Professor Xu Guoqi from the Department of History was recently interviewed by the SCMP for an article about the first Chinese graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point. Ying Hsing Wen, the grandfather of ex-chief executive Tung Chee-hwa's sister-in-law Harriet Tung, attended West Point between 1905 and 1909...
When Theodore Roosevelt became US president in 1901, he made it a priority to pursue active policies with Asian countries, said Xu Guoqi, professor of history at the University of Hong Kong.
Roosevelt's administration supported the establishment of the Boxer Scholarship in 1908, which enabled Chinese students to study in the US.
"To cultivate good relations with Chinese youth was very important," Xu said. "Mr Wen, like many Chinese boy students prior to him and many Boxer scholar students after him, was a very important part of the shared history between Chinese and Americans. They functioned as messengers between both nations and cultures."
The last time China sent a cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point was in 1937.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, China was in the midst of transforming itself into a modern nation. The country was weak in terms of its economy, diplomacy and military - and the desire to bolster its armed forces motivated leaders to send young men to train abroad in the hope that they would return with the skills to strengthen the nation.
"The nation was sick and desperate to be a rich country with a strong military," said Xu Guoqi, professor of history at the University of Hong Kong. "To learn from the developed countries was a major theme in modern China from the late 19th century."
In the late 19th and early 20th century, China was in the midst of transforming itself into a modern nation. The country was weak in terms of its economy, diplomacy and military - and the desire to bolster its armed forces motivated leaders to send young men to train abroad in the hope that they would return with the skills to strengthen the nation.
"The nation was sick and desperate to be a rich country with a strong military," said Xu Guoqi, professor of history at the University of Hong Kong. "To learn from the developed countries was a major theme in modern China from the late 19th century."
Please click on the link below for the full article: http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1863863/grandfather-was-first-chinese-graduate-west-point-says
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