Chapter 11 Chapter Three: The Battle for Election for Parliament

Lily, you should go into politics, be sheriff, mayor, and president of the United States! The words of colleagues and friends really touched Li Wanruo's heart to participate in politics.In fact, why doesn't she want to stand uprightly and justly, or stand in a higher position to serve the general public, the Chinese who have roots in the United States, and the ethnic minorities who have never lacked equality!But she really didn't really think about playing a role in the political arena, she always thought that she was an oriental face after all. The regime in the United States is different from that in the East. The real power of the country lies in the Congress, and the Congress is the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives elected by citizens from all walks of life. major decision.States, cities and counties everywhere are also held by local councils.For example, the power of the Monterey Park municipal government is arranged like this: the city council leads the government, and the city council is composed of five members. Every decision and every law is decided by the council. The minority obeys the majority. As long as three members raise their hands and agree, A certain bill and important decisions of the municipal government can be passed or approved.The term of office of members of Congress and the president of the United States is four years, and the term of office of the president is generally two consecutive terms. This is an important legacy left by the founding father and the first president, Mr. Re-elected until you are no longer favored by voters.The following small state, city, and county councilors generally have a term of two years, and they can also be re-elected until no one cheers.

It is generally believed that to participate in politics, one must first become a congressman, which is one of the main ways to make a difference in American politics.Members of Congress, big and small, are the main players in American politics. To be in power, you must first be a member of Congress.Li Wanruo understood this. When she was engaged in social welfare work in the county hospital, she often had to see the city councilors for reports and exchanges.However, although the members voted for the voters to come to power, a considerable part of them rely on the background of family history and local strength to become influential figures in the political arena.But in Li Wanruo's mind, the councilors serve the voters and serve the country.But in fact, that is not the case. Most congressmen often rely on their own prominent power and prestige, and do not take public affairs into account at all, let alone outsiders—like ethnic minorities who are rooted in the United States or studying in China. people pay attention to.And in the content and time of the anti-China part of American history, these congressmen hold crucial decision-making power.

Li Wanruo understands that in the history of the United States, whether in Congress or in various parliaments, the vast majority of members have always had prejudice against ethnic minorities including Chinese.And to change this prejudice, someone needs to have a different voice from the pulpit of parliament. Two or three hundred years of Chinese humiliation history and the ever-changing development of Mongolia need to hear such voices in the parliament.When Li Wanruo came home that day, she felt a little restless.She looked at her watch a few times, and kept calling: husband, husband. What's the matter? Lily.Husband Chen Baohe hurriedly pushed the door open and came over to ask his wife in a panic.

Li Wanruo was taken aback: Nothing happened!Why are you in such a hurry?What's the matter with the child? The husband sat down, picked up a cup of coffee, and shook his head while drinking: My child and I are fine, I'm asking what happened to you?Because I was still outside the door and heard you yelling non-stop, husband, husband. The wife understood, she pursed her lips and laughed, then gently pressed her husband on the sofa with a bit of affection and tenderness, and then she sat beside her.In this way, she looked at her husband face to face and just smiled without answering. Chen Baohe felt that the name was a little strange.My wife is a temperamental person, and she often shows emotions on her face. Today is a bit strange.Is it a good thing?But today she didn't report as early as usual.Is it bad?What's more, if something went wrong, she would have been furious, or couldn't wait. Lily, you're acting weird today.Tell me, I'm all ears for good and bad...

Husband can't wait.This made the wife feel the need for a little more mystery.After she kissed her husband passionately on the cheek, she could no longer hold back the words in her heart. You first say whether you support me or not!The wife's face turned red. The honest husband shook his head helplessly with a smile: What's the matter that I didn't support you? But this is not what it used to be. The wife said half angry and half angry: Today I will try to see if you really love me as you usually say?You say, you must say loudly: I am your favorite! The husband really started to feel a little strange: Lily, what's the matter with you today?

