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2015-09-10
President Ma awards posthumous citation to late ROC Ambassador Ho Feng-Shan
President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of September 10 awarded a posthumous citation to late ROC Ambassador Ho Feng-Shan (何鳳山). Ambassador Ho's daughter, Ms. Ho Manli (何曼禮), accepted the honor on her father's behalf. The president presented the citation in recognition of Ambassador Ho's righteous and humanitarian deeds during World War II, in which he saved the lives of thousands of Jews seeking to escape the Holocaust by issuing them "Visas for Life."
In remarks, the president stated that Ambassador Ho was an extremely distinguished, compassionate, and courageous senior diplomat who served as consul-general of the ROC in Austria, as well as the ROC's ambassador to Egypt, Mexico, Bolivia, and Colombia. When he was posted to Vienna from 1938 to 1940, China had been invaded by Japan and engaged in an arduous war to resist the Japanese. Things were not any calmer in Europe, as anti-Jewish policies were instituted in Austria after the Nazis annexed that nation in 1938. Jews who were unable to leave Austria were imprisoned in concentration camps and faced death.
President Ma commented that the only means for Jews in Austria at that time to ensure their survival and obtain their freedom was to leave Austria. On July 6, 1938, many countries in Europe and the Americas participated in the Evian Conference in Evian-les-Bains, France, to discuss the issue of Jewish refugees. The majority of participating nations, however, were unwilling to accept large numbers of refugees. Subsequently, tens of thousands of Jews each day visited the consulates of various countries seeking visas, but only a limited number were successful. Without visas, Jews were unable to travel to other countries. The president said that during that time, Ambassador Ho, who was serving as ROC consul-general in Vienna, sensed the plight of the Jews, and on humanitarian grounds bravely, regardless of difficulties and opposition, issued large numbers of visas to Jews that allowed them to leave Austria and go to Shanghai. In all, he issued approximately 2,000 visas, assisting Jews to flee Nazi persecution, said the president.
Highlighting the far-ranging impact of Ambassador Ho's righteous deeds, the president then cited Daniel Weihs, who was also in attendance, and is currently a distinguished professor emeritus at Technion–Israel Institute of Technology. Professor Weihs was born in China in 1942, and his entire family was able to escape persecution by the Nazis thanks to the assistance of Ambassador Ho. His family then immigrated to Israel in 1949, and he subsequently became a leading scientist. Aware of Ambassador Ho's deeds, Professor Weihs previously visited the ROC in 2011, and he has played an active role in promoting cooperation between Taiwan and Israel in the area of technology, the president stated.
President Ma commented that Ambassador Ho was an extremely humble man, and rarely spoke about his efforts to help the Jews. It was only after he passed away that Ambassador Ho's family mentioned his issuance of visas to Jews in an obituary published in The Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle. That obituary immediately attracted the attention of Jewish Americans, and once his actions were verified by survivors, his deeds became more widely known. Consequently, Ambassador Ho became known as the "Schindler of the Orient" or "China's Schindler." In 2000 Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, gave Ambassador Ho the honorific title "Righteous Among the Nations," which was conferred at an awards ceremony in 2001.
President Ma expressed regret and apologies to the Ho family that the ROC had not presented this citation to Ambassador Ho sooner, saying that Ambassador Ho had righteously defied the sinister forces prevailing at that time to lend a helping hand to the Jews. Ambassador Ho's deeds, the president said, have not only been lauded at home and abroad, but have also brought attention and affirmation to the ROC from the international community.
After President Ma completed his remarks, Ambassador Ho's daughter, Ms. Ho Manli, stated that her father spent nearly 40 years serving as a diplomat for his country during extremely difficult times, when the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were waging a diplomatic war. Nonetheless, he helped maintain strong relationships between the ROC and every country where he was stationed, she said. Ms. Ho expressed her gratitude to the president for recognizing the outstanding performance of her father and his loyal service for 40 years. She said that while the humanitarian deeds of her father in assisting the Jewish people in Austria have been celebrated internationally, today he is finally receiving an honor from his homeland, the ROC, which she said is especially meaningful.
Among those witnessing the ceremony were Secretary-General to the President Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), Ms. Ho's husband John B. Wood, National Health Research Institutes President Hsing-Jien Kung (龔行健), Technion–Israel Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor Emeritus Daniel Weihs, Yad Vashem's Righteous Among the Nations Department Director Irena Steinfeld, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平).
