager for back wages. They won the suit, but
to get out of an abusive marriage. I was impressed with the
the manager still refuses to pay.
way these women were reaching out to one another. Their
These stories and many others underscored for me that
questions mirrored the concerns of-women the world over.
though laws protecting women's rights in China, as in many
One of the biggest surprises of the trip was discovering the
other countries, are often quite comprehensive on paper, they
extent to which women's rights have been written into Chinese
are frequently not enforced. And that without the rule of law,
law. In 1992, for example, the National People's Congress
which includes open access to the legal system and judicial or-
passed a law on the "Protection of Rights and Interests of
ders that individuals can enforce, laws can be a cruel hoax. But
Women," which prohibits discrimination against women in such
based on the kinds of legal reforms that are being carried out,
areas as employment, property and education. Included in
and the legal precedents being set, I am hopeful that greater
those rights is self-determination in marriage, equal pay for
progress can be made toward implementation of these laws.
equal work and the equal allotment of housing and welfare ben-
Women's rights were the main topic of an address I made in
efits. I learned about some of these legal protections-as well
Shanghai. I spoke about how impressed I was with the progress
as the difficulty of enforcing them-at the Center for Women's
that women were making in China today, in areas such as the
Law Studies and Legal Services, at Beijing University, which I
rule of law, microcredit loans and literacy, with progress in the
visited with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The center,
rural areas being most impressive. But I also spoke about the
supported by the Ford Foundation, is located in a simple build-
very tough work that remains ahead to ensure that women in
"WOMEN CAN'T HOLD UP HALF
China are not left behind in the 21st century.
THE SKY," I SAID, "IF THEY
"Women can't hold up half the sky," I said, "if they
make up the vast majority of those who can't read
CAN'T READ OR WRITE; IF THEY
ARE DENIED THE JOBS THEY
or write; if they are still pulled out of school early; if
NEED TO LIFT THEMSELVES UP
they are denied the jobs, loans and credit they
need to lift themselves and their families up from
FROM POVERTY; IF THEY ARE
DENIED THE FREEDOM TO
poverty; if they are denied the freedom to plan
PLAN THEIR OWN FAMILIES."
their own families." I emphasized how "no country
can reach its full potential until all of its citizens-
men and women, boys and girls-have the free-
dom and the resources to reach theirs."
One of the missions of the president's trip to
China was to strengthen the ties between the
people of the United States and the people of
China. So I was pleased to attend the signing of
an important joint medical collaboration between
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), in the United States, and the Beijing Med-
ical University. For years our two countries have
worked together to reduce the occurrence of
ing on the outskirts of the uni-
neural tube birth defects-including spina bifi-
versity. The work of the cen-
da-in Chinese babies. Unfortunately, such de-
ter takes place in just a few
fects occur more frequently in China than in any
cramped rooms, but the im-
other country in the world. Yet we know that
pact it's having on the lives of
women who take folic acid before they become
Chinese women reaches far
pregnant may reduce their chance of having a
beyond its walls. It takes on a
baby with those defects by at least 50 percent.
wide range of cases, from
family planning to job discrim-
Harper's Bazaar Photo
That day in Beijing, I met a woman who had
lost her first child to the deadly ravages of spina
ination to rape, and has won
bifida. In her arms she was holding her healthy,
more than half of them. But
squirming daughter-thanks to the current pro-
there are major hurdles to
gram between CDC and Beijing Medical Universi-
overcome. There's still rampant discrimination against women in
ty aimed at giving thousands of women like her a regular dose
China, and the justice system remains deeply flawed.
of folic acid. The new agreement being signed will expand this
One woman told us about her efforts to get out of an abusive
already successful collaboration to prevent birth defects, dis-
marriage. She was frail and soft-spoken, but her voice didn't
abilities and health defects resulting from environmental factors,
waver as she spoke about how the center had helped her to
including exposure to lead, radiation and water pollution.
obtain a divorce and an award for child support. "I came to the
Our countries are working together in other areas
301
263
a pitch she once reserved for "Little Red Corvette": "Three
also the awe-as we walked the Great Wall and saw it curve its
blind mice, three blind mice / See how they run, see how
way over the crests of China's hills as far as the eye could see.
they run / They all ran after the farmer's wife "She's like
We also talked about the many images of China as it be-
me," says Bernhard. "She loves noise and excitement. When
gins, however cautiously, to push open the doors of opportu-
things get too quiet, she gets a little restless."
nity for its people. The president and I had attended a church
service Sunday morning in Beijing-filled to bursting with
DIARY OF A COUTURE VIRGIN (continued from page 247)
worshipers. Yet the government still supervises religious wor-
dauphin at the end of the runway with Catherine Deneuve.
ship and requires each church to register. Some churches
Who better than today's enfant terrible of fashion to take
refuse to do so out of fear of government control. And while
over YSL's domain? Once Saint Laurent was the renegade;
some are left alone, others have been closed down, their reli-
today he is the revered classicist. Gaultier leads the pro-
gious leaders arrested. But I was heartened by my visit with
longed standing ovation at the end of the show.
