Victor Gao: every day is a day of gratitude

Victor Gao has many roles to play in his life: he's a current affairs commentator, a policy advisor, and a lawyer. His diverse career started back when he joined China's foreign service in his 20s as an English interpreter. That job gave him rare opportunities to work with some of the world's great leaders, including late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and veteran U.S. politicians George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, and Henry Kissinger. How did those great figures influence his vision of the world and his career? Gao shares his memories with us in our series "Deep Dive: Talks with Chinese Internationals".

Victor Gao, a current affairs commentator, takes an interview from China Plus on Dec. 7, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

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Every Day Is A Day of Gratitude

by Manling, host of China Plus

More than a decade and a half ago I was asked by a BBC news anchor, if you could go back in time to meet a renowned influential person, who would it be? Without hesitation, I replied that I'd love to talk to China’s former leader Deng Xiaoping, and thank him for what he did for China and its people. I’d thank him especially for restarting the gaokao, China’s university entrance exam, in 1977. This decision changed my life completely, along with the lives of millions of other young people.

When I found out that I’d have the opportunity to interview Victor Gao, I was excited to have the opportunity to ask him the same question that the BBC anchor had asked me all those years ago. A well-established current affairs commentator and "Jack of all trades," as he jokingly called himself during our interview, Gao worked as an interpreter for Deng along with many other leading figures in China. But this was just one aspect of his four-decade-long career that I wanted to grill him about. Before we started, I warned him that the interview would be a long one: Unlike his usual short media spots where he talks about current affairs, I was going to delve into his life story, his encounters with world leaders and dignitaries, and explore how he became the personality he is today.

When I asked Gao if he was grateful for what Deng had done, he responded without reluctance that every day is one of gratitude, a feeling that I shared in my own heart. Like many of my peers, the more I achieve in my life and career, the deeper my gratitude to Deng Xiaoping becomes. Without him, Victor and I wouldn’t have found ourselves in the studio together, chatting in English, about his career. When we were teenagers in middle school, many of our teachers had been sent out to do other jobs, and little of what we learned in class was of any use.