Scholar remembered for Deng meeting

To many in China and the United States, Winston L. Yang was a prolific scholar in Asian studies. But in the final analysis, Yang was a "Chinese compatriot" to be forever remembered for his contributions to relations across the Taiwan Straits, his friends and family have said.

At a memorial service Tuesday for Yang, who passed away on Aug 17 at age 86, relatives and friends highlighted the historic meeting between him and former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in June 1983, at which Deng formally unveiled his ideas about "one country, two systems".

Xu Xueyuan, a minister at the Chinese embassy in Washington who attended the service Tuesday, said that people will always remember Yang as the "witness and supporter of the scientific vision of 'one country, two systems'".

Deng, in a meeting 36 years ago in Beijing with Yang, then a professor at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, raised the six policies on realizing the peaceful reunification of the mainland and Taiwan.

"The most important issue is the reunification of the motherland," Deng told Yang, according to Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Volume III. "Peaceful reunification does not mean that the mainland will swallow up Taiwan.

"In March of this year, you held a forum in San Francisco on the prospects for China's reunification. That was a very good thing to do," Deng said.

Norman Fu, a longtime friend of Yang in the United States, noted that Yang interviewed Deng when he "unveiled for the first time this formula 'one country, two systems', which Yang had helped propagate in the ensuing years.

Fu said it is "very unfortunate" some people in Taiwan as well as in Hong Kong have "kind of deviated" from the original formula proposed by Deng.

"If they had followed strictly according to the letter of the formula — 'one country, two systems' — probably a lot of the problems and conflicts would have been avoided. That's my way of looking at it," Fu said.

Yang had contributed extensively to Chinese and English publications on politics, including how to improve China-US relations and cross-Straits relations, according to Fu.

"In the final analysis, I believe Dr Yang was a true Chinese compatriot, despite the fact he was a naturalized American citizen," Fu said. "I feel that his heart was always with China, with the Chinese people."

Yang was chosen as an adviser on China affairs to the Carter administration, according to Cheng Chen, Yang's niece.

He had traveled to China frequently, and in the early 1980s, he led trade or academic delegations from the US 10 times a year, helping to forge sister-ship relations between at least five Chinese provinces and US states in addition to promoting university exchanges between the two countries, Cheng said.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, said Yang devoted his life to relations across the Taiwan Straits and advocated peaceful reunification of China with "unswerving determination".

"He worked tirelessly to promote the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, opposing separatist attempts for 'Taiwan independence', unafraid of any slanders," Ma said on Aug 21. "We deeply mourn the passing of Yang. Although he has gone, his demeanor will last forever."

Yang's son, David Yang, recalled his father's "real tough life" after moving to Taiwan with his elder sister in 1949. While in high school, he lived alone, supporting himself by selling newspapers, then attended college on the island. He got his PhD at Stanford University before becoming a full professor and chairman of the East Asian Studies Department at Seton Hall.

"From there, he became the first scholar to interview Deng Xiaoping, which is amazing in itself," Yang said.

He said Yang was "extremely driven" and a highly focused individual, demonstrating a genuine willingness to help all those around him and never expecting anything back in return.

"My dad always had very high expectations for people around him. He just expects people to be better than they were," he said. "We all strive every day — we take something out and we become better individuals. It's his wisdom that guides us."