He saw life as a stage in a drama in which, he would say, everyone plays some part and then departs. He played more parts than most. He had been an outstanding reporter, then a patriotic newspaper executive, and always, a constant scholar who never flaunted his wide range of knowledge. His subordinates and professional associates will remember him as among the most popular of bosses: he was easy going and never remembered on the following day the corrected fault of a subordinate.
Jimmy Wei was physically so active, to his last days, that he used to "bounce" up flight of stairs, combining two steps in one. Buoyant also was his great sense of humor; he was known as one of the very few who dared to make jokes in the presence of presidents.
Because Jimmy was famous for his wisecracks, and could break the ice and establish an immediate rapport with anyone, a dinner among acquaintances was never considered complete without his presence.
His superiors will not forget him. Often on President Chiang Ching-kuo's frequent trips to meet the people of the countryside, Jimmy Wei played a welcome role. He was officially a National Advisor to the President and, when Jimmy was hospitalized, President Chiang Ching-kuo went to his bedside. "I will be all right soon," he told the President, "and will continue to serve you and the country."
Although he appeared to be restless, he had the ability to make himself as quiet as a pond of water. He could sit for hours working at Chinese calligraphy - and his style is such as only a calm, quiet man can master. His calligraphic work is valued. At the other extreme, when he was a student at Yenching University in Peking, he set a track record for North China, and he represented the Republic of China at the Fareast Games in Manila.
Jimmy was born in Chekiang Province. His father, Wei Yi, was a famous scholar who translated 170 Western literary works into Chinese in ten years. During the war years, Jimmy served with the Ministry of Information, which was to become the present Government Information Office.
After coming to Taiwan, Jimmy Wei served as a correspondent for Reuters, the British news agency, and became deputy director of the ROC's Central News Agency.
From 1954 through 1965, he was managing director of the Broadcasting Corporation of China; in 1966, he was named director-general of the Government Information Office; in 1972, he took over as director of CNA; and in 1978 he retired from CNA and from 9-5:00 duty.
Jimmy was one of the founders of the English-language daily, the China News, and was its publisher at the time of its birth in 1949.
His long and mobile career as both information officer and press executive brought him a wide circle of friends among Chinese and foreign journalists. His departure from the stage will not erase for them, the important roles he played within the circles of their lives and, in a wider sense, in the lives of all his countrymen.
Following his death, in an October 8 lead editorial headed "James Wei is Gone", the China News bade farewell to its parent and mentor:
"It is with the deepest sorrow that the China News comments on the passing of its founder and board chairman, James Wei, yesterday at the age of 77.
"His epitaph might well be, 'He lived a full and useful life.'
"Jimmy was known to more newspapermen of the world than anyone else in our country.
"Not only known but regarded with sincere and undisguised affection.
"He was reporter and editor, but also politician and statesman.
"The late President Chiang Kai-shek loved him for his brilliant wit. The Chinese have always been famous as story tellers, and Jimmy Wei was at the very top of his list.
"When Chiang Ching-kuo became President, James Wei was named one of his national policy advisers.
"He frequently accompanied the President around the country on trips of inspection. The chief executive admired and respected him for his keen insights and his wide acquaintanceship.
"In consequence of his informational experience, James Wei had a tenure of nearly six years as director of the Government Information Office.
"He was managing director of the Broadcasting Corporation of China for eleven' years, and was deputy director and then president of the Central News Agency.
"He represented Reuters as a war correspondent during the Korean War. He was a working journalist, not merely a media executive.
"In his heart, though, the China News was his baby. On the day of his death, this newspaper published the 99th edition of its 33rd year.
"Taipei wasn't much more than a wide place in the China road when Jimmy Wei began the publication of a mimeographed newspaper.
"That was the first English-language paper in this country.
"Determination and persuasiveness (he was not a rich man) obtained the Linotype and presses necessary to print the as a full-fledged newspaper.
"More recently, Jimmy Wei was the moving force that brought new equipment, a new look, and new influence to the China News.
"Although his name was not on our masthead, he was in the offices of this newspaper almost every day. He loved the opinion that appears in these columns and the news content rather than the management. Mere accumulation of money did not interest him.
"China was his first love and the world was his oyster. He traveled anywhere and everywhere. Many said that Jimmy Wei should have been his country's roving ambassador to the free world; there was nowhere that he didn't have friends. And his knowledge of Chinese culture ran deep.
"James Wei lost his wife some years ago. He had two daughters and an adopted son.
"Some people said he was nervous. That was incorrect. He was merely active.
"When he was stricken with a heart attack last week, he had been to the end of the island and had then stopped off at scenic Hsitou for the night. He was flown from there to the Veterans General Hospital and placed under intensive care.
"It was too late. A great-hearted little guy had another massive coronary early yesterday morning and passed on to his reward.
"Yet it is hard to think how Jimmy Wei could have a greater reward than that he derived from living one of the fullest lives we know.
"He was a dynamo and a good and useful man. Such personalities do not come along very often. To say that he will be missed is a gross understatement. We will think of him and tears will well up in our eyes for a long, long time.
"In the words of Shakespeare, 'His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that Nature might stand up and say to all the world: This was a man."