AMERICAN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY SPECIAL ENVOY MICHELLE KWAN'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 000255

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR R, ECA, EAP/CM, AND EAP/PD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL OVIP HK KPAO
SUBJECT: AMERICAN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY SPECIAL ENVOY MICHELLE KWAN'S
VISIT TO HONG KONG



1. SUMMARY: American Public Diplomacy Envoy and figure skating
champion Michelle Kwan put in two days (Jan. 23-24)of extremely
effective outreach to Hong Kong youth organizations and schools,
both in concert with Under Secretary Karen Hughes and on her own.
Ms. Kwan shared with over 1,500 students lessons she learned through
skating about achieving one's dreams through dedication and
diligence. She was particularly adept at engaging Hong Kong
audiences, frequently breaking into the locally spoken Cantonese
dialect, and explaining how a child of immigrants can both be proud
of her ethnic heritage and be a patriotic American as well. Media
coverage was positive and plentiful. END SUMMARY.

The Venues
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2. Ms. Kwan's programming schedule included:
- Together with U/S Karen Hughes (whose whole program is reported
septel),an informal luncheon with the Hong Kong Girl Guides
Association (11 teenaged Girl Guides and 13 Board Members, Leaders,
and Staff);
- Lecture and Discussion with students organized by the Hong Kong
Federation of Youth Groups and its programming subsidiary aimed at
youth in the Chinese diaspora, the Dragon Foundation (280 secondary
students);
- Campus tour, small group discussions, and lecture and discussion
session for the entire student body with students from the Ti-I
("Sports and Arts") College (a junior and senior high school of 900
students);
-Lecture and discussion with students under the auspices of the
Hong Kong SAR Government's Leisure and Cultural Services Department
(350 primary, secondary and university students, skaters, and other
athletes);
- Interview with three leading Hong Kong dailies (English-language
South China Morning Post and Chinese-language Oriental Daily and
Ming Pao) and photo/Q and A coverage of her other events.


3. The local organizations that hosted Ms. Kwan turned out to be
perfect program partners. Ti-I College is Hong Kong's only "magnet
school" for athletes and artists; the Dragon Foundation invites
ethnic Chinese of exceptional achievement (such as basketball player
Yao Ming and Nobel Laureates) to address Hong Kong youths; and the
Leisure and Cultural Services Department runs a Sports Education
Program for schoolchildren of all ages, teaching them the value of
athletics to health and overall development.

A Flawless Performance
--------------

4. The result/impact of Ms. Kwan's visit was outstanding. It is
hard to imagine a better emissary to advance our key MPP goal -
indeed, our primary global Public Diplomacy objective - of promoting
mutual understanding and good will toward the United States than
Michelle Kwan. Already beloved worldwide for her grace and dynamism
as a figure skater, Ms. Kwan proved equally adept in her new role as
American Public Diplomacy Special Envoy.


5. Ms. Kwan embodies what is best in America and communicates those
core values very effectively to her audiences. Her main message is
to "work hard, be yourself, and have fun," a philosophy that, in
combination with the opportunities of an open society like the
United States, allowed her to develop her talents to become a world
champion. Her down-to-earth, kindly demeanor allows her to establish
an immediate rapport with her audiences, and her infinite patience
and generous nature makes her especially successful in engaging
youth.


6. In both her small group and large lecture discussions, she began
with brief comments about her own background and experiences,
recipes for her success as a skater, and the importance of family
support and diligence in pursuing one's dreams. The students at all
venues had many excellent questions, and Ms. Kwan was the perfect
respondent to address student concerns about time management, how to
handle pressure, and how to stand up after falling down and
continuing to strive for excellence.


7. Ms. Kwan was particularly eloquent on the frequently-broached
subject of her percepion of her identity; whether she considers
hersef Chinese or American, what it means to be a
"Chnese-American," etc. Ms. Kwan stressed that she fet privileged
o have been exposed to both culturs and how they are both vital to
who she is as aperson, and she emphasized the universal values
such as love of family and importance of education that we all
share. Breaking into simple but perfectly cadenced Cantonese at
parts for emphasis, she won her audiences' hearts.


8. Of special note is the brownbag luncheon hosted by

HONG KONG 00000255 002 OF 002


by the DPO with representatives from the Hong Kong Girl Guides
Association. Participants included 11 teenaged Girl Guides (all
veterans of international leadership camps)and Members of the Girl
Guides Board of Directors, including Board President (and wife of
Hong Kong's Chief Executive) Selina Tsang, Macau gaming magnate
Stanley Ho, and numerous winners of Hong Kong's prestigious Bauhinia
Award recognizing charitable and social work benefiting all of Hong
Kong society. The discussion among the participants was
free-flowing, lively, and wide-ranging on leadership, setting goals,
shared cultural values, family values, and different international
experiences. Ms. Kwan and U/S Hughes had a wonderful exchange with
these current and future leaders of Hong Kong, culminating in the
participants agreeing to institute an annual friendship exchange
between girls from Hong Kong and America on the model of a Hong
Kong-PRC "friendship caravan" in 2006 described by one the board
members.

Perfect Sixes
-------------- --------------

9. Ms. Kwan even managed to disarm the famously tough Hong Kong
press; media coverage of her events and presence here was
overwhelmingly positive (apart from a mention of a slight stumble
and a factual error or two). Virtually every local television
station and major print publication featured footage/photos of her
meeting with the various youth groups and students, and captured her
main message of encouraging students to work hard, to not be
discouraged by setbacks, and to keep pursuing their dreams.


10. Ms. Kwan's program addressed global themes Mutual Understanding
and International Public Opinion. It was a classic soft, feel-good
program. Post appreciates the support of our colleagues in R, ECA,
and EAP for their invaluable assistance in setting up Ms. Kwan's
program. Post would welcome any opportunity to program Ms. Kwan in
the future.

CUNNINGHAM