Chen Xiangmei, also known as Anna Chenault, shows up in a lot of different places in US-China relations. Part of informal diplomacy in ending the Vietnam War, cross-strait normalisation between the KMT and the mainland, and even in facilitating Nixon to win the presidency and then in his visit to China. Reagan sent her as his goodwill ambassador/special envoy to China in 1980 and 81, and Deng Xiaoping personally met her in Beijing. At the welcome banquet, Deng offered her the first VIP position over the US Senator who was also visiting apparently quoting, “there are more than 100 senators in the United States, but only one Chen Xiangmei in the world.”
She was one of the 70 most influential people in the US in 1972, aided 8 US presidents, and was awarded for the anti-Japanese War by Xi Jinping himself.
For someone who has somehow been everywhere and met almost every important person on both sides of US-China relations for almost a whole century, Chen Xiangmei is fairly shrouded in mystique.
What did she do to facilitate all these diplomatic relations? Where can I find out more about her?
Does anyone have more sources on her and her life?
Here’s some sources that may be relevant:
- https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/30/anna-chennault-obituary-vietnam-back-channel-nixon-1968-223299/
- https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/anna-chennault-affair-south-vietnamese-side-wars-greatest-conspiracy-theory
- https://www.fredericknewspost.com/public/anna-chennault-formidable-washington-hostess-and-secret-emissary-dies-at-94/article\_bbc98344-8ca4-5dd4-9ece-6df403a27337.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna\_Chennault
- https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201804/04/WS5ac4e558a3105cdcf6516567.html