THE EARTH STATION

BY :

Ally

11/7/2012

N I X O N ’ S V I S I TThe Earth Stat ion

Table of Contents

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Author’s Note 1

Family Tree!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2

The Earth Station ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3

Interview ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 6

Bibliography! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 9

Reflection! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 10

Author’s Note

! After years of tension between China and the United States, largely due to American support of nationalists in Taiwan, Richard Nixon, the 37th President of America, visited China, ending 20 years of frosty relationships between the two countries. Following a series of low-key diplomatic talks in 1970, Nixon sent his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, to China for secret talks. Nixon's visit to China, from February 21-28, 1972, was the first by an American president while in office. With this, the United States formally recognized the “One-China” principle—that there is only One China, and that Taiwan is a part of China.

! My grandpa, Han Zheng Rong, worked with the group who received the American communications people, who came with President Nixon. He was also the one who tested the Earth Station that Nixon brought so that communication between the two

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countries would become easier and telephoning service from the U.S to China would become avail-able. This story is told in his perspective.

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Family Tree

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Family Member I interviewed

The Earth Station

I smiled and raised my thimble-sized glass as I downed the remainder of my firewater. It’s the year 1972 and a banquet is currently being hosted in the honor of President Nixon, the 37th president of America, who is visiting China. This visit marked the re-opening of U.S. relations with China, ending 20 years of frosty associa-tions. Being held at the Great Hall of the People’s Repub-lic of China, the banquet was hosted by Prime Minister Zhou-En-Lai. ! All around me, clapping erupted as Prime Minister Zhou-En-Lai finished his speech. He had described Mr. Nixon's long journey to China as a "positive move", re-sponding to the wishes of the peoples of both countries. The American president replied in kind. "There is no rea-son for us to be enemies," he stated. "Neither of us seeks the territory of the other; neither of us seeks domination over the other; neither of us seeks to stretch out our hands and rule the world." ! After the speeches, the Chinese band played several American songs, such as “America the Beautiful” and “Turkey in the Straw”. Then there followed an elaborate round of toasts, in which all 800 guests at the banquet

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wandered from table to table, talking and wishing each other well.

When Nixon arrived in China, he brought along an earth station, so communication between America and China could be easier. With the Earth station and the pre-launched satellite, telephoning service from China to America via the satellite was now possible. On the 21st of February, the plane landed with a thump, as the front wheels of the C1 41 military transport plane came into contact with the tarmac of Beijing International Airport. The smell of gasoline fumes hit me straight in the face and the hum of engines surrounded me.

When the plane had safely landed, a large compart-ment opened to reveal the Earth Station, brought by Nixon to help communication between China and Amer-ica. The Earth Station was a bowl-like structure with an-tennas jutting out from the center, forming a triangular shape. But then the problem came. Because China was still developing, the airport didn’t have the essential ma-chines – the giant forklifts - that were required for unload-ing heavy things like an Earth Station. Thinking out of the box, the Chinese workers invented a different method. They piled wood blocks up to the level of the plane’s plat-

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form, making the Earth Station ride onto the blocks, thus, solving the problem.

After installing the Earth Station at the Beijing air-port, we tested the station to see if the line was intact. Testing the station proved to be just like answering any phone call; I just had to pick up the receiver and talk! De-spite how easy it seemed, my mind still raced. What if the line didn’t work? What if the opposite person on the line couldn’t understand me? What if? What if? But then, holding the receiver tightly to my ear, I greeted the other side tentatively, not really sure what to say. “Testing. Testing.”

I stopped, waiting for the American on the other end of the line to reply. There was an air of expectancy in the room.

After a slight pause, the American replied. “Hello?”“Hello, we’re very glad to speak to you!”All around me, cheering began and I couldn’t help

smiling. That day, I had represented China by being cho-sen to test the first telephone call via satellite, and I couldn’t suppress a feeling of pride for both my country and myself.

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During those days (after Nixon’s visit), I came to know the Americans and also a little bit more about the United States as a country, and as a peo-ple. After that, I turned my interest from the English language to American studies.! ! ! !

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Above: The cup my grandpa was allowed to bring home as a souvenir of the event.

Nixon’s signature; everybody who went to the banquet received one.

