I have been a global man since elementary school. I was born in the reddest of red states, Oklahoma but my family moved to France when I was five years old. I started elementary school just south of Orleans, France in a school that was close to the Loire River. Sister number 2 was born in a French village close to our home. Middle school was in Japan. Number three and four sisters were born there. I continued to travel as a young man; I was drafted into the US Army and I spent time in South Korea and in Vietnam. At the University of Oklahoma I was a History major – ironically I took a number of Chinese History courses. Once I became an academic surgeon and settled into my position at Columbia University, I wanted to enhance my training. I spent many months over several years as a visiting fellow at University Hospitals in Germany, France and Italy studying spine surgery. Starting in 1983, just three years after my appointment at Columbia I began volunteering with not for profit organizations providing medical care in other countries. That work took me to Africa, Eastern Europe and to South America. Of course, 1997 marked the beginning of my dedication to China – China has been my home away from home ever since.
My vision is that the bilateral relationship between China and the US is the most important bilateral relationship in the world and more than that it will be hard, if not impossible for the world to continue to prosper, continue to bring populations out of poverty, continue to improve global health, continue to improve the human condition if the Sino-American bilateral relationship does not work. That does not mean there is not competition and hard talk, but it does mean predictability, communication and yes even cooperation. That is basically the history of the relationship since rapprochement.
So why should I care? I’m living in China and I’m well accepted here – except, the atmosphere created by the current US government has not just impacted high level international relationships. The fruits of this toxic environment have drifted down through even the medical establishment. I find Chinese hospitals reluctant to cooperate with my not for profit organization founded to help disabled orphans and indigent children. The Chinese organizations we have worked with in the past few decades to raise funds for the care of these children have been increasingly reluctant to work with us as the bilateral relationship continues to deteriorate. The International Healthcare Leadership clinical fellowships had to be suspended because of the corona virus, but before that, the harsh attitude of the US government on legal Chinese travel to the States for educational purposes was making it more and more difficult for Chinese physicians and surgeons to take advantage of the opportunities we were offering. Currently I am working with a cadre of highly intelligent, hardworking Chinese medical students who started their journey intent on augmenting training in the US – they are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain the necessary visas – even though they are desperately needed.
Hopefully America’s change of administrations will potentiate a renewal of the professional international governance that the United States has fostered for generations and will allow a slow build towards a new globalism. I will no longer worry that my Chinese fellows will not be granted Visas, that the leadership of Chinese hospitals will again welcome American teaching/operating teams into their institutions, that the free flow of academicians between the two countries with resume and that perhaps I will no longer have to constantly apologize for my country as I speak to my Chinese friends and colleagues. Here’s hoping!
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