Some may say that James C. H. Shen, the Republic of China's ambassador to the United States from 1971 through 1978, was an unlucky man.
He wouldn't agree. He would say that he was fortunate, indeed, to represent his country during the most difficult period of the relationship between the Republic of China and its closest friend and ally.
No one could have done better. Many others might have done a lot worse.
Ambassador Shen brought to his post an exceptional fluency in spoken English and, perhaps second only to Lin Yutang, the smoothest and most eloquent prose written by a native Chinese in our time.
Lest it be supposed that some of James Shen's writings were ghost written, let it be remembered that he is the most competent Chinese editor of English to come along in the last several decades.
If he didn't write every line he spoke, he did rewrite and edit every line. That is more than can be said for most recent presidents of the United States.
James Shen is also a brave man.
For all his Washington years — stretching from Richard Nixon through Gerald Ford and into the time of Jimmy Carter — he had to hold his head high while U.S. chief executives were making their journeys (even now we can't bring ourselves to say pilgrimages) to Red China.
The president of the United States became a man who wouldn't be "caught dead" talking to the emissary of the president of the Republic of China — not even of such an old comrade-in-arms as Chiang Kai-shek.
Nor were the secretary of state and undersecretary of state accessible to Ambassador Shen through most of his tenure.
James Shen had to deal with assistant secretaries, or send his own staff members to be fended off by the China desk chief of the State Department.
The unofficial representative of the Chinese Communists had free entry to the seats of the American mighty once Richard Nixon had returned from Peiping and the liaison offices were opened there and in Washington.
Ambassador Shen is a proud man and the Chinese are a proud people. He must have felt like packing up and heading for home. But he couldn't, because that was what the Nixon and Ford and Carter administrations wanted. There would have been no replacement. The State Department would have found any nominee objectionable or would simply have procrastinated.
James Shen and his country declined to give the United States government and the Chinese Communists the satisfaction of reducing the chief officer of the Republic of China to a charge d'affaires.
If the ambassador of Free China was unable to pin the ear of political functionaries who had already made up their minds to break faith with old and loyal friends, he could still influence people and win support among the rank and file of Americans. He did just that in far-ranging and frequent speaking engagements.
We don't know how many speeches James Shen made in the course of those troubled Washington years. Probably he doesn't either. Forty-eight selected addresses ranging in date from June 24,1971, to April 23, 1978,have just been published in two paper-bound volumes entitled "The View From Twin Oaks," which was the official residence of the ambassador in Washington.
As the Preface remarks, Ambassador Shen's tenure covered some of the "most perplexing and tangled years in Sino-American relations, including the year of Henry Kissinger's ultra-secret mission to Peiping (1971) and the year of President Nixon's subsequent visit to mainland China (972). While they were perplexing and tangled years diplomatically, these were also momentous years. These were the years in which a vigorous new Free China was being built on Taiwan on the other side of the Pacific."
The Preface correctly concludes that "Students of political science, researchers and possibly opinion leaders should find in these two volumes answers to a wide range of intricate but timely problems concerning the 'China question.' "
The range of subject matter is wide: from Sino-American relations to Red China, from the
Taiwan economic miracle to Confucianism and the timelessness of Chinese culture, from the international relations of East Asia and the Pacific to the role of an ambassador, from human rights to education and agriculture.
James Shen has returned home now but not to retirement. He is busy advising and studying and writing.
For the time being, the Republic of China has no ambassador in the United States. It is regrettable that James Shen could not be established as "ambassador emeritus" there and continue with his speechmaking and friend-making. The next best thing will be the widest possible circulation of ''The View From Twin Oaks."
President salutes operation personnel
President Chiang Ching-kuo received workers and nurses who contributed their time and skills in separation of the Siamese twins Chang Chung-jen and Chung-yi.
President Chiang shook hands with his guests and thanked them for doing a good job.
Surgeons Lin Jung-yi and Wu Tang-tiao of the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Medical College Hospital and nurse Liu Hsueh-erh of the National Taiwan University Hospital reported on the physical structure of the twins, preparations for the operation and the condition of the patients.
President Chiang was told that after the twins are given artificial limbs, they will be able to walk with ease.
The President also received the 36 members of the medical squad that conducted the operation.
Cheng-jen and Chuna-yi were doing well.
Publisher leaves property to people
Wang Yun-wu, senior adviser to the President of the Republic, bequeathed all his possessions except paintings, calligraphies and some objets d'art to the private Yun-wu Library. Wang died in August at the age of 91.
Paintings, calligraphies and art objects will go to his children. The house he owned on Hsinsheng South Road will go to his two wives. On their deaths, it will go to the Yun-wu Library.
Wang's will said he had established the Yun-wu Library with NT$1,500,000 and some 20,000 of his books.