Following is a translation of the presidential citation in full:
The late ROC Ambassador Ho Feng-Shan was an erudite and striking man. Born into a humble family, his diligence and affinity for studying earned him a college degree from Yale-in-China University in Hunan Province. He later went to Germany, supported by ROC government scholarships, to pursue advanced studies. His many years of hard work were rewarded with a doctorate in political economy from the University of Munich.
In his prime, Ambassador Ho's dedication, composure, and ability to think critically helped him navigate a diplomatic career that spanned extraordinary times. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he served as Director-General of the Department of Information, and was also posted as ROC Ambassador to Egypt, Mexico, Bolivia, and Colombia. His statesmanlike demeanor, sharp intellect, and unquestionable dedication made him particularly effective at boosting ROC relations with other nations.
Most notable, however, was the bravery Ambassador Ho showed in 1938 in Vienna, Austria, while serving as ROC Consul-General after being posted there in 1937. With rising Nazism pushing Europe to the brink of war and countries largely refusing to accept Jewish refugees, he defied the prevailing international tendency towards appeasing Nazi Germany. Despite the risks, he issued what came to be called "Visas for Life" to thousands of Jews, giving them safe passage to Shanghai where they would be free from persecution.
Ambassador Ho's compassionate and noble character underpinned his magnanimous and courageous deeds, word of which has since spread far and wide. In 2000, Israel posthumously awarded him the title of Righteous Among the Nations, the highest accolade in that country. His name was also engraved on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, winning him worldwide acclaim as China's Schindler. In 2008, the United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution honoring his heroic deeds. In that same year and 2015, respectively, the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad and the Israeli government mounted commemorative plaques outlining Ambassador Ho's heroics in Chinese, English, and German at the two former sites of the ROC Consulate General chancery in Vienna.
Ambassador Ho's contributions to the diplomatic work of the Republic of China are characterized by the provision of humanitarian aid in defiance of tyranny. His life was beyond reproach, and his extraordinary achievements are a beacon of hope in the annals of history. Indeed, Ambassador Ho embodies the spirit of what Confucius meant when he said that the wise are free from perplexities, the virtuous from anxiety, and the bold from fear.
The ROC government has the deepest respect and reverence for Ambassador Ho Feng-Shan, a remarkable man whose deeds serve as an example for us all.
In remarks, the president stated that Ambassador Ho was an extremely distinguished, compassionate, and courageous senior diplomat who served as consul-general of the ROC in Austria, as well as the ROC's ambassador to Egypt, Mexico, Bolivia, and Colombia. When he was posted to Vienna from 1938 to 1940, China had been invaded by Japan and engaged in an arduous war to resist the Japanese. Things were not any calmer in Europe, as anti-Jewish policies were instituted in Austria after the Nazis annexed that nation in 1938. Jews who were unable to leave Austria were imprisoned in concentration camps and faced death.
President Ma commented that the only means for Jews in Austria at that time to ensure their survival and obtain their freedom was to leave Austria. On July 6, 1938, many countries in Europe and the Americas participated in the Evian Conference in Evian-les-Bains, France, to discuss the issue of Jewish refugees. The majority of participating nations, however, were unwilling to accept large numbers of refugees. Subsequently, tens of thousands of Jews each day visited the consulates of various countries seeking visas, but only a limited number were successful. Without visas, Jews were unable to travel to other countries. The president said that during that time, Ambassador Ho, who was serving as ROC consul-general in Vienna, sensed the plight of the Jews, and on humanitarian grounds bravely, regardless of difficulties and opposition, issued large numbers of visas to Jews that allowed them to leave Austria and go to Shanghai. In all, he issued approximately 2,000 visas, assisting Jews to flee Nazi persecution, said the president.
Highlighting the far-ranging impact of Ambassador Ho's righteous deeds, the president then cited Daniel Weihs, who was also in attendance, and is currently a distinguished professor emeritus at Technion–Israel Institute of Technology. Professor Weihs was born in China in 1942, and his entire family was able to escape persecution by the Nazis thanks to the assistance of Ambassador Ho. His family then immigrated to Israel in 1949, and he subsequently became a leading scientist. Aware of Ambassador Ho's deeds, Professor Weihs previously visited the ROC in 2011, and he has played an active role in promoting cooperation between Taiwan and Israel in the area of technology, the president stated.
