On President Carter, China and my family

Jimmy Carter was a champion for the environment, but he is special to my family for a different reason. When he normalized diplomatic relations with China in 1979, he changed the course of millions of lives, including mine.

When Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping was shaking President Carter’s hand in Washington, D.C., in January 1979, my family and I were on a plane to China. I was two years old. Up to then, only small groups of American tourists and diplomats had been invited to visit China after Nixon thawed communications with the country. We were among the first 100 Americans to live in China in 30 years.

Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping and President Carter shake hands in 1979 to normalize diplomatic relations. Library of Congress photo.

Because my parents were members of the U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association, they’d learned of an English teaching opportunity in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province. We arrived in a proud but very poor country that was eager to learn and develop. We were welcomed very warmly. This was a time of hope and expanding possibilities in China.

Here’s to U.S.-China peace, friendship and dialogue. Governments make a lot of bad mistakes. But regardless of which way our governments swing, the people of each country are good. I truly believe this.

Me, my sister and a Chinese friend in Hunan Province, China, circa 1979. Fehd family photo.

We spent three years in China. I quickly became fluent in the Hunanese dialect of Chinese, could crack crude jokes without my parents understanding, and developed a lifelong addiction to spicy foods. I later learned Mandarin and lived in Taiwan, where I started my first journalism job as a writer, copyeditor and page designer at an English-language newspaper. If President Carter hadn’t normalized relations with China, I’d be a different person today.

For three consecutive years, my mother taught a group of 30 students who were among the brightest in the province and who’d been denied education for ten years during the Cultural Revolution. She became very close friends with these students, who still, 40 years later, call her on Teacher’s Day (September 10) and sometimes visit in person. This generation went on to be China’s most successful entrepreneurs.

My mother, Mariana Fehd, teaching English in China after President Carter normalized diplomatic relations. She says the cursive behind her was written by her students, many of whom had studied English in secret during the Cultural Revolution.

My mother taught English as a second language for 30 years before retiring in the early 2000s. A few years later, one of her Chinese students who had become an American citizen, successful businessman, philanthropist and supporter of the Carter Center, invited President Carter to Hunan University and flew my mother and me there as well. I believe this was a way to say thank-you to two very influential people in his life. My mother shared a stage with the former president on a panel discussing modern teaching.

President Carter and my mom, Mariana Fehd, at a forum at Hunan University in 2009.

When the program was over, Carter and my mom shared a special moment she’ll never forget.

Here’s my mom’s recollection:

“I was in the early stages of Parkinson’s, where balance was already an issue. The program was over and most of the students had left. I got to the top of the stairs that descended from the stage and I reached for handrails, but there weren’t any. I felt myself teeter and didn’t know how I was going to get down the stairs. That’s when Carter and a Chinese security man noticed. Both came over really fast. They were both reaching out to me.

“Carter took my hand. His grasp was sturdy and dependable. I had no issue going down those stairs. I’ll never forget that moment. What struck me was that with all that was going on around him, Carter noticed that, and he came over to help. I think the character of a man is revealed in the smallest of things. I’ve always felt that he was my friend, and I’m sure a lot of people felt that way.”

I, too, will never forget that image of President Carter walking my mom down the stairs. He was not going to let her fall. Not on his watch.

My mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 23 years ago and now lives with us. She’s here at

Mariana

and welcomes your greetings. She’s fully cognizant, usually joyful and loves to paint watercolors. Here’s one of my favorites:

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About Earth Hope:

Earth Hope is a solutions-based journalism project that highlights environmental success stories from around the globe, because hope is the foundation of progress. I’m Amanda Royal, a former newspaper reporter and current eco-news junkie. Read more about this project and what inspired it.

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