Big shot party leader

The prime news program was showing the Chinese government leader met with an array of foreign leaders who came to attend the O Games. I heard a familiar name being mentioned. It was that of a university teaching assistant who spent quite some time with us when he was a graduate student at the department. After some googling and calling my other classmates at university, I confirmed the big shot on TV was indeed him, W.

Approaching our graduation, we were giving each other notes on our graduation book. We lined up for W’s remarks. He looked at me and asked, “Are you a happy person?” At that age, everybody hates to admit his or her happiness. “Oh, no…” I was eager to reject. Still, he insisted, “I believe Min, you have a happy life ahead of you.” He went on, “A happy life is a like a glass ceiling. When the sun shines on it, its reflection lights up the world around it…”

W is famous for his notion that every nation takes its own pace on the road to democracy. Having someone as young and bright and humane to be the top ranking official overseeing the nation’s policy-making process is a good indication that China is on the right track.