chilton747 Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 Was a missionary to Taiwan. Adopted daughter from China. Fluent Mandarin. A lot of ambassadors have been appointed to countries with far less impressive credentials specific to those countries. Being a Mormon missionary = impressive credential? Hey, he speaks fluent mandarin. That's 90% of the battle! I think Obama made a wise choice.So the other 10% would be if he spoke Cantonese? Link to comment
warpedbored Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 Not sure how much he tows the Mormon line. He is in favor of gay civil unions. I don't think the church would approve of that. Missionaries of any ilk make me nervous. their job is convert the heathens and convince them that your religion is better than theirs. The fact he speaks Mandarin is a huge plus. I think it is a good thing that Obama reached across party lines and picked a man he thought right for the job. Too many ambassadorships have been handed out as favors or to reward someone who has helped them along the way. Link to comment
samsong Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 Not sure how much he tows the Mormon line. He is in favor of gay civil unions. I don't think the church would approve of that. Missionaries of any ilk make me nervous. their job is convert the heathens and convince them that your religion is better than theirs. The fact he speaks Mandarin is a huge plus. I think it is a good thing that Obama reached across party lines and picked a man he thought right for the job. Too many ambassadorships have been handed out as favors or to reward someone who has helped them along the way.Christian missionaries have been in China since the 19th century. They have a long history in providing for the people.I don't know if I agree with all of their practices but they have been there a long time. That can't be overlooked. Link to comment
rogerinca Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 It would appear that President Obama is looking to appoint the Republican Governor of Utah as the ambassador to China. I heard about this on the way home, and the news blurb seemed to imply that it made sense, since he is fluent in Mandarin from when he did his missionary work in China. Google news agregation What say you guys? Jon Huntsman? From Utah?? Former Mormon missionary in China??? This has got to be the funniest stuff I've heard in a looooong time! <snip> If a moderator does not do their job on this 'member's' post; then I will feel free to respond, in the only way I think is appropriate. I'm sorry that you feel some religions aren't a historical farce. For those who are from the area where a certain religion was formed and are familiar with the real history (not to mention NY State felony conviction records), the truth has not been muddled with marketing. Nothing like continued hate speech, from a very stealthy 'member'. What does this man's religion have to do with his qualifications for the job? You just had to get another 'shot' in. Why are you here? Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 Was a missionary to Taiwan. Adopted daughter from China. Fluent Mandarin. A lot of ambassadors have been appointed to countries with far less impressive credentials specific to those countries. Being a Mormon missionary = impressive credential? Hey, he speaks fluent mandarin. That's 90% of the battle! I think Obama made a wise choice. A Chinese ambassador from the US? Why not pick a Chinese American? Or, is the Chinese exclusion act still in force? Link to comment
Guest jin979 Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 how does it matter that he speaks mandarin ? to being a good ambassador ? its more what he says and does that matters. Link to comment
Randy W Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 how does it matter that he speaks mandarin ? to being a good ambassador ? its more what he says and does that matters. Because what he says and understands are a big part of it Link to comment
Guest jin979 Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 how does it matter that he speaks mandarin ? to being a good ambassador ? its more what he says and does that matters. Because what he says and understands are a big part of it i doubt he understands all mandarin dialects or talks them or Cantonese. my meaning is the substance of what he says not the language he uses. More important maybe is his understanding of our culture. in his time in china did he live with chinese or other westen. his job there was to spread a westen belief in china so how much of chinas beliefs did he take ?on a different matter many chinese are very against westen "stealing" chinese babies (as they see it) this may not be seen as a good choice in china. Link to comment
IllinoisDave Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 First of all, most know that I'm probably the least religious person here so I didn't include the missionary part of his resume to boost his creds. Personally I think missionaries of all religions have done more harm than good in most of the places they've invaded. But that's a different discussion. I listed it along with the other things to point out that he's at least lived in that part of the world and must have a modicum of knowledge about China. That's more than can be said of many ambassadors who've been appointed solely on family or political ties over the years. I think the "Chinese exclusion act" crack was unnecessary and beneath this discussion. Some people would find fault with any pick the President made just because they want to. Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 (edited) First of all, most know that I'm probably the least religious person here so I didn't include the missionary part of his resume to boost his creds. Personally I think missionaries of all religions have done more harm than good in most of the places they've invaded. But that's a different discussion. Your statement is actually not a discussion at all, but rather an attack upon people of faith, who wish to bring hope, help, and a better life to remote regions of the world. It seems you strongly disagree with the message they bring along with it. Edited May 17, 2009 by ShaQuaNew (see edit history) Link to comment
IllinoisDave Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 who wish to bring hope, help, and a better life to remote regions of the world.If only they'd leave the intolerence and hypocrisy of their respective religions, not to mention their diseases, behind. And that's quite a statement from someone who preaches so longly and loudly about how "outsiders" should leave China to her own devices. So now I guess you'd be all for unlimited access for missionaries of all faiths to spread their various brands of hope, help and better lives to all the people of China? Link to comment
IllinoisDave Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 The topic is the ambassador, not religion.And getting back to the ambassador. The family business http://www.huntsman.com/china/ has a large presence in China so he's familiar with the business climate as well. Link to comment
Guest ShaQuaNew Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 The topic is the ambassador, not religion.And getting back to the ambassador. The family business http://www.huntsman.com/china/ has a large presence in China so he's familiar with the business climate as well. I don't think it would be a fun job at all. If you think about it, anyone with that job will be constantly stuck in the middle attempting to clarify the intentions and culture between two countries that couldn't be more different. Link to comment
Randy W Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 The topic is the ambassador, not religion.And getting back to the ambassador. The family business http://www.huntsman.com/china/ has a large presence in China so he's familiar with the business climate as well. I don't think it would be a fun job at all. If you think about it, anyone with that job will be constantly stuck in the middle attempting to clarify the intentions and culture between two countries that couldn't be more different. . . . and present a challenge to those who have an interest in Chinese culture Link to comment
IllinoisDave Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 The topic is the ambassador, not religion.And getting back to the ambassador. The family business http://www.huntsman.com/china/ has a large presence in China so he's familiar with the business climate as well. I don't think it would be a fun job at all. If you think about it, anyone with that job will be constantly stuck in the middle attempting to clarify the intentions and culture between two countries that couldn't be more different.But couldn't that be said of many ambassadors around the world? And this is one reason why I think his background will be an asset. I mean somebody's got to do it right? Why not somebody who at least has some knowledge of the country and the region? Let's face it, that job would be a huge challenge for anybody in this day and age. There's no guarantee he'll succeed just as there wouldn't be for anybody else. But I think he has a better chance of hitting the ground running than a lot of others would've had. Link to comment
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