Remarks Prepared for Delivery by The Honorable Elaine L. Chao For Conferral Ceremony of National Taiwan Ocean University

October 15, 2016

The sea plays an important part in our world.  They connect continents.  They connect people.  When ships sail from port to port – they not only transport cargoes, but also information and knowledge and spark greater interaction between peoples of different countries, cultures, and backgrounds.  With these increased interactions and contact come greater understanding and hopefully greater harmony and peace in the world.

My father grew up in a small farming village outside of Jiading which is outside of Shanghai, China.  He was the only child of educated parents who believed in the value of education.  My father was always interested in learning and exploring the world outside of his small village.  He saw the opportunity to go to sea as a way to broaden his horizons and expand his opportunities in life.

Due to the tumultuous war-torn period in which he came of age, he jumped four levels to become the second mate on a ship.  He became the youngest sea captain of his time at age 29.  When he immigrated to America, he dreamt of starting his own company.  In 1964, he founded Foremost Maritime Company which was the precursor to today’s Foremost Group.  Today’s Foremost Group is a company with an impeccable reputation for service/performance, reliability and integrity.

We return today to Keelung which has strong emotional resonance for our family.  When he first landed in Taiwan and as a young seafarer, Keelung was my father’s home port.  The main thoroughfare, Chung Zheng Road, is a very familiar road to my father as he would often travel this road from Keelung to Taipei and return on the same day, as he was courting my mother, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao (趙朱木蘭) who was living in Taipei.  Traveling on this road today, he remembers all the poignant memories of Keelung in his early years.  He says back then, it was raining all the time in Keelung, too.  Reflecting upon his early days as a young second officer and where he is today, we are filled with gratitude for all the blessing we have received.  The oceans gave my father the foundation to build the rest of his life.

My own career started in shipping as well   I worked at Foremost for two years before attending Harvard Business School.  After Business School, I was a shipping banker with Citicorp.  Then, I worked on transportation and trade policies at the White House.  Subsequently, I was appointed Deputy Maritime Administrator at the U. S. Department of transportation; Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission; and Deputy Secretary of U. S. Department of Transportation.  My sister, Angela Chao is now the Deputy Chair of Foremost Group.  So, shipping is our family tradition.

By educating future seafarers and teaching them rules of the seas, best practices in safety and environmental protection, schools like this promote a higher standard of professionalism for seafarers that benefit the world.

Ocean shipping facilitates trade and with increased trade and exchanges of goods and services come the prospect for economic growth and increased prosperity for people around the world.

My father and I are enormously honored to receive the honorary doctorate degrees from your University.  Thank you so much again for this great honor to the both of us.

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美國第24任勞工部長(2001-2009)趙小蘭女士
在趙錫成博士暨趙小蘭女士榮譽博士學位頒發儀式上致辭
台灣基隆國立台灣海洋大學
2016年十月十六日,星期六

海洋對我們的世界意義深遠。它連接著陸地,連接著人民。當貨輪從一個港口駛向另一個港口,它運載的不僅僅是貨物,它同時帶來信息,知識,激發國家和文化背景各異的人民更深層次的交流與互動。各國人民之間的交往互動愈頻繁,人民之間的相互了解隨之得以加強,世界的和諧與和平也更有了希望。

家父生於中國大陸上海市郊嘉定縣的一個小村莊,受過良好教育的爺爺奶奶十分重視他們的獨子的教育。我父親從小就對他生活的小村莊以外的事情滿懷著好奇心和求知欲。走向海洋,對他來說不僅是一個開闊視野的機會,更是拓展前程的契機。

青少年時代適逢戰亂頻仍的他,竟然連跳四級升爲輪船上的大副,二十九歲即成爲最年輕的遠洋貨輪船長。移民美國時就他夢想著成立自己的公司,終于在一九六四年建立了福茂海運,也就是福茂集團的前身。如今的福茂集團,作爲一家商務公司,其服務運作的可靠性和誠信度有口皆碑。

今天回到基隆港,我和家人倍感激動。從父親作爲一名年輕的船員抵達台灣開始,基隆就是他的停靠港。這條路對他真是再熟悉不過了,那時我母親朱木蘭家住台北中正路,正在追求母親的父親每當輪船抵港即從基隆奔向台北,他必須得在當天趕回基隆。他對自己早年在這條路上的奔波印象非常深刻,他後來告訴我說,記憶中的基隆都是煙雨朦胧。回想作爲輪船大副的當年,對比他的今天,我們深深地感念自己領受的福運和各種厚愛。海洋給了父親打造未來生活的一塊基石。

我的職業生涯也始于海運,因爲我去上哈佛商學院之前在福茂海運公司工作了兩年。哈佛商學院畢業後我先去花旗銀行集團海運部就職,後來到白宮從事運輸和貿易政策研究,隨後被任命爲交通部海運管理署副署長,聯邦海事委員會主席,聯邦交通部副部長。我小妹趙安吉現任福茂集團副總裁。所以,海運是我們家族的傳統。

海事學校以嚴謹的標準培養遠洋船員,教導學生海洋法規、並在安全與環保方面實踐,如此用高標准所培養出的高水准的職業海員必將有益於全世界。

遠洋貨運促進貿易,貿易的增長,貨物、服務的流通交換也給世界各地的人民帶來了經濟增長和繁榮的機會。

我父親和我非常榮幸從貴校獲得榮譽博士學位,我們父女二人再次感謝貴校贈予我們這個榮譽。
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