Greeting of Madame Liu Yandong, Chinese State Councilor

 

Raindrops and VIP Greetings

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Following the recent greetings of delegations from Sapporo, Japan and Beijing, China in March, greetings in April include international and public relations greetings of many visitors to the City of Roses.  Visitors were greeted by 35 Royal Rosarians and spouses this week!   

Madame Liu Yandong, State Councilor of the People's Republic of China (pictured above), received a head-of-state greeting at Portland International Airport on a very rainy Friday, April 15th.  Amidst tight security, the Air China flight was greeted on the tarmac by Governor John Kitzhaber, Mayor Sam Adams, Port of Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt, Portland Director of International Affairs Noah Siegel and Port of Portland Senior Director, Rick Aizawa (son of Lady Kyoko Aizawa and the late 1998 Duke of the Realm Hideaki Aizawa).  The Royal Rosarians joined in greeting China's most highly-placed woman in government with a formal presentation of a greeting certificate.  Please have a look at the Chinese media webpage XinHua featuring the following news report which includes photos from the greeting:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/16/c_13832370.htm.  

Accompanying Madame Liu was Mr.   Yuan Guiren, Minister of Education and Mr. Zhang Yesui, Chinese Ambassador to the United States, along with over 40 other highly-placed officials.

Prior to the greeting, Royal Rosarians enjoyed an unofficial greeting and introduction to the staff from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, including Deputy Consul General Lu Wenxiang, who joined the Royal Rosarians in greeting the arriving visitors.  Following the greeting, the delegation was hosted at Portland State University and Governor Kitzhaber hosted a welcome luncheon at the University Club of Portland.  The Royal Rosarians deeply impressed Madame Liu, who surprised staff members when she insisted on a photo shoot with the greeters! 

April 13th, a joint greeting for 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams and James Kim, President of Pyongyang University took place at Portland International Airport.  Secretary of State Gayle Whitehurst honored Nobel Laureate Jody Williams with a greeting certificate.  Sam Kim and Gary Spanovich of Con cordia University's Wholistic Peace Institute attended the greeting, with Sam accepting a greeting certificate on behalf of his father, whose health prevented travel.

 

On April 11th, the Royal Rosarians participated in the opening of the Annual Meeting of the Professional Women (Air Traffic) Controllers Association at the Hilton Hotel.  Prime Minister Ray presented President Robin Rush with a greetings certificate and extended a warm welcome to all.  Secretary of State Gayle captivated the gathering with the story of how Portland became the City of Roses.  Three newly-knighted Royal Rosarians participated in their first greeting: Sir Knight Mike Collins, Dame Renee Morgan and Sir Knight Doug Zimmerman. 

 

Later that day, we joined host Vicki Yates and several dignitaries from the Metropolitan and Southwest Washington Rotary in welcoming the five-member GSE Team being hosted by the Rotarians for a 3-week visit to Portland. The team arrived in excellent spirits from Amsterdam, the third of three flights to reach Portland!  We shared the traditional Indian greeting "Namaste". 

 

Portland is the only major city in the United States offering VIP Greetings from the City's Official Ambassadors to welcome dignitaries, celebrities and official delegations.