My old friend Walter Chun who I travel with in 1985 as member of the delegation to Hainan signing the Sister City Agreement

My old friend Walter Chun who I travel with in 1985 as member of the delegation to Hainan signing the Sister City Agreement between Honolulu and Hawaii had A Lifetime Adventure With China. By Bob Jones, edited by Johnson Choi, MBA, International Business Consultant since 1985

我的老朋友Walter Chun，1985年我與他一同以代表團成員身分前往海南，簽署檀香山與夏威夷之間的姊妹市協議，他與中國有了一段終生難忘的冒險。作者：Bob Jones，編輯：蔡永強，商科碩士，國際商經顧問(1985年至今)

在「紅色威脅」的年代裡，他因為多年來推動對華友好而付出了社交上的代價。是際遇將Walter與中國緊緊相連。他的父親是迎風面歐胡島的稻農。但他的姊姊嫁給了孫中山在此地的兒子，而那位兒子帶著Walter去了中國，擔任南京議會的英文顧問。Walter離開中國，前往加州大學柏克萊分校就讀，在那裡，Edgar Snow的《紅星照耀中國》說服了他回去，去見那些正在對抗舊秩序共產黨人。

Walter前往延安的毛澤東／李萍總部，加入第八路軍的前線，有時穿著軍服，但從未成為戰鬥士兵。他說他想打仗，但毛的人告訴他回到國民黨那一邊，向人們講述共產主義事業。由於他與孫中山的關係，他在蔣介石政府中獲得了接連的好職位。

1947年最後的戰鬥到來時，他回到檀香山，1950年與Sau結婚，她是McKinley高中的教師，八天後他們搬回中國，與新的共產黨領導人共事，後來在香港從事銀行業。

說到他與妻子所付出的代價。

當他回到夏威夷時，許多朋友開始疏遠他。Walter與共產黨人走得太近了。我們當時正處於韓戰後的冷戰時期，Walter被視為「同路人」。那還是最客氣的說法。對其他人來說，他根本就是共產黨的同情者。我們當時正處於那種「ILWU就是共產黨、熱愛毛與斯大林」的模式之中。

Walter和Sau有兩個在中國出生的孩子。兒子Ping將於1979年的一場空難中去世。女兒Yen則繼承了父親利潤豐厚的中國業務。為何如此利潤豐厚？以下是故事的其餘部分。

當尼克森總統於1972年打破我們與中國之間的壁壘時，Walter處於獨特的地位，能幫助像西方石油公司和休斯工具公司這樣的美國企業進入中國。後來，許多《財富》500強公司都想要Chun的幫助。

Walter在親近毛的共產黨人時是否越了界？他和我有過許多對話，但我從不知道他的政治立場，因為我們相識時他已非常年老。我不知道Walter的忠誠屬於哪一方，我認為他自己也不知道。他只是身處一場冒險之中。

今天，我們只說中國，不說紅色中國。Lingle州長上個月還在那裡推廣夏威夷旅遊。

如今大人物們紛紛讚揚Chun，沒有人再稱他為同路人。他們說他一直是多麼精明的商人。

Walter曾在毛的總部附近，後來又與新的共產黨領導層在一起。他與妻子後來在香港從事銀行業。

He paid a social price for his years of promoting China friendship in the “Red Menace” years. It was circumstance that bound Walter to China. His dad was a Windward Oahu rice farmer. But his sister married the son of Sun Yat-sen here, and that son took Walter to China to be his English adviser to the parliament of Nanjing. Walter left China to study at UC-Berkeley, where Edgar Snow’s book Red Star Over China persuaded him to return and meet the communists who were fighting the old order.

Walter went to the Mao/Li Ping headquarters at Yana’an and joined the 8th Route Army on its front lines, sometimes in uniform but never as a fighting soldier. He says he wanted to fight but Mao’s people told him to go back to the Kuomintang side and tell people about the communist cause. He was given a succession of good jobs in the Chiang Kai-shek government because of his Sun Yatsen connection.

He returned to Honolulu when the final fighting came in 1947, married Sau, a McKinley High School teacher, in 1950, and they moved back to China eight days later to work with the new communist leaders, and later do banking in Hong Kong.

So about the price he and wife paid.

When he returned to Hawaii, many friends began dropping out. Walter was too close to the communists. We were in our Cold War period after the Korean War and Walter was regarded as a “fellow traveler.” That was the kindest of cuts. To others he was flat-out a communist sympathizer. We were in that ILWU-is-communist-and-loves-Mao-and-Stalin mode.

Walter and Sau had two children born in China. Son Ping would die in a 1979 plane crash. Daughter Yen would inherit her father’s lucrative China business. Why so lucrative? Here’s the rest of the story.

When President Nixon broke through our wall with China in 1972, Walter was uniquely positioned to help American businesses such as Occidental Petroleum and Hughes Tool get in. Later, many Fortune 500 companies wanted Chun’s help.

Did Walter cross the line in cozying up to Mao’s communists? He and I have had many conversations but I’ve never known his politics because he was very old when we met. I don’t know where Walter’s loyalties were, and I think neither did he. He was just in the middle of an adventure.

Today, we just say China, not Red China. Gov. Lingle was there last month promoting Hawaii tourism.

Bigwigs now sing Chun’s praises and nobody calls him a fellow traveler. They say what a smart businessman he’s been.

Walter around Mao’s headquarters and later with the new communist leadership. He and his wife later did banking in Hong Kong.