226^th Anniversary of the Independence of the
United States of America
Ambassador Clark T. Randt, Jr.'s Address

Kerry Centre,
Beijing, China
July 4, 2002

Good afternoon, Vice-Minister Li, distinguished guests representing the People's Republic of China, diplomatic colleagues, fellow Americans, ladies and gentlemen.

President Bush has asked me today to recognize the contribution made by the members of our Armed Forces. I would like to introduce you to our Marine Security Guard Detachment here in Beijing.

Please pay special attention to their names, they tell us something important about the United States of America. Gunnery Sergeant Depoyster, Staff Sergeant Malhiero, Sergeant Gonzalez, Sergeant Kelly, Sergeant Rodriguez, Sergeant Sudweeks, Sergeant Gharati, Sergeant Cumminsky, Sergeant Mullen, Sergeant Erickson, Sergeant Chiudioni, Corporal Smart, and Corporal Delrosario.

What's special about these names? They represent Americans. Americans with ancestors from Mexico, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Germany, Scotland, Italy, and the Philippines. If I look at our Embassy directory, the variety is even greater.

Americans come from all of your countries, including a large number of Chinese Americans; the United States Secretary of Labor is Chinese-American.

Today, we celebrate not only the 226^th Birthday of the United States of America, but also the cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity that makes us Americans. We are a complicated, often conflicted, but always dynamic country. A Chinese scholar once said, "America is a great nation because it has the Three T's: vitality, ingenuity, and creativity."

These Three T's have their roots in the immigrant experience. With this in mind, I sincerely welcome you today, our friends from China, our friends from all over the world. Please share in our celebration. Men and women from each of your countries have made America what it is today. Today, we celebrate them, as well as the country they built.

China has 5,000 years of history. America, if you include the colonial period, has only 5,000 months of history. Nevertheless, there are some things about our country that are relatively old, and special. We are blessed by the world's oldest written constitution, one that has changed little in the past 200 years. We are also the world's oldest functioning democracy. Of these achievements, we are proud.

Friends, when we get together to celebrate, I want you to enjoy yourselves. In that, I'm just following the lead of former President George H.W. Bush. As you know, he was head of the United States Liaison Office in Beijing in 1974 and 1975. President Bush wanted to make our National Day an American-style event, an event that would convey our sense of fun and informality. He and his entire family personally prepared the decorations for the party, and actually served the food and drinks. Serving the hot dogs was his son, George W. Bush, now the 43^rd President of the United States.

Our festivities have become too big for me to serve you all personally. But I do want you to enjoy yourselves. My personal thanks to the great American companies that have donated their products for your enjoyment today.

In the midst of our fun, however, let us not forget the grave crisis that all civilized nations face today: our collective struggle against the evils of terrorism. As President Bush has said, "In this struggle...we will not falter, we will not fail."

The United States is deeply grateful for the support provided by the nations represented here today. As the American Ambassador to China, I especially want to thank Vice-Minister Li Zhaoxing and the Chinese government for standing shoulder to shoulder with us in this battle.

Over the past year, the 30^th year since President Nixon's historic visit in 1972, our relationship with China has improved dramatically, and will continue to do so. Great nations will always have differences, but these differences can be managed by men and women of goodwill, through mutual respect, candor, and frequent consultations.

Please join me in toasting the independence of the United States of America, the diversity that is our root strength, and our friendship with China.

Gan bei. Thank you.