ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : A Family Triumph

Sunshine and tears, hugs and mortarboards tossed in the air, the marvelous clamor of graduation day has enlivened college campuses across Orange County in recent days, with UC Irvine’s commencement still to come on June 17.

One of the special stories of graduation day belonged to Ray Zhang, a student activist in his native China who fled Beijing after the demonstrations against the government in Tian An Men Square. When the Chinese violently suppressed the protests nearly six years ago and imprisoned many leaders, Zhang escaped to Paris and then to Orange County, where on Sunday he received a master’s degree in business from Chapman University in Orange.

What made the day special was Zhang’s reunion with his parents, whom he had not seen for six years. Their meeting occurred only after wading through stacks of red tape from two governments, Chinese and American.

Beijing granted passports to Zhang’s parents only after Secretary of State Warren Christopher’s visit to China last year. Then U.S. Reps. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) and Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) pressed the State Department to lean on the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to issue visas to the elder Zhangs. The embassy supposedly was worried that the Zhangs might not return to China but would remain in the United States as illegal immigrants.

In the end, human rights won. Zhang’s parents, both retired university professors, were able to see their son graduate, a happy and fitting end to years of hard work.