Ｍｙ Ｇｒｅａｔｅｓｔ Ａｄｖｅｎｔｕｒｅ

Editor's Note:

On the evening of June 22， 2003 in Toronto， a garden party was going on， jubilantly celebrating the 90th birthday of an old Canadian lady Alice Carscallen Griffiths， former president of the Federation of Canada-China Friendship Associations and an old friend of China. Some 80 Canadians and Chinese attended the party.

Alice's birthday was actually in April. The postponement of celebration was made to wait for his sons' return from overseas and， what's more， to coincide with the conferring upon her the title of Friendship Ambassador by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

The celebration was not only a happy occasion for the Griffiths' family reunion， but also a grand demonstration of the fruition of Canada-China friendship. Guests present included such old friends of China as Norman Endicott and Shirley Endicott Small， son and daughter of James Endicott who were brought up in Sichuan Province in the same years as Alice was， and veteran members of FCCFA like Veronica Yuyitung， Yung-wo Jao and Annie Cheng who worked together with her in the 1970s-80s organizing various friendship activities. Consul General Mme Chen Xiaoling， the newly arrived Chinese diplomat in Toronto， presented the certificate and medal of Friendship Ambassador to Alice Griffiths on behalf of the CPAFFC.

Alice Griffiths grew up in one of the Canadian missionary families in Sichuan， China in the early 1920s-1930s. Her love for and sympathy with China have taken deep roots in her heart since childhood through personal experiences of living together with the Sichuanese people. This love led her to commit herself to the cause of promoting mutual understanding and friendship between the Canadian and Chinese people after the two countries established diplomatic relations. Alice is a person who enjoys working in obscurity rather than becoming a public figure. But her enormous efforts to get tens of local friendship organizations across Canada to form a national federation won support and acclaim from people of different background in Canada. The conferring of the title of Friendship Ambassador by the CPAFFC also proved the appreciation her contribution to the cause of friendship has won in China.

In the following remarks responding to the conferring at her 90th birthday celebration， Alice described how personal contacts between peoples helped enhance friendship and understanding. She was emotionally overcome when she read to the second last paragraph recalling her childhood years in China. Her son Steve had to finish it for her.

During my six years as Chairperson of the Federation of Canada-China Friendship Associations， I was able to lead many tours to China myself. And what a learning experience that was. These were very special and truly unique tours. I recall the warm welcome we received and how smoothly and efficiently our Chinese hosts looked after us， carefully planning itineraries tailored to each delegation's interests and requests. I never felt that we could equal these standards in our arrangements for Chinese delegations visiting Canada.

I remember those early tours in the seventies following mutual diplomatic recognition were quite a challenge. Often we were not adept in asking the many questions that interested us. Our Chinese counterparts were sometimes taken aback by our questions and our probing did not always elicit the answers we expected. There we were， a bunch of curious Canadians， very informal and not used to standing on ceremony， insisting impatiently on getting answers. Of course， as time went on and China's \"open door\" policy expanded. We became more skillful and successful at communicating with each other and more relaxed in our encounters. Always the emphasis was on respect for the other's point of view whether we agreed or not.

Through those early contacts， many close friendships grew. Some of those friends still remain in touch. I have especially fond memories of Duan Jin and Lu Wanru， and the times we worked together. It certainly was a wonderful experience for me. I felt it was a great privilege to be part of this process of building better understanding between Canada and China. Those were exciting， vital years which I consider as my life's greatest adventure.

Looking back， I am convinced that it was the right way to go， learning about each other through personal contact and visits. For so many years we in the western world were not well informed about China. But by the seventies， we had a great opportunity to see China for ourselves. The cross-cultural encounters that blossomed in this early period， often facilitated through the friendship movement， led to a tremendous cross-fertilization of ideas which formed the basis for a dynamic growth in Sino-Canadian relations in many fields.

Recently I have been thinking about my early childhood， growth up in Chengdu， Sichuan at a time of great turmoil in China， a time of rising nationalism and anger at foreign intervention which sometimes made life difficult to foreigners， especially missionaries like my parents. Despite this， I grew to love China， the spectacular landscapes of the Yangtze， Mount Omei and beautiful Guanshan， where we summered each year. Despite a sheltered and privileged life， we could not avoid the shock of seeing the poverty of people all around us. I developed a real love for the Chinese people， the families we knew， and life in the streets.

Somehow I found myself in sympathy with the Chinese students on the campus where my father taught as they gave fiery speeches protesting against imperialism. I was curious and began a life long quest to learn more about China， and its history of unhappy relations with the West. It is my fervent hope that future generations will continue this great adventure and find new ways to bring people together in this troubled world. On a personal level， I hope the Carscallen-Griffiths family traditions of interest in， and love for China and its people， will be carried on.