everything is normal.The wife still doesn't let her husband go.You still haven't answered my words yet.Am I your favorite?talk about it! Yes, you—always—are—my—most—love—!The husband intentionally yelled loudly into his wife's ear with both hands. The wife was elated.She took her husband's hands in hers, and told him solemnly: I am going to run for city council.Can you see it?I would like to hear your views…… Her husband Chen Baohe only blindly pursued science and technology all his life, but was not interested in politics.Outside, Chen Baohe never talked with others about state affairs other than his own business. Even when his friends and colleagues were together, he listened quietly and seldom expressed his opinions.At home, his wife would fuss over a certain piece of news or information in newspapers, radio and TV, while he would just bow his head and fix those private cars that would never be finished amidst the fuss of his wife, or Just fell to the side and snored loudly.

You, running for city council?The husband suddenly looked her up and down as if he didn't know his wife. Look at you, tell me quickly, is it okay or not!If Li Wan is impatient, the thing she can't stand most about her husband is his slowness. Why not?As long as you are interested in politics, I am willing to help you, my dear. Li Wanruo opened her arms excitedly, hugged her husband tightly, and buried her head deeply in his tall and burly arms: ...Without your support, I will not succeed in anything.Husband, I want to tell you: You are the love of my life! The support of her husband has made Li Wanruo make up most of her decision, but she still wants to get the consent of her son and daughter who are in college.

Ke Guang, a sports-loving son, heard his mother's decision and said happily: This is great!I can get my friends on the tennis team to run for you! My daughter Keyu is a medical student, and she is very meticulous in everything she does.Her first reaction was: Mom, I suggest that your next step is to let the community and the whole city understand who you are, which is the key to winning. After hearing what his son and daughter said, Li Wanruo was really overjoyed.With the support of you and your father, I will work hard to win the election. That night, the whole family decided in a very excited and excited atmosphere the most important thing in Li Wanruo's life, and it was also a historic decision for her to formally enter the American political arena.

For some people, politics is something beyond their control, such as your family influence, your destiny, or your beliefs.Some people are born to be placed on the political stage, but for Li Wanruo, who is a foreign student, she never thought that she would be involved in politics in the United States. Her initial wish was to integrate herself and her family into American society , if you don’t seek to integrate with mainstream American society when you arrive in the United States, you will always be an outsider. Who would like that?Later, she engaged in social work because she had a special interest in social work, and her major was social work—and the core idea of ​​social work is to advocate serving the public.How to better serve the public?Needless to say, relying on diligence, hard work and meticulous efforts, but it is a more effective work goal to mobilize the strength of all people and open up shortcuts through special channels.As for how to achieve the above intention, politics quietly entered the consciousness of Li Wanruo, an ordinary female civil servant.It can be said that it was the professional relationship and the benevolence of the individual to the society and mankind that urged Li Wanruo to finally devote himself to the political cause.

But politics has a completely different situation in each country.Although American politics is also full of behind-the-scenes transactions and back-door operations, those who can speak well are worse than those who can do things, and those who have no background are worse than those with background. It is not so easy to climb the ladder with one's own mouth and no political achievements.If you look at the recent presidential election, you will understand that although Bush Jr. has a father who once served as president, if he does not have many years of political achievements as a governor and has many years of experience in politics, he wants voters just because he sees him You have a father who was president and you were elected to the White House, that can only be delusional.The same is true for Vice President Gore. He has reached such a high position, only half a step away from the presidential throne, but if he wants to borrow some power for personal election and enthronement, it will inevitably lead to disastrous failure.American politics largely depends on its own sense of participation.