Wang was a self-made man without formal education. He headed the Commercial Press, one of the largest Chinese publishing houses.
Chin Hsiao-yi receives New Testament and Hymns from Dr. and Mrs. Wu. (File photo)
Christian papers go to Kuomintang
Dr. John Wu, adviser to President Chiang Ching-kuo, submitted the manuscript of the New Testament and Hymns in Chinese as authorized by the late President Chiang Kai-shek to the Department of Party History of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang.
The ceremony was held at Dr.Wu's house on Yangmingshan. The manuscript was accepted by Chin Hsiao-yi, director of the Department of Party History, and will be mounted and made public when the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is completed.
Chin Hsiao-yi said Dr. Wu received President Chiang Kai shek's authorization to translate the New Testament and Hymns into Chinese during World War II.
Dr. Wu spent three years at the task.
Government bades education with money
Public expenditure on education at the senior middle school and college level in the Republic of China is higher than in most other countries.
The Ministry of Education, which ordered a survey, said the expense has contributed to the government's financial burden and the overexpansion of college education.
College graduates, especially women, are finding it increasingly dlificult to find jobs. At the same time, there is a serious shortage of junior school graduates on the job market.
The survey shows that 98 per cent of the cost of primary schooling comes from the govern ment compared with 87.1 per cent of the senior high school budget.
Tuition and miscellaneous fees paid by the students make up 20.75 per cent of junior college and 17.5 per cent of college and university expenses.
The report said the heavy
government subsidy for education benefits rich as well as poor. It recommends a hike in tuition and miscellaneous fees at the college and senior school levels.
Music Festival will be renewed
Taipei's first Music Festival concluded with the ballet "Swan Lake."
At a reception backstage, Mayor Lee Teng-hui thanked per formers and staff members of the 30 shows.
The 23-day event attracted around 100,000 Taipei residents. The city government spent over NT$5 million and mobilized 3,000 performers.
Mayor Lee announced plans to stretch next year's festival to a month and broaden the scope of performances. Dates will be in August and September.
Japan war history will be compiled
The Central Comrnittee of the ruling Kuomintang Party is preparing to compile a history of China's War of Resistance against Japan.
Chin Hsiao-yi, director of the Party History Committee, said the account will be based on firsthand materiais. Photos of original docu ments will be included.
Publication will serve to puncture Chinese Communist lies that Mao Tse-tung's forces fought the Japanese invaders, Chin said.
The Party History Committee plans to sponsor an International Symposium on the Modern His· tory of China in Taipei next year. Students of Chinese history will be invited.
The committee will compile histories of the founding of the Republic and the Northward Ex pedition against the warlords.
Book publishing is big busines in the Republic of China and exhibitions of the product are popular. (File photo)
Serious books are best sellers
The 1979 National Autumn Book Exhibition sponsored by the Publications Association, Department of Cultural
Affairs of the Central Comrnittee of the Kuomintang and Government Infor mation Office was held in the gymnasium of International House.
Some 90 publication com panies and bookstores showed their books.
Science and literature sold best, dictionaries second and novels third.
Life is good outside the biggest cities
People in the province of Taiwan, which does not include Taipei or Kaohsiung (after July 1) are living well, said Lin Kai·fan, director of the Provincial Depart ment of Budgets, Accounting & Statistics.
Average family income was NT$165,042 a year in 1978, up 22 per cent from 1977 and 2.39 times that of 1971.
In 1968, the top bracket had an income 5.27 times larger than that of the lowest bracket. In 1978, the gap had shrunk to 4.29 times. Lin called this eloquent evidence that the government policy of raising the living stand ard of the low-income people is paying off.
Families were growing smaller.
In 1978, the average family had 4.97 persons, 0.14 person less than 1977, and had 1.96 persons working.
In 1964, the average family spent 51.8 per cent of income on food. By 1977, it was spend ing 40.1 per cent on food. People had more money left for cloth ings, housing, transportation and recreation.
In 1978, every family had a 1 TV set and 45 per cent were color. There were 1 refrigerator per 1.2 families, 1 washing machine per 2 families,one telephone per 3.2 families, 1 motorcycle per 1.5 families, 1 air-conditioner per 17 families, 1 piano per 36.7 families, one newspaper per 1.9 families and 1 magazine per 10.6 families.
Lin said the statistics were based on a check of 11,425 of the 2,856,462 families in Taiwan.
Sinology meeting slated next year
An International Sinology Conference will be held in Taipei August 15-20 next year, the Aca demia Sinica announced.
The academy said about 200 Chinese scholars and foreign Sinologists will be invited to the meeting.
Half of the overseas partici pants will be scholars from abroad.
Panels will deal with language, history and archeology, culture and folk customs, ideology and philosophy, literature and art history.
The first three days will be devoted to presentation of papers and exchange of views and the remaining three days to field trips.