President Ma commented that Ambassador Ho was an extremely humble man, and rarely spoke about his efforts to help the Jews. It was only after he passed away that Ambassador Ho's family mentioned his issuance of visas to Jews in an obituary published in The Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle. That obituary immediately attracted the attention of Jewish Americans, and once his actions were verified by survivors, his deeds became more widely known. Consequently, Ambassador Ho became known as the "Schindler of the Orient" or "China's Schindler." In 2000 Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, gave Ambassador Ho the honorific title "Righteous Among the Nations," which was conferred at an awards ceremony in 2001.
President Ma expressed regret and apologies to the Ho family that the ROC had not presented this citation to Ambassador Ho sooner, saying that Ambassador Ho had righteously defied the sinister forces prevailing at that time to lend a helping hand to the Jews. Ambassador Ho's deeds, the president said, have not only been lauded at home and abroad, but have also brought attention and affirmation to the ROC from the international community.
After President Ma completed his remarks, Ambassador Ho's daughter, Ms. Ho Manli, stated that her father spent nearly 40 years serving as a diplomat for his country during extremely difficult times, when the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were waging a diplomatic war. Nonetheless, he helped maintain strong relationships between the ROC and every country where he was stationed, she said. Ms. Ho expressed her gratitude to the president for recognizing the outstanding performance of her father and his loyal service for 40 years. She said that while the humanitarian deeds of her father in assisting the Jewish people in Austria have been celebrated internationally, today he is finally receiving an honor from his homeland, the ROC, which she said is especially meaningful.
Among those witnessing the ceremony were Secretary-General to the President Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), Ms. Ho's husband John B. Wood, National Health Research Institutes President Hsing-Jien Kung (龔行健), Technion–Israel Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor Emeritus Daniel Weihs, Yad Vashem's Righteous Among the Nations Department Director Irena Steinfeld, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平).
Following is a translation of the presidential citation in full:
A Tribute to Ambassador Ho Feng-Shan
The late ROC Ambassador Ho Feng-Shan was an erudite and striking man. Born into a humble family, his diligence and affinity for studying earned him a college degree from Yale-in-China University in Hunan Province. He later went to Germany, supported by ROC government scholarships, to pursue advanced studies. His many years of hard work were rewarded with a doctorate in political economy from the University of Munich.
In his prime, Ambassador Ho's dedication, composure, and ability to think critically helped him navigate a diplomatic career that spanned extraordinary times. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he served as Director-General of the Department of Information, and was also posted as ROC Ambassador to Egypt, Mexico, Bolivia, and Colombia. His statesmanlike demeanor, sharp intellect, and unquestionable dedication made him particularly effective at boosting ROC relations with other nations.
Most notable, however, was the bravery Ambassador Ho showed in 1938 in Vienna, Austria, while serving as ROC Consul-General after being posted there in 1937. With rising Nazism pushing Europe to the brink of war and countries largely refusing to accept Jewish refugees, he defied the prevailing international tendency towards appeasing Nazi Germany. Despite the risks, he issued what came to be called "Visas for Life" to thousands of Jews, giving them safe passage to Shanghai where they would be free from persecution.
Ambassador Ho's compassionate and noble character underpinned his magnanimous and courageous deeds, word of which has since spread far and wide. In 2000, Israel posthumously awarded him the title of Righteous Among the Nations, the highest accolade in that country. His name was also engraved on the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, winning him worldwide acclaim as China's Schindler. In 2008, the United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution honoring his heroic deeds. In that same year and 2015, respectively, the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad and the Israeli government mounted commemorative plaques outlining Ambassador Ho's heroics in Chinese, English, and German at the two former sites of the ROC Consulate General chancery in Vienna.
Ambassador Ho's contributions to the diplomatic work of the Republic of China are characterized by the provision of humanitarian aid in defiance of tyranny. His life was beyond reproach, and his extraordinary achievements are a beacon of hope in the annals of history. Indeed, Ambassador Ho embodies the spirit of what Confucius meant when he said that the wise are free from perplexities, the virtuous from anxiety, and the bold from fear.
The ROC government has the deepest respect and reverence for Ambassador Ho Feng-Shan, a remarkable man whose deeds serve as an example for us all.