Interview

Name: Han Zhen RongDate of Birth: 8/16/1934Where he was born: ShanghaiWhere he currently lives: ShanghaiHistoric event that affected him: Nixon’s visit to china/ First Chinese to speak to the Americans via a satel-lite Physical description: Wears glasses, stubby shaved beardPersonality traits: Strict, careful and detailed

Proposed questions:1: How old were you when you met president Nixon?! Attended his banquet. 29 years old2: Did you actually translate stuff for him?! NO, didn’t translate for him, translated for the com-munications group 3: How did you get chosen to translate? Who chose you?

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! Because I was in the communications group and the whole communications group went4: Did you prepare?! No, not really5: Do you have any pictures of you at the event?! No pictures, I have a glass cup that he used at the banquet and Nixon’s signature6: How did this event change your perspective about the world?! During those days, I came know the Americans and also know a little bit about the United States as a country, and as a people. So after that I turned my interest from the English language to American studies.7: What were the main events that happened?! Premier Zhou’s speech, Nixon’s speech, band playing8: Why did the event happen?! Marked the re-opening of U.S. relations with China9: What was the most interesting thing that hap-pened to you during the event?! When Nixon came, brought earth station, satellite, is a place where you transmit signals from China to Amer-ica via the satellite

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! When the earth station arrived, cargo plane, at the time, didn’t have machines to unload the station from the plane - the giant forklift; so then the Chinese workers in-vented a method they just piled the wood blocks up to the level of the plane’s platform, then the station rode onto the blocks - solved the problemPlane: C1 41, military transport cargo plane!

When they finished installing the earth station, at the Beijing airport, they tested the station. Was the first Chi-nese to speak to the Americans via the satellite Said: hello, very glad to speak to you!10: What was the best thing about the event?! Premier Zhou’s state banquet in Nixon’s honor! His paragraph not on draft! Said famous sentence to build a bridge across the Pa-cific Ocean, significant ! Chinese band played several American songs like America the beautiful, Turkey in the straw! Ate: typical Chinese food11: During this time what moments impacted you?! When I spoke to Americans via a satellite12: Have you saved any possessions from event?! Yes. Cup and signature

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13: How did you feel when you spoke to the Americans via the satellite?! I felt proud to be chosen to test the first telephone call via a satellite. 14: How did you speak to the Americans via the satellite?! Normal phone call, just phone call via satellite

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Bibliography

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"1972 Nixon Visit to China." Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation, 11 May 2012. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Nixon_visit_to_China

BBC News. BBC, 21 Feb. 1972. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/21/newsid_2728000/2728761.stm>

Reflection

What  specific  challenges  did  you  face  during  this  pro-­‐ject?   During  this  project,  I  faced  a  few  challenges,  like  when  I  was  trying  to  make  my  narra:ve  show,  and  not  tell.  I  found  out  that  changing  it  so  that  verbs  were  ac:ve  and  exci:ng  but  at  the  same  :me,  accurate  was  pre?y  hard  for  me.  Also,  in  the  middle  of  all  the  verbs  and  showing,  I  had  to  weave  historical  facts  in  my  narra:ve,  which  proved  to  be  quite  challenging.  

What  did  you  learn  about  your  family  member?  (per-­‐sonality,  character…)I  was  very  surprised  when  I  found  out  that  he  was  the  one  to  test  the  satellite.  Before,  I  never  knew  that  he  was  one  of  the  people  that  received  Nixon.  

What  did  you  learn  about  yourself  (as  a  learner,  as  a  family  member)?I  learned  that  I  have  a  really  awesome  family!  

How  have  you  grown?  (as  a  writer…)

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In  view  of  the  fact  that  I  faced  many  challenges,  I  also  learned  a  lot  about  wri:ng.  I  have  grown  as  a  writer  by  being  able  to  more  efficiently  organize  wri:ng  and  I  also  think  that  I  have  improved  in  sentence  fluency  and  sen-­‐tence  structure.  

Why  do  you  think  doing  a  project  like  this  is  important?I  think  doing  a  project  like  this  is  important  because  through  these  projects,  you  learn  a  lot  about  your  family  and  at  the  same  :me,  learn  more  about  history.  

What  part  of  this  process  did  you  enjoy  most?  Why?I  enjoyed  the  part  we  actually  started  wri:ng  because  I  loved  the  feeling  of  puIng  everything  together.

What  part  of  this  process  did  you  least  enjoy?  Why?I  did  not  enjoy  the  interviewing  part  because  I  did  not  like  making  up  the  ques:ons.  

How  do  you  plan  to  share  this  project  with  your  family/  family  member?I  plan  to  show  them  this  project  (minus  the  reflec:on  part).

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