Secretary of State Albright to an old synagogue in Shanghai,
At Balmain one editor notices that de la Renta's ladies are
now renovated as a museum. Judaism is not among the five
a sea of beige, ivory and light green. Not one speck of
religions recognized by the state, and there's no agreement
black. Though fashion editors may defend the merits of
by the authorities in Shanghai to let this beautiful old building
black to no end, these women actually look chic, in a '60s
be used again as a place of worship. But as I watched Rabbi
Babe Paley, Gloria Guiness sort of way. The clothes reflect
Arthur Schneier from New York place a Torah in the syna-
the clean, "I'm wealthy, but I don't have to flaunt it" style
gogue's tabernacle for the first time in decades, I felt I was
that your average gilt-to-the-eyeballs moneyed woman just
witnessing at least a symbolic step forward, not only for the
doesn't understand. But Oscar, would Babe Paley ever
small Jewish community that remains in that city but, hope-
wear velvet knickers with mink trim?
fully, for other religious communities as well.
Couture is a cabaret at Thierry Mulger, in the pool room of
Perhaps the most dramatic example of China loosening
the Ritz. Cyd Charisse glides out in a full-length gown, which
up its restrictions on freedom of expression was the frank
she rips open to expose one emerald-studded, shapely leg;
and open exchange that took place between the president
Jerry Hall and her daughter Elizabeth Scarlett slither out in
and the students at Beijing University. The president spoke
matching black horsehair ensembles; one model strolls out in
to them about how the right "to be treated with dignity; the
a gorilla suit, which she strips off to reveal a sexy negligee. Très
right to express one's opinions, to choose one's own lead-
bizarre. These aren't the kinds of clothes you would wear to
ers, to associate freely with others and to worship or not,
dinner, but as Ungaro puts it, "Couture is a dream, and what
freely, however one chooses [are the] birthrights of people
woman doesn't want to dream?" Each to her own fantasy.
everywhere." That speech, and the subsequent freewheeling
question-and-answer period, were broadcast live on Chi-
HOLDING UP THE SKY (continued from page 263)
nese television, an unprecedented event. And once again, I
too. In Shanghai, I was pleased to announce five new ex-
felt I was witnessing an historic moment, as China presses
change programs that will bring Chinese women to the
forward-however tentatively-toward a more open society.
United States next year to share ideas and experiences with
As Air Force One returned to Andrews Air Force Base in
their American counterparts. The programs will be spon-
the early morning of America's Independence Day, I thought
sored by the United States Information Agency, and will em-
about the courageous women I'd met in China and in coun-
brace Chinese and American leaders at all levels, including
tries around the world who are struggling, often against
lawyers, educators, environmentalists, business represen-
great odds, to expand the circle of human rights and to en-
tatives, local government officials and youth leaders.
sure that every citizen-women and men, girls and boys-
Secretary of State Albright joined me for a final roundtable
can live in dignity and hope. Like citizens everywhere, the
discussion with women in Hong Kong on the last day of our
women of China seek to participate fully in the political, so-
trip. This was a high-powered group of women lawyers, doc-
cial and economic life of their country-and to say honestly
tors and political leaders who hold positions of authority still
that, yes, they do "hold up half the sky." They face formida-
unknown in the rest of China. I felt the forum was, in a sense, a
ble challenges ahead. But it is profoundly in our interest,
snapshot of what China would look like if it continues to open
and in the interest of all nations, to help them succeed.
up-both economically and politically-in the years ahead. An-
son Chan, Hong Kong's second-highest-ranking official, spoke
HOTEL WARS (continued from page 274)
about what it was like to be a woman in a position of such au-
on his belief in a design-aware audience that is primed to move
thority in Chinese society. Other women leaders discussed the
on from the high-energy buzz of the first boutique ventures to a
challenges of providing housing for a growing population, and
less frenetic environment. "I'm concerned that boutique hotels
the steps that are being taken to secure fundamental human
have become synonymous with bad service," he says. "The
freedoms. I had to laugh when the conversation turned to a fa-
doormen are young, handsome, dressed in black and off doing
miliar topic: the need for women to find time to exercise as
auditions instead of carrying your bags. When the boutique was
they struggle to balance the demands of work and family.
new in New York, you could get away with it, but I don't think
That night as the president and I joined Chelsea and my
you can anymore. People are bored of that. I'm tempted to get
mother on the plane for the long 17-hour trip home, we shared
a couple of middle-aged men on the door."
a few stories before we drifted off to sleep: the stark beauty of
Another shift in focus of the new hotels is their emphasis on
Guilin, where rugged mountains dip dramatically into China's Li
health, which means more than installing a sauna or an em-
River; the sights and smells of Beijing's market, where we
bryonic gym in the basement. McNally has wooed Manhat-
bought porcelain jars and Chinese scrolls; the wilting heat-but
tan's ultrachic pamper zone, Bliss spa, to his Miami
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