Participation, this term is commonly used in Western society, especially American society.So small that when you were a child, it was no surprise that your parents took your body with them when they traveled the world, even in a small push chair; so old that if you wanted to be president, you had to be in the party , In the family, in the community and in the city where you are, you must first announce your thoughts and wishes.It is not necessary to hear that the president of the United States was elected under the push of others.Lincoln is great enough, right?But Lincoln also experienced many twists and turns when he ran for president. His opponent Douglas almost killed the most famous outstanding figure in American history in the cradle of the election.Lincoln finally won, what did he rely on?Still relying on his good self-promotion.Before the president votes to become the president, and before the great man becomes a great man himself, what American society requires of them is that you have to let everyone know you, and you have to fully demonstrate your talents, fully demonstrate them, and even surpass them. The level of performance will do. Regarding the American slave liberation movement, we all know today that it was the great Lincoln. In fact, before Lincoln, someone had already become the leader of the black liberation movement.This person is none other than Lincoln's presidential opponent, Mr. Justice Douglas who was born as a black slave.Douglas's family is more humble than Lincoln's family. He was born a slave and never met his biological parents. He was brought up by his grandmother on a plantation in Maryland. At the age of 8, he was sold to a farmer's house as a slave. .But he met a good mistress who taught him how to read. At the age of 21, Douglas fled to New York, where he changed his surname, that is, later Douglas. He decided to devote his life to the black slave liberation movement. He was the most outstanding and famous black leader in the United States at that time. Holding high the banner of the abolition of black slavery was recognized and supported by the people of the whole country. Lincoln was facing such a big man, what did he rely on to knock down his opponent?There was a record in the "Lincoln Biography" that Lincoln had hesitation and the idea of ​​stepping down before the seven well-known debates in Illinois with Douglas in 1858 that were recorded in American history, because the Republican Party at the time Lincoln was recommended as the party's candidate, but Lincoln thought that compared with Douglas, his popularity was far less than that of his opponents, and before that, Lincoln had a disastrous defeat in running for the senator with Douglas. It's just that this stupid idea doesn't fit Lincoln's character. To not give up is to move forward, and to move forward, you have to use the most effective way to sell yourself and let others believe that you are better than your opponent.Hear how the great Lincoln had to use the fiercest words to sneer at his opponents in order to sell himself. Here are the excerpts from the second of seven heated debates between Lincoln and his opponents - . . . In the previous argument, Judge Douglas did not present the matter as a fact of his belief, but presented it as a fact, in order to vouch for its truth by his frankness.When the whole truth is revealed, when we consider who Judge Douglas is--a distinguished Senator of the United States, who has held the office for twelve years, whose character is not equal to that of ordinary Senators, whose reputation is known to all the world —It seems so extraordinary that he should have so forgotten the admonitions of fairness and discretion that a little investigation, at the risk of proving himself dead wrong (cheating).To explain the conduct, I can only assume that his genius, though it has served him well throughout his life, has brought him such astonishing results, such as the fact that a large number of good men doubt the triumph of virtue over evil (applause, laughter voice)—but I can only assume that his ghost has finally made up his mind to abandon him. (continued applause)  … Lincoln's self-promotion was based on eloquence and rigorous logic.In fact, it was not that the policies and political views promoted by the Republican Party were more effective among the people than those of the Democratic Party. No matter how good Lincoln's eloquence was, he might not be able to defeat Douglas, because Douglas' genius was not inferior to Lincoln's.Both of their campaign debates were really just a form of self-promotion.In the political environment of this particular country, the United States, who wants to participate in politics, you don’t have the ability to perform yourself, you’d better not be a