Dui Hua
On the way to work this morning, I heard this segment on NPR's Morning Edition, about John Kamm, former businessman turned human rights activist.
In 1990, John Kamm was living an expat businessman's dream. He was head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, where he worked for a U.S. multi-national corporation. The perks included a chauffer-driven Mercedes and an apartment overlooking the South China Sea.
Then, one evening, he kissed that life goodbye.
Kamm was at a Chinese government banquet. Thousands were still in prison from the Tiananmen Square crackdown. A Chinese official was praising Kamm for his help in lobbying Congress.
Kamm just couldn't take it.
"I stopped him, in the middle of his toast. And basically said, 'Thank you very much, but what are you going to do for me?' And the room just froze," Kamm recalls. He said China needed to improve its human rights record. And it could start by freeing a Hong Kong student held in Shanghai.
"Well, this minister, he became very angry. He said this was an act of gross interference in the internal affairs of China and an unfriendly act that had hurt the feelings of the Chinese people."
"It created quite, quite a scene," says Jeff Muir, a U.S. businessman who attended the dinner. He said people were worried Kamm was spoiling U.S.-China relations. "I remember somebody saying to the Chinese official, 'Not all Americans are as impertinent as Mr. Kamm."
Impertinent? Sure. But the outburst was also effective. After the banquet, Kamm testified in Washington on China's behalf. About six weeks later, the Hong Kong student walked free. Since then, Kamm estimates he's either helped free or improve the conditions of 400 political prisoners. Kamm presents their cases directly to Chinese officials. He tells them that showing mercy is good PR in America.
"My background is in sales," Kamm says. "I'm selling the Chinese government on human rights."
What particularly got my attention, and led me to npr.org to see if I could email the story around, was how Kamm ended his interview with Langfitt, which wasn't reproduced in the text on the website:
Sixteen years have passed since that banquet in Hong Kong, and Kamm still struggles to explain why he spoke out that night. He cites his idealism as a college student in the late 1960s. And, like others who’ve had life changing epiphanies, he cites Scripture: in this case, the gospel of Matthew:
(Kamm reads) "You will be brought before governors and kings to testify on my behalf before the gentiles. Give not a thought to what or how you will speak. It will be given to you in that hour what you will say. It is not you who speaks, but the spirit of the Lord who speaks through you.
"And that’s what it was. It really was an out-of-body experience for me."
Kamm is now 55, suffers from diabetes, and plans to retire in a few years. He’s disappointed that, after all this time, no other US businessman has taken up the cause of working to free prisoners. When Kamm steps down, he’ll pass the torch to someone in his foundation. Frank Langfitt, NPR News.
You can visit the website of Kamm's organization, Dui Hua, here, where you can read endorsements from everyone from Barbara Boxer and Bill Clinton to Orrin Hatch and George W.
In 1990, John Kamm was living an expat businessman's dream. He was head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, where he worked for a U.S. multi-national corporation. The perks included a chauffer-driven Mercedes and an apartment overlooking the South China Sea.
Then, one evening, he kissed that life goodbye.
Kamm was at a Chinese government banquet. Thousands were still in prison from the Tiananmen Square crackdown. A Chinese official was praising Kamm for his help in lobbying Congress.
Kamm just couldn't take it.
"I stopped him, in the middle of his toast. And basically said, 'Thank you very much, but what are you going to do for me?' And the room just froze," Kamm recalls. He said China needed to improve its human rights record. And it could start by freeing a Hong Kong student held in Shanghai.
"Well, this minister, he became very angry. He said this was an act of gross interference in the internal affairs of China and an unfriendly act that had hurt the feelings of the Chinese people."
"It created quite, quite a scene," says Jeff Muir, a U.S. businessman who attended the dinner. He said people were worried Kamm was spoiling U.S.-China relations. "I remember somebody saying to the Chinese official, 'Not all Americans are as impertinent as Mr. Kamm."
Impertinent? Sure. But the outburst was also effective. After the banquet, Kamm testified in Washington on China's behalf. About six weeks later, the Hong Kong student walked free. Since then, Kamm estimates he's either helped free or improve the conditions of 400 political prisoners. Kamm presents their cases directly to Chinese officials. He tells them that showing mercy is good PR in America.
"My background is in sales," Kamm says. "I'm selling the Chinese government on human rights."
What particularly got my attention, and led me to npr.org to see if I could email the story around, was how Kamm ended his interview with Langfitt, which wasn't reproduced in the text on the website:
Sixteen years have passed since that banquet in Hong Kong, and Kamm still struggles to explain why he spoke out that night. He cites his idealism as a college student in the late 1960s. And, like others who’ve had life changing epiphanies, he cites Scripture: in this case, the gospel of Matthew:
(Kamm reads) "You will be brought before governors and kings to testify on my behalf before the gentiles. Give not a thought to what or how you will speak. It will be given to you in that hour what you will say. It is not you who speaks, but the spirit of the Lord who speaks through you.
"And that’s what it was. It really was an out-of-body experience for me."
Kamm is now 55, suffers from diabetes, and plans to retire in a few years. He’s disappointed that, after all this time, no other US businessman has taken up the cause of working to free prisoners. When Kamm steps down, he’ll pass the torch to someone in his foundation. Frank Langfitt, NPR News.
You can visit the website of Kamm's organization, Dui Hua, here, where you can read endorsements from everyone from Barbara Boxer and Bill Clinton to Orrin Hatch and George W.