Source: CCTV.com

01-08-2007 15:21

Julia Chang Bloch, famous for being the first US Ambassador of Asian Descent, is now the President of the US-China Education Trust. Her life has always revolved around politics and public service.

At the age of nine, she went to the U.S with her family, and even as a child, showed a great interest in public service. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, she was inspired by Former US President John F. Kennedy’s words “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” These words motivated her to join the Peace Corps where she was assigned to teach English in a Chinese secondary school in Sabah, Malaysia.

After receiving her Masters from Harvard University, Julia became a professional staff member in a Senator’s office. In 1981 she was appointed the Assistant Administrator of The US Agency for International Development by Former US President Reagan – becoming one of the highest ranking women in the Reagan Administration. In 1989, she was appointed by Former US President Bush as the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, thereby becoming the first Asian-American Ambassador. She says it was her philosophy, the “art of the possible” that created the drive to make her excel and become a record breaker in politics.

After her four-year position in Nepal, she did a short stint in the corporate world as Executive Vice President of Bank of America. However, she has never considered herself a businessman, and readily admits that her passion is in civil service. Ambassador Bloch now devotes herself to Sino-US educational exchange. In 1998, she founded the FY Chang Foundation, and one of its programs, the US-China Education Trust, aims to help promote Sino-US exchanges and mutual understanding.

Ambassador Bloch says that maintaining a strong Sino-US relationship is critical and she is ready to make more contributions to further develop mutual understanding between China and the U.S. Join us on Up-Close to hear more about Ambassador Bloch’s rise in politics, and her perspectives on Sino-US relations.

 

Editor:Du Xiaodan