Kent Conrad: “I would like now to take a moment to acknowledge the accomplishments of my former colleague and friend James Sasser, the…”

“I would like now to take a moment to acknowledge the accomplishments of my former colleague and friend James Sasser, the United States Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. I need not remind the Senate of the quality of his leadership as fellow member, and former chairman, of the Budget Committee. It is not his 18 year tenure in the Senate that I want to discuss at this time, but his distinguished work as Ambassador to China. Over the past three years, the People's Republic of China has been turbulent both socially and economically. From the reversion of Hong Kong in 1997, to the heightened concern about human rights violations, to the recent developments in Kosovo, it is an understatement to say that the task set before James Sasser was daunting. From the onset of his appointment in 1996, during the Chinese missile testing in the Taiwan straits, James Sasser has worked tirelessly towards a 'strong, stable, prosperous China,' and towards the realization of an equally healthy relationship with United States.”