Xie Lihua

Hilary has announced that she would be running for the presidency in 2008, and her approval rating has topped 41% among the Democrats.? A lot of people are expecting to see the first woman president of the United States. ?When writing on this topic, I started to wonder: there must be curious readers in rural China asking, who is Hilary? How is her running for president a concern for us? Isn’t that rather irrelevant? ?I am happy to let you know that when I was invited by Vital Voices to receive the 2007 Annual Leadership Award at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. on March 14th, 2007, as the founder of the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women and an advocate for gender equality, and on that occasion, I also had the honor of meet Hilary Clinton, senator from New York and Democratic presidential candidate. ?That was the third meeting between us. ?The first time I met her was in June 1998, during former U.S. president Clinton’s visit to China, when six Chinese women and myself were invited to have a dialogue with Hilary. ?I sat next to her and made a 15-minute speech. She listened earnestly, and smilingly told me that my work was very important and significant when she shook my hands to say goodbye, her eyes brimming with force and wisdom. ?After that she wrote an article on her perception of China, and mentioned the Center for Rural Women and my work many times. ?The second time was in February 1999. ?15 women and myself went to the US for 22 days on the invitation of the US government. ?Hilary received us at the White House as First Lady and took pictures with us.

Time flies.? It is now 8 years later and First Lady Hilary has left the White House for 7 years. ?During this term, Rural Women has made a lot of achievements. ?We established the Practical Skills Training Center for Rural Women in 1998, and set up the Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women in 2001. ?Our team, which started as a magazine with a staff of ten persons, now has over 40 staff members. ?Our programs and organization have received a lot of national awards for our work in poverty alleviation, human rights, publishing and training. ?I wrote in my blog that though I have worked for the China Women’s News for more than 20 years, I don’t think myself a “real” presswomen. ?My vocation is all about Rural Women. ?I founded the Rural Women Knowing All magazine (currently Rural Women) and developed it into a career that I have put my heart and soul into it for 14 years, and I shall devote myself to it as a lifelong endeavor. ?When we were given the honor to receive the Annual Leadership Award, I realized it meant recognition from the international community.

I understand that Hilary never gave up the pursuit of her goals since she left the White House. ?In 2000 she was elected a Senator of New York.? Besides continuing her 40-year work on children and family, she also gradually became a national leader for homeland defense and national security. ?Her other contributions include: striving for medical insurance for low-income families and children; advocating for the freedom of choice for women to choose abortion and avoid unnecessary abortion; campaigning for the United States to play an important role in global HIV/AIDS work, etc. ?In 2003 she published her autobiography Living History, which has been translated into 12 languages and sold over 1,300,000 copies, telling more people in the world about this outstanding woman. ?On January 20, 2007, she made her presidential candidacy announcement: “I’m in.? And I’m in to win.” ?And I guess feminists from all over the world considered that a happy, though not unexpected occasion. ?I think every woman who wants to make her own mark on the world understands that, Hilary’s decision means that she has accumulated enough of her own strength for a take-off. This woman, who is always associated with the adjectives “Only” and “First”, has created an image of strength, tenacity, power and wisdom for all the women of the world. ?There is an old saying: the best way to give women power is to let a powerful woman stand in front of them. ?Hilary is standing in front of the women in the world.?

China will host the Olympics in 2008. ?2008 will be a time when the world shall witness the most grand and dramatic expressions of the meeting of the east and west.? The Games will bring wonders to the east, and Hilary will bring create whirlwind in the politics of the western world. ?Those days are getting close. ?Before my departure to the States, I want to ask my daughter to teach me an English expression. ?When I shake hands with Hilary, I will tell her, “As one of the many women who support you in China, I look forward to your becoming President of the United States.” ?作为其中一个支持你的中国妇女，我期待你成为美国总统I will also give her this edition of the Rural Women magazine, to let her know that many rural women in China are looking forward to her success.

