Private Opening Reception “Bruce Lee: American Son and International Icon” Exhibit Chinese American Museum - Washington, D.C

Good evening. I am Sylvester Wong, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office. Welcome to the Chinese American Museum.

Before I begin my brief remarks, I would like to thank David Uy, Penny and David Yao and the staff of the Chinese American Museum for diligently working to curate items for the exhibit “Bruce Lee: American Son and International Icon”.

Fifty years since his untimely passing, Bruce Lee continues to enthrall and inspire. The kinetic action of his early kung fu roles displayed on television screens across the US, captivated audiences. While many of us may conjure up images of canary-yellow tracksuits, bloodied fists or stylish glasses, Bruce Lee’s legacy has evolved – and his social impact has only become more significant.

The American-born, Hong Kong-raised Lee is an amalgamation of two cultures who spanned artificial boundaries at a time when Asian faces were not prominent in entertainment.

As Daryl Joji Maeda, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, has said, Bruce Lee is not a product of Asia and not a product of the West. “Bruce Lee fundamentally emerges in the transit, the crossing, the flows across and between and among countries, oceans and cultures,” said Maeda. “He is always returning.” And if I may add, never forgotten.

Thank you for joining us this evening as we celebrate the enduring transcendental legacy of Bruce Lee.

Thank you