politician. In other words, why there are so many orators in the American political arena is determined by its national conditions - Unless you don't want to be in politics, since you are a politician, you'd better go home and practice your mouth first, especially if you have a thick skin.But the traits and virtues that the Chinese have inherited from their ancestors are really a fatal flaw for those who actively want to participate in politics.Why not Li Wanruo? At the end of 1981, when Li Wanruo was serving as the director of the Resource Planning Bureau of the Social Welfare Department of the Los Angeles County Government, and was expected to reach a higher level, a member of the Montgomery City Council became a state councilor in Los Angeles, which made the original Montenegrin City Council One MP seat is missing.According to local laws and regulations, the vacant members must be elected immediately.Li Wanruo saw the opportunity coming, so she decided to participate in this election.In her own words: working in the Ministry of Social Welfare, no matter whether you are the director or the director, you are the specific executor of the federal government's policies.Members of Parliament are quite different, they are the decision makers and makers of policies.As a policy executor, Li Wanruo believes that he can do a good job, but after all, there is a huge difference between the executor and the decider.If you can participate in the formulation of policies, then your chances of participating in serving the public and the effect you will have will naturally be very different.Li Wanruo herself said that she still had a lofty wish in her heart that she had never dared to tell anyone before. At that time, she had the ideal of becoming a state member and a congressman.Why?I just want us Chinese to have a voice in the American political arena, and to be seen as real Americans! Li Wanruo never hides her point of view: I am Chinese, and I love my mother country.But now that I am an American citizen, I should be a good American citizen.Only by becoming a good American citizen can I be worthy of being a yellow-skinned and black-eyed Chinese. There were 7 candidates in the election to fill the vacancy of the Mongolian City Councilor. Li Wanruo was the only Asian, and it was also the first appearance of a Chinese in the Mongolian political arena.Being a candidate is not complicated. You have 50 people who have official U.S. citizenship and live in the local area to jointly recommend you, and then bring dozens of dollars to the government election agency to apply and be approved to become a candidate.But the United States is such a society, you can participate in everything, and then you have to rely on competition.Politics is like this. Politics is a life-and-death contest between opponents.Therefore, although not a big political campaign, such as filling the vacancies of the city councilors, it also attracted a burst of excitement in the city. America's election campaign is a drama, a hilarious and thrilling one.As a candidate, you must first register with the local election agency with a valid identity certificate and issue you a corresponding candidate qualification certificate before you can officially announce that you are a candidate for such and such.No one will help you with all this, you have to rely on yourself, like buying soy sauce, you have to go there yourself.Of course, when the president and members of Congress are running for office, those veteran famous politicians and hereditary senators naturally don't have to run around to fill in one yuan after another.But if Li Wan had to do it herself, she had no political record before that, except for her colleagues and neighbors who knew her, that is, a limited number of relatives and friends, which was far from enough.Because the United States runs for any political office, simply put, there are two key points: one is money, and the other is votes.Both are indispensable. Let me talk about banknotes first.Many countries in the world, including the Chinese, ridicule the politics of the United States as a decadent politics, because it is accumulated or built on money.This is not without reason.Even Americans themselves are becoming more and more aware that money plays too many bad roles in American politics.The first question is why does the campaign need money?Li Wanruo told me that she needed other people's votes to go from an ordinary American citizen to the political stage. This is determined by American law. Official positions such as president, congressman, governor, and county chief are all elected officials, and this depends on the competition of votes. When you take office, if you want to gain the support of voters, you have to let others understand you.To let