Today, 36 years ago, I left Communist China and arrived at Austin TX. After a 23-hour flight with two stops and after having gone through years of tyranny, oppression, poverty and indoctrination, I was so excited and happy that I finally made it to America, "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.”
I did not have much when I arrived. I was skinny and weighed only 98 pounds. I had a few clothes and books, $100 in my pocket that I borrowed from friends, and I was $1200 in debt to my U.S sponsor for air ticket and graduate school fees. I could not speak English fluently, but I was determined to work hard to achieve my American Dream.
Today, I am living the American dream: a loving husband (whom I met on the first day), three great adult children, self-employed working from home, live in the Granite State with my favorite motto “Live Free or Die” and I am running for US Congress in #NH02.
I am so blessed in this great country, and I am forever grateful for the opportunities I had. I hope America still holds the same promise for people who came here for freedom!
#americathebeautiful #americandream #lily4congress #teamlily #NHPolitics
My daughter's senior prom.She will go to Cornell this fall, and my wife has done her very best to raise her up. They write the text, I take the footnotes.
Today ,October 1, is President Jimmy Carter's 95th birthday. He led a team including me to observe the first Egyptian presidential election in 2012, and after that he sent me a letter with his signature. A great leader and a kind man.
Took many interviews from international media--mainly in English--on China's politics and media/internet issues. Wrote opinion for English media, but got less readership than Chinese ones. Now in Washington DC, I will resume writing in English as below: https://t.co/XP1x9Fn5f1