'Chinese background'
Although this is David Johnston's first visit to China as governor general, he and his family have a long-established history with the country.
Other than the fact that he's been to China a dozen times in a long academic career, three of his five children also studied in the country.
Debbie studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, at Zhejiang University and at Nanjing University. Alex studied for two years at Beijing Language and Culture University and at Hangzhou University. And another daughter, Jenifer, spent eight months at Fudan University in Shanghai on her Master of Public Administration in an international program, he said at a speech.
He also said his family is a good example of a Canadian family with a Chinese background. His daughters were exposed to Mandarin at an early age, when a leader of Peking University visited him in the 1980s. At that time, he tried to rebuild connections between Peking University and his institution.
China Daily
(China Daily 10/19/2013 page7)
