Major breakthrough in US/China relations

Somewhere in the air between Timor-Leste and Australia I met Song, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor from Shanghai. We had a layover together for several hours in quiet Darwin, Australia. We have both traveled the world and have visited each other’s country. We are both able to travel the world freely and have the money to do it.

He travels to learn about traditional medicine in different cultures, including Native American culture. And I travel the world to…understand it?

We were both convinced that US/China brinksmanship benefits no one. We discussed Taiwan. Taiwanese are free to visit China and even have businesses there. But the Chinese are not able to go to Taiwan. And now Chinese students are not able to come to UCSD. We’d all benefit from more openness. More people-to-people interaction is a key factor in avoiding war.

By the way, Song actually knew about the Peace Corps and the history of Kennedy starting it. I wish the average American knew as much. The Peace Corps was in China for several years, but not recently. Russia too.

Walking around Darwin we saw memorials to the destruction in World War II by the Japanese. My dad was in the Navy in the South Pacific in World War II and I know he stopped in Australia. Maybe I’m retracing his steps. I did not have to fight in a war nor my sons. But others less privileged did. As Jimmy Carter said in his Nobel Peace Prize speech, “War is evil, sometimes necessary, but always evil.”Read more