others know you, you need a lot of publicity and self-introduction. The government will not take money to do voluntary publicity for you. The publicity of the media depends on your relationship with them.The United States is a commercial society, and you have to spend money to do things.Because of this, the campaign costs a lot of money. For example, why the presidential campaign spends so much money? Of course, you don’t know the advertising space, TV specials and various speeches spent by the candidates every day when the campaign is at its peak. how many!And you still don't spend tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and millions of yuan for one advertisement and one topic!That's how presidential campaign money is spent. If Li Wan was running for a councilor in Montenegro, she would not need to put on a presidential campaign, but the approach and reasoning were exactly the same. You have to raise money first.And becoming an official with her own money almost bankrupted her family - this is a later story.Let’s not say that you have a lot of money and you can’t put it in the campaign casually. Even if you want to put the money into the campaign funds one by one out of your pocket, you have to report it to the government’s special election agency. You can spend as much as you want, no, you have to know the source, even if it is the deposit receipt in your own name and the money just swiped on the credit card, you have to go to a specialized agency to explain it clearly and register it in the register.Of course, you don’t have to put all the money into the organization’s management accounts, such as hosting a banquet at home to entertain friends and voters in order to canvass votes.Don't misunderstand the fact that rich people don't have to worry about raising money here.Because the laws of the United States are very strange. It stipulates who you are, what kind of election you run for, what you can do with your money, and what you can’t do with your money.It's not that if you have money, you can get things done without other people's money.No other people's money is put in to support you. On the one hand, it means that your family is rich, but on the other hand, it proves that you have no voters' support and popularity in your election campaign. What's the use of iron?What is your own vote worth?If you spend more than 100 yuan, it is a vote, and if you spend 10 million yuan, you still have only one vote.But if you mobilize the masses, if each person donates even one or ten yuan to you, you will no longer get one vote, maybe one yuan is one vote.Under this mechanism, even if you are a millionaire, you may not necessarily be able to win the election. Why are American officials most afraid of voters?That's the secret.President, are you a cow?But during the general election, you have to run around to meet voters who support you. If you don’t run, you may lose one vote, and if you lose one vote, you will lose a chance of success.Like this election between Bush Jr. and Al Gore, the votes are so close, whoever runs less places may lose there.Therefore, Li Wanruo told me that in this presidential election, many ordinary voters received or shook hands with the presidential candidate more than once. There have been several rounds of canvassing.If they encounter a place where the power is evenly divided, these candidates will have to go back and make out with the voters again or make another affection.Ordinary citizens thus become the true voters of God or you are the God of the president, governor, and member of Congress.Without your vote, I don't know which presidential candidate would cry terribly--because you are missing your God's vote! Li Wanruo started her campaign according to the same election system in the United States.The most important thing for her to do is to get the support of the top figures in Meng City first.There is little difference between American politics and Chinese politics in this regard.If you don’t have a big person to speak to you, you don’t have an organizational department to investigate and recommend; in the United States, if you don’t have the recommendation and introduction of a person with credibility and influence among the masses, you have to spend a lot of effort and money among voters.The leader came out and said: Well, I think Li Wanruo is a good person. Her appointment as a city councilor will be better for the construction and future development of the city, as well as serving the citizens of the community. If someone with authority among the citizens came out and said it, the effect would definitely be many times better than Li Wanruo's own bragging. Li Wanruo, who came from the Ministry of Social Welfare, was no stranger to these methods, so Li Wanruo decided