On the evening of October 21, Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao, Founder and Chairman of Foremost Group, along with his daughters, Elaine Chao, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and Angela Chao, Vice-Chairwoman of the of Foremost Group, gave speeches about “Creating bridges of understanding between eastern and western culture” at Peking University (PKU).
As a highly successful Chinese merchant mariner, business leader, and philanthropist, Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao and his daughters were invited by PKU Speech. The speaking series started with a question for Elaine Chao, as “how to adapt to American culture at first”, which she gave her answer during the speech. Elaine Chao said she was in “tough situation” when she first migrated to the U.S., but luckily she was positively influenced by the optimism and diligence of her parents. She particularly emphasised the great contribution of her mother, Chao Zhumulan, to the family. The late Mrs. Chao spared no effort to support the career of Mr. Chao and worked in the background throughout the whole time. Mrs. Chao also attached much importance to education, due to which she resumed her study of Asian Literature at the age of 53. “My mother is the foundation of our family. Without my mother, we wouldn’t have achieved that much.”, said Elaine Chao.
Then Elaine Chao carried on her speech with addressing the insights of the U.S. and Americans from years of experience and observation. She pointed out that the immigration had significantly shaped American culture and society. With Asians having become the “single largest immigrant group in America” over the next four years, according to the estimations cited by Ms. Chao, she encouraged the students to “be part of the multi-cultural society”. She also highlighted the unique features including direct verbal communication, emphasis on individualism, effective team work, tolerance for mistakes, positive reinforcement in American society.
Following her elder sister, Ms. Angela Chao gave her speech, in which she pointed out that students should be "simultaneously global and local". Ms. Angela Chao stressed that Chinese culture, history and values provided Chinese people tremendous spirit resources, which was the basic strength in cross-cultural communication for China. In addition, Ms. Angela Chao regarded China-U.S. relation as “one of the most important bilateral relations in the world”, and stressed the responsibility of Chinese young generation to promote interactions and facilitate exchanges between the two nations.
The last speaker, Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao, shared his own story of his early years in China, as well as his life after migrating to U.S., including children education, the founding of Foremost, and a series of life choices. The audiences were deeply impressed by Mr. Chao’s humour and wisdom, and greatly inspired as well.
The floor of questions was opened near the end of the speaking series. Students raised their questions about topics including entrepreneurship, feminism, international relations etc. Three guests all gave their own answers towards the issues, and the speaking series ended in a warm round of applause.
Written by: Liu Xiya
Edited by: Li Ruoxue
