Wish You Happy Forever Read Online Free PDF Page B

circulated to all our staff and the translation copy has been sent to our newspaper, Population. We regard your attitude representing the sincere concern of the American people toward the Chinese people. We are here to express our heartfelt thanks and absolute agreement with you.
    For almost two months, headed by the U.S., NATO countries have launched an indiscriminate bombing of the innocent people, especially killing and injuring innocent Chinese journalists and diplomats, which is totally unacceptable by all peace-loving people in the world. Justice would bound to defeat all evils.
    They went on to assure me that my country’s wanton behavior would not affect our future cooperation. It did strike me that I was way out of my league here. I was a mere mom with a mission, and here I was blithely exchanging diplomatic cables.
    I had crossed a line, and I think I knew it. But there I was, on the other side. And I was growing mighty fond of our new partners. I couldn’t wait to meet them.

Chapter 2
    Do Not Hope to Reach the Destination Without Leaving the Shore

    There was one other bump on the road to China, and it wasn’t getting any smoother with time. I’d lost count of the number of people who’d told me that what I planned was now absolutely impossible. Out of the question. The situation was worse than ever. Foreigners were no longer welcome to even visit government orphanages, let alone set up programs inside them. “Forget China. Your daughter’s an American now.”
    And if it were up to the Chinese government, everybody would forget China, at least as it had to do with orphans. During the time that the Human Rights Watch report, the story that had opened our eyes, was being compiled, a British film crew, posing as an American orphan charity organization seeking to make a donation, had captured what they said was undercover documentary evidence of terrible and widespread neglect in Chinese orphanages. The Dying Rooms had been regularly airing ever since, even featured on 60 Minutes in the United States. Rather than fading, the international uproar it had provoked continued to grow.
    China responded to the loss of face by denying abuse, publishing a white paper refuting the allegations, thanking the world for its comments, and then . . . firmly closing the doors to all foreigners, well intentioned or otherwise. By now, even parents in the process of adopting had a hard time getting inside orphanages. If they did manage it, they rarely saw more than reception rooms.
    FOUR MONTHS HAD passed since our lunch with Norman, and still no word. For all I knew, he hadn’t done a single thing to secure permission for us to launch a program in Guangdong Province or anyplace else. Probably somebody who wasn’t busy imagining a movie in her head would have predicted this back at the lunch table.
    I couldn’t let a few bumps slow me down. The children were waiting. Anyway, I had a real partner now—a partner with connections, the guanxi (special personal relationships) that could make things happen. I wrote CPWF again and explained that, actually, if they would be so kind, I needed some help with government introductions.
    Ready or not, I was going to China.
    THE CHINESE CONSULATE in San Francisco was full of would-be summer travelers waiting in obedient, ragged queues. When I finally made it to the first window, the clerk hesitated over my application. He put down his red rubber stamp. He gave my paper to the fellow on his left. He reached for the application of the person behind, dismissing me.
    â€œNext window,” he said.
    â€œIs there something wrong?”
    The clerk pointed to the window at his left and focused full attention on the document before him. I no longer existed.
    There was no line at the next window. My new clerk did not look up when I arrived. He was sorting passports, rubber-banding them into tidy stacks.
    â€œ Nihao ,” I said brightly. I nodded at