Date: Fri 22-Sep-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Illustration: C

Location: A-9

Quick Words:

Roberts-China-Conference-Jeane

Full Text:

US-China Women's Forum: A Visit To Beijing

(with photos)

By Kaaren Valenta

Newtown's Jeane and Nelson (Skip) Roberts sat transfixed as thousands of white

doves released from four corners of the stadium filled the sky over Beijing in

the People's Republic of China.

In Beijing for nine days to take part in the US-China Joint Conference on

Women's Issues, the Robertses sat among the 24,000 delegates who attended the

opening ceremonies of the Non-Governmental Organizations Forum, a forum which

preceded the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women earlier this

month.

Between August 24 and September 15, thousands of delegates from around the

world converged on Beijing for the three conferences on women, bringing with

them hopes of promoting progress in areas ranging from health care to jobs to

political power. Jeane Roberts had been tapped to take part in the first,

least publicized, conference, which was co-sponsored by the Citizen Ambassador

Program and the China Women's Association for Science and Technology.

"The Citizen Ambassador Program is part of People to People International

which was founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and initially was

operated by the US State Department," Mrs Roberts said. "When he left office,

it became a non-political, private-sector organization."

Jeane Roberts was invited by the American Association of University Women to

be part of the AAUW contingent at the conference, where they would meet with

women in key positions in China to examine the status of women and their roles

as business, education and political representatives.

Well known in Newtown over the years for her participation in the League of

Women Voters, American Field Service, and as a former member of the Board of

Education, Jeane Roberts now works for Sage Services of Connecticut in New

Haven, where she implements and coordinates programs to assist older people to

live independently in the community.

"I train volunteers to work with older people and help them learn to manage

their affairs so they can stay independent," Mrs Roberts said. "Many of these

people, sometimes men but more often women, may have never had to do these

things until their spouse died. During my work I have become very aware that

poverty does have a female face to it."

Jeane Roberts also gives workshops and seminars and supervises students at the

Yale Divinity School who are interested in working with older people. One such

student, who is working with the Danbury Chinese community, had translated the

program's money management guidelines into Chinese.

"I had no idea that I'd be going to China, let alone use her translation ,"

Mrs Roberts said.

Besides 125 AAUW delegates, the conference included delegates from the YWCA,

the League of Women Voters, the Soroptimist Institute of America, and other

organizations.

"Each organization was asked to send in names, which were fed into a computer

with all kinds of other information such as the age range, profession, the

state of residence, so that a representative sample could be selected," Mrs

Roberts said. "There were 600 chosen from all 50 states and from Puerto Rico.

The organizers were very aware of the diversity of ethnic groups in the United

States and wanted a very diversified representation. Seven delegates were

selected from Connecticut."

To begin the trip, the Robertses flew to San Francisco, where they were to

catch an Air China flight to Beijing. The flight was delayed, however, because

the plane was late arriving in San Francisco. It was late because it was

bringing Harry Wu, the Chinese-American activist who had been just released by

the Chinese, back to the United States.

"When we arrived in Beijing, we were impressed at how organized everything

was," Jeane Roberts said. "Everything was done by color cards, a different

color for each hotel, so the baggage went directly to the right hotel. We had

no trouble getting through customs."

The American influence was seen everywhere. "Baggage handlers wore pink shirts

with the name `Hewlett Packard' on the back," Mrs Roberts said, "and there are

18 McDonald's restaurants in Beijing."

A staff of seven from the Citizens Ambassador Program and a staff of Chinese

organizers assisted the group during the entire trip. The conference chairman

was Madame Wu Ganmei, secretary general of the China Women's Association for

Science and Technology, who arranged for the group to be guests at the NGO

opening ceremony.

"The NGO conference took place in Huairou, outside the city of Beijing near

the Great Wall," Mrs Roberts said. "For the opening ceremony, we had seats in

the Beijing Olympic Stadium on what would have been the 50-yard line, if it

had been a football game. It was an impressive ceremony - there were 4,000

participants in the program, not counting the orchestra, and the Chinese had

been practicing for two years."

There were 11 workshops at the conference Jeane Roberts had been invited to

attend; each was led by both American and Chinese representatives from the

organizations which had sent delegates. The workshops included Women in the

Work Force (which Jeane Roberts attended), Women in Management, Women in

Publishing, Advancement of Women, Women's Status, Women's Equal Opportunity,

Women in Science and Mathematics, Women in Medicine, Women in Sports, Women in

Education, and Community Problem Solving.

"I was thrilled that one of the best keynote speakers was an older Chinese

woman from a university who said that `behind every successful woman is a

supportive man - a husband, father or brother.' Her remark brought the house

down," Mrs Roberts said.

There were two men among the delegates; others came with their spouses and

spent their free time touring places like the military museum, the historical

museum and the zoo.

"It was helpful that we had men," Mrs Roberts said. "China may have been a

matriarchal society in the past, but in the new China it appears that men are

very much in charge."

One of the issues of concern to many Chinese women is that they have to retire

so early. Non-professional women have to retire at age 45, professional women

at age 55. Men retire ten years later.

"After men and women retire, they are expected to do volunteer jobs like

sweeping the streets," Mrs Roberts said.

During the eight days of their China trip, the Robertses had plenty of chances

to tour Beijing area. They toured a cloisonne factory and visited the Great

Wall at Mutianyu. The largest, human-made object visible from satellites in

orbit, it is estimated that at one time the Great Wall, with all its branches,

stretched for 6,200 miles, Mr Roberts said. On Sunday they toured the

Forbidden City and Tianamen Square, the largest public square in the world.

"We had a caravan of 17 buses that went everywhere with a police escort," Mrs

Roberts said. "I felt bad for the Chinese, most of whom were on bicycles, who

had to get out of our way."

While delegates to the other conferences found much to complain about, Mrs

Roberts said those attending the forum arranged by the Citizen Ambassador

Program had a very enjoyable experience.

"We were carefully oriented before we went and the Chinese did everything they

could to help us to be comfortable," she said. "Saving face and pleasing are

very important to the Chinese. Our only disappointment was that there was no

way for us to contact people attending the other forums. You can't simply pick

up a telephone and call another hotel."