希拉里宣布要竞选下一届美国总统，她在党内已获得了41%的支持率，人们期待着美国历史上能出现第一位女总统。当写下这个题目的时候，我猜想一定有读者会问：希拉里是谁？她竞选美国总统和我们农家女有什么相干？这话题是不是离我们太远？因此，在这里我要和大家分享另一个消息：作为农家女事业的创办人和社会性别平等的推动着，我接到了“重要声音全球伙伴关系”的邀请，将于 3月14日出席在美国首都华盛顿肯尼迪艺术中心举行的“年度妇女领导力授奖大会”，届时，我将有幸见到前美国总统克林顿夫人、纽约州参议员、民主党总统候选人希拉里，我和其他三位中国姐妹及来自世界各国获奖的妇女领导人将和她一起站在领奖台上。这将是我们的第三次见面。第一次是1998年6月，美国总统克林顿访华期间，我和其他六位中国姐妹应邀出席了与希拉里的对话会，我被安排第一个发言，而且一口气讲了15分钟，当时我就坐在希拉里旁边，她听得非常投入、非常认真，在握手告别的时候，她用充满智慧与坚毅的眼神看着我，微笑地对我说：你们的工作很重要很有意义。她回国后写了一篇访华观感，在文章中多次提到我和农家女的工作。第二次是1999年2月，我和15位妇女姐妹接受了美国政府的邀请，到美国进行了为期22天的访问，期间，希拉里以第一夫人的身份在白宫接见了我们，并和我们合影留念。
时光入流水，一晃8年过去了，希拉里作为第一夫人离开白宫也已经7年了。在这期间，我们农家女的事业蒸蒸日上，1998年创办了农家女实用技能培训学校，2001年成立了农家女文化发展中心，我们由十来个人的杂志社发展成40多人的农家女团队。不管是在扶贫、维权领域还是在出版、培训领域，我们农家女的项目和农家女机构，多次获全国大奖。我在新浪网的博客中写下这样一段话:尽管在中国妇女报工作了20多年，可我觉得自己还算不上一个真正的报人。如果说这一辈子还算干了一件值得说起的事情的话，就是在我40岁出头的时候创办了《农家女百事通》（现名《农家女》）杂志，并通过十多年的呕心沥血，将一本小杂志拓展成一项让我用毕生精力投入的农家女事业。这次获得“年度妇女领导力奖”，我知道这是国际社会对我们农家女事业的肯定。
当然我更知道，希拉里在离开白宫之后，她从来没有放弃过对理想和目标的追求。2000年，她当选了联邦参议员，她为之奋斗了40年的两大主题——孩子和家庭仍在继续，同时，她又逐渐成为9.11之后国土安全、国家安全的全国领袖。她的贡献还有：为低收入的家庭和孩子争取医疗保险，为妇女自由选择堕胎和避免不必要的流产进行呼吁，参与立法使美国在全球抗击艾滋病中担任重要角色等等。2003年，她出版了自传体新书《活生生的历史》，被译成12种文字，发行130多万册，让世界上更多的人了解了这位不同凡响的女性。1月20日，当她毅然决然地宣布要在2008年竞选美国总统时，我想对世界女权主义者来说，是预料之中又是预料之外的消息，但无疑是一个欢欣鼓舞的消息。我想，凡是想为这个世界留下点痕迹不想依仗男人的光辉点缀自己人生的女人都会理解，希拉里作出这个决定，是积蓄了她一生力量的爆发。这个总是和“惟一”和“第一”相伴的女人，她给女人的世界和内心打造着坚强和坚韧，打造着力量和智慧。有一句外国谚语很有哲理：给予女人力量最好的方式就是让一位有力量的女人站在她们面前。希拉里已站在了世界妇女面前。
2008年，正是我们举办奥运会的日子，那时，世界将会出现东西方最为壮观也最为戏剧性的场面：一面是奥运会将给东方世界带来奇迹，一面是希拉里角逐美国总统，将给西方世界的政坛带来强劲的“玫瑰旋风”。这个日子离我们实在不远。在去美国前，我想让女儿教会我一句英语，当希拉里和我握手的时候，我要说对她说：The women of China support your running for President of the United States..（中国妇女支持你当美国总统）。同时，我还要把这期《农家女》杂志送给她，让她知道在中国有千千万万农家女也在关注着她的成功。