VZCZCXRO9094
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHHK #0255/01 0260711
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 260711Z JAN 07
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0275
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0143
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0365
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 3494
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 1029
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

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 
---------- 
¶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