While working for Iowa Governor Robert D. Ray in 1979, Amb. Quinn and the rest of Governor Ray’s staff traveled to China to help establish diplomatic relations. Amb. Quinn noted how there was little variation around China, except for one area in particular. The international hotel in Guangdong Province was a colorful lighthouse in the otherwise bleak mass of the country. The colorful neon lights and elaborate café inside the hotel resembled the bustling city of Hong Kong over 100 miles away. Amb. Quinn states how what he saw here would soon envelop the entire country over the next 40 years.
THE ARCHIVE OF AMBASSADOR KENNETH M. QUINN
FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MEKONG