to visit Chinese dignitaries first.Why?She knows in her heart that among the seven opponents who are running for parliament this time, she is the only one of Asian Chinese descent, and the most important basis for her victory is to gain the support of Chinese people. Li Wanruo confidently stepped into the crowd of her same race. Are you running for city council?That's great, why are we Chinese supposed to have our own representatives to do things in the city government and the council? It's really not what it used to be, and we Chinese should also feel proud on American soil.We fully support you in running for the election. If you want money and money, you want people to win people, as long as you Lily says hello. In the Chinese community, Li Wanruo was moved by the enthusiasm and support of her compatriots.Many of the old people who went to China knew Li Wanruo, which was related to her work in the Social Welfare Department, and they had received care from the head of the Welfare Department of the same descent.But Li Hunruo knew that if he wanted to succeed in the election, those who needed support would naturally be inseparable from those powerful figures.At that time, the development of Mongolian City has changed a lot, and the powerful Chinese businessmen have actually begun to affect many aspects of the economy and politics of Mongolian City.Therefore, Li Wanruo decided to meet Mr. Xie and others, a real estate developer of Chinese descent who could influence certain forces in Rongshi. Speaking of Xie Shugang, the character is really amazing. Before Li Wanruo became a Chinese leader in the mainstream society of Meng City, Xie was always the most influential figure. He was also the first Chinese figure to enter the local mainstream society.In Li Wanruo's words, this person's achievements are indelible.It was the development and marketing of Mr. Xie and other real estate builders that transformed Rongshi from a small town into a bustling modern city. who?Li Wanruo?I have never seen people I have never heard of.When Li Wanruo asked to see Mr. Xie for the first time, his nose was ashamed.My good friend Li Yaning called to ask Mr. Xie if he could meet Li Wanruo, but the person surnamed Xie refused to answer the phone. If Li Wan has not backed down, you have to be patient in this kind of begging.The second time when Li Wanruo knew that this big man surnamed Xie was eating at a Cantonese restaurant, Li Yaning ran over with her again. you?Want to run for MP?While drinking coffee, Mr. Xie squinted at Li Wanruo with his eyes, snorted in his nostrils, and then stretched out his voice and said: "It's not yet time for the Chinese to enter politics, and the time is not yet ripe..." If Li Wanruo hoped to gain the support of her compatriots of Chinese descent, especially the support of a powerful figure like Mr. Xie, she would never know that they did not take her grand goal seriously.Li Wanruo took a long breath at that time, the blow he suffered was not small.Although she was very disappointed that day, she firmly believed that the support of citizen Gegen was more important. Li Yaning, a good friend of the Amway Bank, came over to persuade them: These builders have a bad heart!It's not that they don't have political intentions, nor do they want to support their fellow countrymen, but they are businessmen, and their interests are far more important than any candidate.Think about it, if you Lily can't be elected, once they vote for you, doesn't it mean that they offend other candidates?And if this kind of result really happens, Bu, who are businessmen in the future, may be strangled by those who come to power and walk with their heads down!Xie is the vice chairman of the Chamber of Commerce. If he doesn't support us, there are still people who support us!Let's go, I will take you to meet the chairman of the chamber of commerce. He is the leader of the Japanese-American community, Japanese-American Xi Jiaxi, a very good man! Congratulations!Great, I know this guy, and getting his support is more important than anything else.Come on, now we're going to meet him!When Li Wanruo heard this, his resentment suddenly turned into a cloud of smoke. As expected, Xi Jiaxi was a far-sighted statesman, and he showed courtesy and enthusiasm to Li Wanruo's meeting.The leader of the Du District expressed active support for Li Wanruo's awareness of participating in politics, and said that there are more and more Chinese in Mengcheng, and they should have their own spokesperson. Coming out of Xijiaxi's house, Li Yaning told Li Wanruo that there is still a local snake in Mengshi who needs to pay a visit. who? Mr. Gao. What are you doing? Of course he is an important figure in Meng City! Hearing what my friend said, Li Wanruo bit the bullet