Julie Chen - the wife of Representative Frederick Chien (1983-1988) - reportedly discovered this metallic box in an Egyptian bazaar
THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA
On June 8, 1937, Grace Hubbard rented Twin Oaks to Thomas C. T. Wang, the new ambassador representing Chiang Kai-shek’s government in Nanking. This marked the official beginning of the estate’s relationship with the R.O.C.–Ambassador Wang presented his credentials to the very next day.
For the next ten years, the Hubbard family rented the estate to Ambassador Wang and his successors, Ambassador Hu Shih and Ambassador Wei Tao-ming. Then in 1947 The R.O.C., represented by Ambassador Wellington Koo, purchased Twin Oaks from the Hubbard family for$450,000.
In its role as the official residence for the R.O.C.’s ambassadors, Twin Oaks was famed for its lavish parties and served as a venue for welcoming a sequence of powerful U.S. political figures including senators, representatives, secretaries of state, and future presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gerald Ford.
Twin Oaks has also hosted many dignitaries and political leaders from the R.O.C. during their visits to America, including Madame Chiang Kai-shek during a 1943 trip to speak before Congress to enlist U.S. support for China in the Sino-Japanese War; numerous R.O.C. vice presidents, Ch’en Chen, Hsieh Tong-min, and Annette C. Lu; and presidents Yen Chia-kan, Chiang Ching-kuo, Lee Teng-Hui, and Chen Shui-bian.
My father, David T. Lee, was just buried at Ft. Lincoln Part just outside DC.
He is buried in the shadow of the one remaining of the “twin oaks” there,
where Lincoln and his generals made many of their biggest decisions.
My father was the liaison officer between China and the US during the war.
As a child I was taken to many of the grand banquets of the fabulous Wellington Koo and am writing a short story called “Twin Oaks.”
My father also was a founder of Chinese Refugee Relief and created the Empress restaurants. Nixon and Kissinger has many secrete dinners at the Empress in the months leading up to their “opening up of China.”
Thanks for the article.
Kelly Lee
I don’t agree with all your thoughts, but you do have good point of view.