Romantic ties link Taipei family and Washington

Katherine Williams is shown with members of the Sun family in a photo taken during her visit to Taipei last August, including Liu Lien-mei, second left, Sheila Sun, third left, Steve Sun, center, and Sun Sen-sen, right. PHOTO: THE SUN FAMILY

It never occurred to Sun Sen-sen (孫森森), a hardworking arts and jewelry store owner in Taipei, that he might someday become a member of Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita's family or develop diplomatic connections.

Moving China to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in 1949 as a child, Sun grew up in a poor family.

Sun Liu Lien-mei (劉蘭妹), an Aboriginal and despite the couple's strained finances, fought against all odds to send their son and two daughters to the best kindergarten and elementary schools in Taipei.

Sun Hsiang-chou (孫祥洲), the eldest child, graduated from National Taiwan University's department of economics several years ago. He is now studying for his master's degree in financial engineering at Baruch College, the City University of New York.

2004 Surprise

Last year, Sun Hsiang-chou, who is also known as Steve Sun, told his parents he had met an American woman named Katherine Williams and that they were interested in each other.

Steve Katherine, whose nickname is Katie, planned a trip to Taipei last August.

Before the trip, Katherine told Steve's parents that her aunt was Therese Shaheen.

"At that time, I didn't even know who Shaheen is," Liu said.

Shaheen, former chairwoman of the American Institute in Taiwan, is married to Di Rita.

Famous Aunt

She became widely known among the Taiwanese public because of broad media coverage of her warm reception of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) during his stopover at New York in 2003.

Her that US President George W. Bush was the "secret guardian angel" responsible for Chen's trip to New York has lingered in the memories of many people in Taiwan, who have tended to associate Shaheen with American friendliness toward Taiwan.

To introduce her family members to the Sun family, Katherine faxed a color photo of them to Steve's parents. In the photo were her parents, Thomas and Julie Williams, Shaheen, Di Rita and other relatives.

Julie Williams, a music teacher, is Shaheen's sister.

Seeing Williams family photo and comparing it with Shaheen's photos in newspapers, Steve's parents eventually understood that their son's girlfriend is the niece of a former US diplomat who played a vital role in ties between Taipei and Washington.

Cultural Concerns

However, his parent's reactions differed when Steve told his parents last year that he wanted to marry his American girlfriend.

"For me, it is OK," Sun Sen-sen said.

"When my son went to the US to study, I blessed him and wished him a great future. An American wife can help him in many ways if he stays in the US," Sun Sen-sen said.

"I couldn't accept it in the beginning. I was shocked. She is from a different culture," Liu said.

"When my son told me he had an American girlfriend, I asked him to find a Chinese girl," she said.

After Steve and Katherine's August visit, however, Liu's worries about the possibility of having an English-speaking foreigner for a daughter-in-law had largely been erased.

Williams, who lived in China for a year, has learned enough conversational Chinese to be able to communicate with the Sun family without much difficulty.

Family Ties

Knowing that Katherine comes from a wealthy family, Liu was afraid that she might be unhappy with the smallness of the Sun family's Taipei home.

"But she did not complain about the dirtiness and smallness of our house at all. She is a nice girl," Liu said.

When Shaheen visited Taiwan as a private citizen last month, Liu invited her to visit the Suns' store in downtown Taipei.

"I was pretty nervous. I thought since she was in Taipei, I should play the hostess' role," Liu said.

"I can't speak English, but I speak Japanese. Shaheen's secretary speaks Japanese, too, so we were able to arrange a time for Shaheen to come and visit our shop," she said.

Shaheen to the shop, bought some jewelry and posed for some photos with the family. The Suns have hung one of the photos on the wall of their shop.

Shaheen met with Chen, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Chen (陳唐山) and other politicians during her visit. The Sun family, however, did not feel Shaheen's political and diplomatic weight brought any pressure to their life.

Staying in Touch

"Shaheen knew of Katie's relationship with our son through her sister. Shaheen and her sister seem to be very close," said Sun Sen-sen.

Steve Sun and Katherine telephone the Sun family every week, Liu said.

"Katie wished me a happy Lunar New Year and asked whether it is cold in Taipei," she said of the most recent phone call.

Thomas Williams, a lawyer, and his wife like Steve and often take him to concerts and basketball games, the Sun family said.

They enjoy his company a lot because he is the kind of person that can listen to people and talk with them on topics they are interested in.

"My brother has a broad range of interests. He can talk about music, sports, arts, etc," said Sheila Sun (孫曦華), one of Steve sisters.

"People have different hobbies, but he is able to discuss with everybody about their hobbies, in depth," Sheila said.

Planning for the Future

"Katie likes my brother a lot. She said if my brother comes back to Taiwan, she will follow him to Taiwan," Sheila said.

Steve finish his degree this summer and has started job hunting in the US. The Williams family, having good connections with the US business community, has offered to help him find a job.

"But my son wants to land a job by himself. He does not want to depend on others," Sun Sen-sen said.

"I have encouraged him to try to find a job in the US to gain experience. If its possible, I hope he can work in the US for at least two years," Sun said.