and went to meet this Chinese real estate developer surnamed Gao. The result of meeting Mr. Xie was exactly the same.They treat each other coldly, and they don't believe that such a young woman can do earth-shattering things in Mengshi. The little confidence that Li Wanruo had just regained was severely poured with cold water, and she blamed herself for why she went to these businessmen.In her words: I haven't done business myself, so I don't like the way businessmen do it the most.At that time, I really regretted that I should not meet such compatriots. Having said that, in order to win the election, as a candidate, you must not ignore a certain aspect, otherwise it may bring disadvantages.When Li Wanruo announced her participation in the city council election, the local influential "Mongolian City Progressive" immediately analyzed Li Wanruo and other candidates. Honors such as the top ten outstanding youths and work achievements in the Ministry of Social Welfare are not very important to the community, which means that voters care more about whether the candidates can bring them any benefits.In other words, if you, Li Wan, want to win the election, you have to let the citizens of the community understand your situation and policy agenda, otherwise they will not be able to vote for you. Elections in the United States are so popular. If you want to win votes, it is very necessary for you to rely on a certain public image, but you have to make them think that you can really serve them in the future and force them to do things.Li Wanruo is well aware of her double disadvantages as a Chinese-American candidate.In the eyes of ordinary Mongolian citizens, people with yellow skin and black eyes are outsiders. Now that an outsider is going to be the leader of them, this in itself makes them feel somewhat uncomfortable.It is very important to eliminate the old residents or white people's psychological barrier to the colored race. At least let the old white residents understand that although I, Li Wanruo, am of Chinese descent, I, Li Wanruo, have long been a true American. What I want to do and what I am going to do is consistent with the wishes of all the voters in Montenegro. Under the introduction of famous people such as Louise Davis and Creed, who were the mayor of Montenegro at the time, Li Wanruo got acquainted with a group of local white leaders in the shortest time.Ms. Lane, director of the Langley Senior Center, is one of them.It has always been like this: in any level of election campaign in the United States, the votes of the elderly or old residents are the most important part, because they are most concerned about which mayor or congressman will bring them new benefits after taking office, so this No matter which presidential candidate dares to offend them easily. Everyone be quiet!One day, Leisi invited Li Wanruo to attend a meeting of the Residents Association of Montgomery as a candidate. Ms. Leith introduced Li Wanruo to all the old residents at the venue very friendly: Lily is now a candidate for the new parliament, and she She is an outstanding social activist and an excellent government official. Her outstanding work during her tenure as director of the Social Welfare Department of the county government has won high praise from the federal government and the appointment of President Carter.When she met with all of us here, she hoped that everyone could understand her policy outline and vote for her. Are you Chinese?Well, today is an opportunity for us to give some advice to your ethnic group, or you should understand that many of the behaviors of your compatriots really disgust us, they don’t know how to build a city, they don’t know how to To beautify their own homes, build buildings like birdcages, and make the city look unrecognizable; some people even lay salty concrete on the green space in front of their houses, and surround them with walls. It's really terrible! Yes, yes, how did you bring all your bad habits to our city... At the beginning of the meeting, old residents, every word you said immediately turned into a denunciation of venting your dissatisfaction with the Chinese to Li Wanruo.This was something Li Wanruo didn't expect, and she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.But this made her understand one thing from the other side: if she wants to win the election, she must listen to what these old residents are thinking and what they want to say, and readjust the policy platform according to the problems they raised. This work is definitely not optional, but extremely important. When Li Wanruo returned to her home from Lai Si's home that day, she felt very heavy. She shared her feelings at the meeting with her husband Chen Baohe: I have been born in the United States for