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发帖数: 2682 | 1 Mike Ferguson
MUSCATINE, Iowa — For Mary Jo Stanley, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s
nearly hour-long visit Wednesday at the home of Roger and Sarah Lande “was
sheer joy, the fruition of long ago person-to-person contacts.”
“He was telling people about their own families!” she marveled. “He
remembered every single party and dinner [held for him during his 1985 trip
to Muscatine]. He told us we were the first Americans he ever met. It was
just a wonderful, warm evening.”
Dick Maeglin, her fellow “old friend,” as Xi calls them, credited Xi with
having “a memory beyond imagination.”
“This guy is a force to be reckoned with, and I mean that in a good manner,
not threatening,” Maeglin said. “He is savvy.”
Dick Stanley, chairman emeritus of the Stanley Group of companies, said that
over their lifetimes, he and Mary Jo have enjoyed extended conversations or
stays with about 2,000 high-level diplomats. Invariably, he said, “they’
ve been beneficial down the line,” and he
doesn’t doubt Wednesday’s reunion with Xi will be any different.
“It’s going to take the collaboration of many countries that recognize in
a real sense this is a globalized world,” he said. “To my view, I see some
forward movement in what China’s policies are.
“Whether we agree or disagree,” he said, “we need to find a way to
encourage collaboration. There’s no grand design or big solution. It’s
step by step and issue by issue.”
Muscatine Mayor DeWayne Hopkins said Xi has a warmth that was readily on
display Wednesday.
“The first time I looked at him, I wanted to be his friend,” the mayor
said. “This is a visit that will go down in Muscatine history. No politics,
agenda or ideology — just a meeting of old friends.”
Joni Axel, who helped organize Xi’s initial visit, called this stop “the
most informal one he will have” during his U.S. tour, which concludes in
California.
“He was stately, but not at all reserved,” she said. “He had a smile for
everybody, and he remembered an event with each old friend.”
“He wanted to shake everyone’s hand,” Axel said. “I was going to hug
him, but I didn’t,” she said with a smile.
After all, it’s better not to cause an international incident, as Maeglin
and this Journal reporter nearly did. Asked to help carry four large cartons
into the Lande house — gifts from Xi, reportedly tea sets — the two
accidentally dropped one of the cartons on the sidewalk.
Fortunately, neither heard the sound of breaking glass.
Axel said she didn’t realize just how important Xi’s visit was until
Wednesday.
“I’d be dishonest if I didn’t say this visit will be really important to
the future,” she said. “With all the press attention, the whole world is
looking at Vice President Xi and deciding what his emphasis will be.”
“What a day!” said Vince Lawson, director of the Muscatine Island research
farm and another of Xi’s old friends. “I came to Muscatine for the quiet,
laid-back lifestyle. But this,” he said, gesturing to a large throng of
media interviewing the old friends, “this is fun, too.”
Copyright 2012 The Muscatine Journal. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read more: http://muscatinejournal.com/news/local/what-a-day-savvy-friendly-powerful-xi-jinping-made-quite/article_137d6b0c-584e-11e1-9d43-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1maLrbEeH |
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