Executive Director John Kamm gave a talk at the University Club of San Francisco alongside business leader Ken Wilcox. Adding a personal dimension to the talk was David Lin, the US pastor who was freed last year after nearly 20 years in a Chinese prison. He served as a poignant reminder that everyday people bear the consequences of deteriorating US-China ties.
EVENT
On Thursday, June 5, President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping had a 90-minute telephone conversation. A few hours later, Ken Wilcox, retired business leader and author of The China Business Conundrum, and John Kamm, Executive Director of The Dui Hua Foundation (Dui Hua), spoke to the members of the University Club of San Francisco. The event was titled “US-China Relations on the Precipice.”
The evening opened with remarks from Al Knoll, longtime club member and chairman of the Events Committee. He briefly introduced Kamm, Pastor David Lin, and Wilcox.
Knoll asked Kamm to say a few words. Kamm introduced Maragret Conley, Executive Director of the Asia Society of Northern California, William Simon, Dui Hua director and experienced businessman (he joined Kamm on his first trip to Mainland China in January 1976), and Lin.
In his remarks, Lin thanked Kamm and others who had helped secure his release, including his family members, notably his daughter Alice, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ambassador Nick Burns and his staff, and Christians who had prayed for him in China and the United States. In conversations with Kamm after the event, Lin spoke of his time in different carceral facilities including residential surveillance in a designated location, a detention center, and, finally, Beijing Number Two Prison. In the prison, he encountered inmates from 39 different countries, and over the years, around 15 American citizens.
Lin told Kamm that while he was not mistreated, he didn’t receive sufficient nutrition and could not freely practice his religion. Also, for the 27 months before entering prison, he couldn’t communicate with his family.
Kamm’s remarks focused on the impact of the “New Cold War with China” on the San Francisco Bay Area. He pointed out that there are four Chinatowns in the Bay Area – three in San Francisco and one in Oakland. The shops and restaurants are bracing for the high tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Other areas of concern are the sharp drop in container traffic and tourist arrivals. Students at Bay Area colleges are seeing their visas revoked.
Wilcox, a veteran banker who spent years living and working in Shanghai that included running the first joint venture bank established in China, outlined the prospects and perils of doing business in China.
He spoke about the challenges of working together with the Chinese Communist Party as well as the structure of the capital market system in China and why it is difficult to insert a Western bank into that system. He quoted a well-known Chinese proverb: 同床异梦 (same bed, different dreams).
Following the remarks of Lin, Kamm, and Wilcox, Al Knoll opened the floor to questions. A lively give-and-take ensued.
PUBLICATIONS HIGHLIGHTS
JOHN KAMM REMEMBERS
From John Kamm Remembers, a series written by Dui Hua’s founder recounting his advocacy for prisoners in China.
Lost but not Forgotten: Wuhan’s Democracy Wall Movement
China’s Democracy Wall movement’s most prominent activist was Wei Jingsheng. A lesser-known dissident was Zhu Jianbin (朱建斌). of Wuhan, whose name I first came across in a New York Times article by Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof.
ENCOUNTER WITH CHINA (PODCAST)
Dragon Years: Remembrance of Times Past is a limited series about founder John Kamm’s work from 1976 to Dui Hua’s founding in 2000, culminating in the Foundation’s 25th Anniversary in 2024.
Dragon Years: Remembrance of Times Past 2024 (Special Series)
The Year of the Wood Dragon sees Trump’s return to the presidency and the easing of US-China tensions following the release of several U.S. citizens from prisons in China. In this final episode of Dragon Years: Remembrance of Times Past, John Kamm and Dui Hua board member and seasoned diplomat Bill McCahill discuss the events that shaped US-China ties in 2024 and their impact on Dui Hua’s work.
PRISONER UPDATES
Dui Hua’s Prisoner Updates provide the latest information uncovered through research and direct dialogue with the Chinese government.
Seven members of a house church in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, have been placed in criminal detention for Article 300. Pastor Gao Quanfu (⾼全福), Pastor Jiao Yong (焦勇), Pastor Tang Bingyi (唐秉义) and others of the Light of Zion house church were taken by police from their home on May 16 and 17. One preacher, Liu Ce (刘策) was placed under administrative detention for ten days.
Liu Jinling (刘金玲), a follower of “Master Dishen” and a Longkou resident of Shandong Province, was detained on May 29 for “using a cult to undermine implementation of law” (Article 300). She is currently held at the Yantai Detention Center.