more than ten years, and I thought I had become one with the old residents.But now I understand that even if I live in the United States for decades, people still treat me like a new immigrant.This racial divide may never be able to break through... What, you retreated?the husband asked in surprise. Li Wanruo shook her head and sighed: No.I just feel that this election campaign must be very hard, and there is still a long way to go! Li Wanruo began to readjust her tactics and decided to specialize in the difficult work of the old residents who had prejudices against Chinese and ethnic minorities.Although this made her feel extremely embarrassed, sometimes she even couldn't accept it, because her blood was Chinese. In Li Wanruo's opinion, her yellow skin and black eyes were inherited from her ancestors, and at the same time, she was also a It is a reason that cannot be used by foreigners to discriminate and insult.Li Wanruo has always valued personal dignity, but at this time she found that the dignity of ancestors and the nation is more important and must be resolutely maintained.However, she is now a candidate. For every vote, she can only show great patience and humility to listen to the opinions of every voter she meets. For her straightforward personality, this is a severe test of will and psychology. One day, Ms. Weiner, the Jewish leader of Mengcheng, told Li Wanruo happily that she had prepared a meeting for Li Wanruo at her home with Jewish citizens.Weiner is a good friend of Li Wanruo, and this friendly motion itself is a kind of strong support.But Li Wanruo still felt very nervous, because more than 50 people who attended the meeting that day were all white people from another community that Li Wanruo was not familiar with.This time Li Wanruo learned the lesson from last time, and introduced her policy program as soon as she came up, and then invited everyone to raise the questions she was most concerned about, and she answered them one by one.Sure enough, the white people immediately took a liking to this well-mannered oriental lady, and the subsequent questions were also well-posed, and Li Wanruo answered them quite well.When Ms. Weiner happily announced that the tea party had passed for two hours, all the white people and Li Wanruo had spoken sincerely and merged into one. Lily, we believe you will be a great spokesperson for us and we support you! Lily, you are a good person. From you, we have changed our view of the Chinese people. You are indeed a very remarkable and outstanding nation.We have no reason not to accept you.Let us work together to build our home! The tea party became more and more lively and active. The conversation between the white representatives and Li Wanruo became a friend-style conversation and exchange. Everyone spoke one after another, and some even stood up excitedly and hugged Li Wanruo, expressing that they would be her most steadfast supporters. .Someone offered to volunteer for Li Wanruo's campaign on the spot, and several experienced veteran voters took out support cards they had used in the past, filled in their names and handed them to Li Wanruo. From today, we are your most loyal supporters!Great Wall!Great Wall!You are the Great Wall of the East!You are the Great Wall of Monterey!The tea party ended reluctantly in such a warm and exciting atmosphere.主持活动的威纳忍不住热烈地拥抱李琬若：Lily，你今晚太棒了：You broke the ice！这竞选的破冰之旅，我们一定能所向无敌！ 说到这儿，李琬若给我讲了一件以前她从未对别人说过的事：在她决定参加竞选时，为了把握和估计一下形势，她曾向加州华人参政颇有经验的一位加州民选官员的同胞求助过，李琬若希望借这位名人提高一下选民对自己的认识，问对方同意不同意将其与李琬若一起合影的照片放在竞选宣传材料上。那位官员却睁大眼睛将李琥若上下打量了半天后说：这事我一下定不了，得了解一下你的其他竞选对手情况，然后我要同我的顾问们商量一下。平时李瑰若一直把此人视为华人在美进入主流社会的楷模，不想人家根本没把她李琬若放在眼里。这件事远比几个建筑商的不理睬更刺伤李琬若的心，因为这个人在竞选加州官职时她出过太多的力。也许正是这一桩桩自家人的不经意，使李琬若这位要强的女人更坚定了自己从政并且期望获得成功的决心。后来那位官员听说李琬若一次次捐款会开得出乎预料的成功，不由感叹道：了不得，一个小小市议员竞选竟能受到如此踊跃的捐款！Lily，我现在非常高兴地告诉你：我支持你的竞选。李琬若对这迟来的支持，还是报以了感谢。 说美国竞选是场好戏、热闹戏和滑稽戏都可以，因为这对很少关心除个人以外的国家大事的美国人来说，各种议员和官员的竞选活动，便足他们生活的唯一一种政治内容，而不把它搅得天翻地覆就不叫政治了。戏是做给大家看的，你想上台就得表演得好，让市民们认同你、接受你才行。 李琬若作为华人形象要想获得竞选成功，必须要做的事太多了。朋友之间的自我推销、族裔之间的自我推销还不够，必须还有公众间的宣传推销。为此一向对从商不感兴趣的李琬若最后也不得不中请参加了蒙市华商会，因为只有进了这个商会，你才有权提议举办一些公众活动。李琬若的第一个提议是联合蒙市警察局、消防队以及其他社区组织进行全市性安全常识集会，被邀请的人各界都有，而且根本投有人注意谁亲谁疏，谁友谁敌，安全消防是公众的事，大家都十分踊跃地参加。 李琬若则抓住这样的集会，以她特有的演讲才能，站在讲台上充分展现了她关心市民安全、热心公众事业的美好形象。集会开得相当成功，而李琬若通过这个集会的讲台，既与蒙市各要害部门的官员们有了联系接触，比如警察部门的头头脑脑们觉得这个东方女士很不简单，能出面为他们警察做工作，便有了很好的第一印象。而不同族裔的新老市民则在不带任何种族和政治偏见下对李琬若有了一种心理上的认可。加上媒体接二连三的报道，使李琬若的名字在当时的媒体上出现的频率颇高。而这种连锁反应的结果是，她这位黄肤色的竞选人反而更加引起了人们的关注。 美国人生来就喜欢追求个性。李琬若出现在蒙市的竞选先例本身就是一个新鲜事，当华人为主的亚裔族人越来越多地出现在蒙市时，显而易见的一个事实是：什么时候亚裔们将从外人变成蒙市自己人时，这个角色的转换无疑是具有历史性的。 当李琬若第一次出现在蒙市选民面前进行自我推销时，全体蒙市百姓便已经意识到这样一个时代已经拉开序幕了…… 李琬若在这当口，又一次作出了一个重要决策：向自己谋生的郡政府社会福利部申请了停薪留职三个月，以便全力以赴参加竞选。 政治就是如此激动人心，你一旦投入就别再犹豫。因为李琬若用她自己的话说，她在当地选民中是个黄皮肤黑眼睛的外族人，又是缺少最基本的社会根基的草根出身的竞选人，像她这种背景的人要想击败对手，其难度胜似登天。但正是因为这种登天般的艰难，她才觉得其意义重大，才必须努力去争取。