Who knew that China's current President, Xi Jinping, was arrested 30 years ago? Last night I went to dinner at the Capital Grille with the man who rescued him from prison, along with 8 people from his company. He breezed over the statement as if it was no big deal. I stopped him,"Wait, you rescued China's President? How?" The story follows: My new friend, at the age of 22, received a Visa under the Reagan Administration to be courted in China. He joined a group of about a dozen youth for the ride. Upon his arrival, he discovered that his host, Xi Jinping, had been arrested by a local sherif. He proceeded to tell the U.S. Ambassador to China about the situation. "Well I guess you'll have to get him out of jail. You can figure it out. Be creative," said the Ambassador. He managed to round up 50 marines dressed in blue and white, fully armed, to follow him to the jail. Upon arrival, John told the jailer, "Look here's the deal. I'm over here on an American Visa and you have my host locked away. So come on, just let him out. If you don't, behind me there are 50 marines." Xi Jinping was released immediately.
Later that evening, my new friend "adopted" and offered to help my company. "If anyone treats you poorly, I'm going to send the FBI (he pointed across the table) and the mafia (pointed to another man) to go after them." Oh, the strength of America's commercial soldiers. :) Today, my boss and I talked about the Christian concept of consecration over lunch. In a dominantly quid pro quo world, I am most grateful for people like my new friend who are so generous with their time, resources, and kindness.
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