Anna Chan Chennault's memoir shares her nearly eight decades of experiences

Recalling the twists and turns of her nearly eight decades, Anna Chan Chennault (陳香梅) said she has learned the importance of helping those in need.

Another lesson she has learned is: "Laugh and the whole world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone."

The 77-year-old Chennault shared such lessons at a press conference at a downtown Taipei hotel for the release of her two-volume memoir.

"By composing these books I wanted to share my life experiences," added Chennault, a longtime resident of Washington.

Chennault, also known by her Chinese name, Chen Hsiang-mei (陳香梅), has had what Senior Adviser to the President Ma Shu-li (馬樹禮) termed an "unprecedented and unrepeatable life."

Born to a diplomat's family in China in 1925, Chennault joined the Central News Agency in 1945 as a reporter, becoming the first woman to do so.

She later married the renowned US General Claire Chennault, who gained his reputation in China by helping the KMT regime train the ROC air force.

The Flying Tigers squadron that General Chennault trained made him immensely popular among Chinese servicemen and civilians alike.

After 11 years of marriage, Claire Chennault died of lung cancer at his home in Louisiana, leaving Anna a widow with two daughters.

The widow then left Taiwan for Washington to embark on a stage of her life.

Termed by China Times Washington correspondent Norman Fu (傅建中) in the preface to the book as a "hostess" of Washington, Chennault befriended a string of US presidents from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan, as well as key figures from the Republican Party, among others.

In 1963, Kennedy named her the chairwoman of the Chinese Refugees Relief Committee, making her the first person of Chinese ancestry to be named to the White House staff.

In the early 1980s, it was only natural for Chennault to serve as a secret envoy between Beijing, Washington and Taipei given her unique ties with political figures from the three sides. Her uncle, Liao Chengzhi (廖承志), was a high-ranking official in China, a tie that she said helped facilitate former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's (鄧小平) trust in her.

While known in Taiwan in her early years for setting up various scholarships, Chennault has in recent years shifted her focus to China by financing various education programs in remote parts of the country.

When asked to comment on the prospects for cross-strait relations, the 77-year-old grinned, saying, "Let's all hope for the better."