Christopher F. Bruton, director of Dataconsult Co. Ltd. in Bangkok, who has lived in Thailand since 1969, recalls working with Manyee in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

I was sorry to hear about the passing of Manyee, who was just one month younger than myself, being also born in 1937. 

I recall that during the enthusiastic early years of "The Investor" magazine, we worked very well together. At that time, I used to produce terms of reference for articles for the monthly "Investor' magazine. Manyee undertook the research reporting, providing a wealth of information and analysis, which I turned into articles. I used to write at home, so I hardly met her; our cooperation was almost entirely written, never verbal. Yet the final products were greatly appreciated by readers.
 
I also well remember the wonderful cooperation between Manyee and Max as a journalistic team during this period. On one occasion, Max and I were visiting Laos and were invited to fly with a Philippine charity team to Central Laos, where they had an “Operation Brotherhood” activity.  On the way back to Vientiane (the Laotian capital), our aircraft overflew Thailand, but without seeking permission from the Thai authorities. We were force-landed at Udon, a Thai military base used by the United States air force to mount operations for the war in Vietnam, and needed the permission of Thai Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn to take off again. Eventually we got this approved and returned to Laos.  

Max, as correspondent of the Times of London, wanted to file this story, but had no means of doing so. Therefore he telephoned Manyee down in Bangkok and dictated the whole report, which took about an hour standing in the Vientiane telephone centre, and Manyee dutifully wrote it all down and telexed it to London.  This resulted in a prominent article in the newspaper and a congratulatory message to Max from the editor, as well as a mention of myself as one of those involved in the incident. That was only one of the many times when Max and Manyee were a front-line reporting team in those early, pre-internet days. 

I never had the opportunity to recognise Manyee’s earlier achievements in Hong Kong, nor her subsequent performance in Canada. She was evidently a great journalist. I hope that Manyee’s adopted daughter draws inspiration from her achievements in continuing life.

To me, “Manyee” has always been “Jacqueline Leung.” She went by that name in high school. She was a serious student and vibrant.

We re-connected in Toronto after many years. We became really good friends because we both loved to dance. She would drive 45 mins to be my dance partner when I asked her. We both loved CNN and we were Obama fans.

Her pride and joy was her daughter Toni. Every conversation we had always included Toni and Dan. “Toni loves antiques.” “Toni got on the cover of a magazine.” “Toni asked me to give her away at her wedding.”

When I foolishly bought an ugly sofa and was miserable over it she said “Emily, don’t worry, I will go with you to Leon’s and stay there until you get your refund.” That is the kind of friend she was, a friend in need.

Then she became afflicted with a rare form of Parkinson’s disease. She fought back courageously. One summer she talked about flying to Spain for a “miracle” cure.

It is heartbreaking to see her deteriorate over the years. I was not allowed to bring her food. I am sad to lose her but she is in a better place now.
Till we meet again, R.I.P. Jacqueline!

For our first meeting, Toni and I took Manyee for Dim Sum down on Spadina.  Manyee was very welcoming to me from the start - with her warm smile, and a very gentle and quiet presence.  Like a "country mouse" as I once heard her describe herself. 

Manyee had trouble with her hearing later in life, and I'm certain that contributed to her quiet nature that day - particularly when meeting in a noisy place.  We got along well as we ate together for the first time, and Manyee asked Toni and I to join her afterwards, while she did some shopping in Chinatown.  Manyee was looking to buy a new sword for her Thai Chi training. "How cool is this?"....I thought ... we just met and now we're going SWORD shopping. 

We checked out several shops (who knew so many places sold swords) until Manyee found the sword that she was looking for - and then the battle began.  The "country mouse" turned into the "mighty dragon", swooping down on the shop owner, to haggle down the price.  She used both humour and discipline to win over the vendor.  Manyee was the kind of customer that vendors respected as they quickly learned that she was no fool and had the discipline to walk away.

Manyee got the sword she wanted that day, at the price she wanted - and I always wondered if she was just letting me know - that behind that warm smile, was a very strong and confident woman...that knew how to use a sword.

Stories about disability don't have to be sad. This is the framework for Super Special Humans, my Covid creativity project. The first story I shared was about Manyee.  

"My mom has Parkinsons and is often delusional. The medicine that helps her move, creates great confusion. Right now she inhabits a world where there is no coronavirus. She believes my youngest child, who has a disability called Angelman Syndrome, is a famous concert pianist. She believes I work for Obama who continues to be President. It's a pretty great place to be. My mom lived with me when Obama was first elected. I was pregnant with my first child during the 2008 presidential campaign. Less than 2 months later she had her first psychotic episode. We were in Alberta with my in laws for Christmas and one day she woke in terror thinking her room was on fire. We flew home to Toronto immediately hoping the comfort and safety of home would ground her. We had to leave Gilroy, our very anxious dog, in Alberta due to the travel restrictions during the holidays. I spent New Year's Eve in the emergency department at Toronto Western Hospital, worried about her, worried about Gilroy. For the last 11 years she has been in and out of psychosis. When she is back she tells me she prefers the other world, 'In that world I can move freely. I can walk. I can dance. I am creative.' Psychosis is a serious mental disability but her delusions and hallucinations have created a pretty sweet escape from the world right now."

She is in her preferred place now... walking, dancing and being creative. 

Among the many interesting things she did in her life, Manyee played a small part in preparing for a new era of trade between Communist China and the United States when the two countries established diplomatic relations following President Nixon’s visit to Mao Tse-Tung in Beijing in 1971. 

Manyee was the assistant to Robert E. Fillet, founder and president of the newly-created U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce and National Council for U.S.-China Trade, both sponsored by the US government as part of the deal with China and set up with the support of Henry Kissinger.  Fillet was a former VP of Pepsi Co. who had introduced Pepsi to Russia and was turning his attention to China. Manyee’s job in 1973-74 included setting up the office system at the National Council, writing business profiles and liaising with the new Chinese government trading office in Washington. As someone who saw herself as a Chinese patriot eager for China to leave behind decades of backwardness, it was an ideal job for her and she took pride in it. She moved from New York to take the job.

There was one aspect of the situation she had no inkling about until much later. This was the fact that some of the people she exchanged pleasantries with where she worked were connected to the CIA and some were directly on the CIA payroll.  

The National Council for U.S.-China Trade, with only two full-time staff members (Bob Fillet and Manyee), shared office space with the Robert Mullen Company, a PR firm with international reach, at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, a building alongside the White House. Both entities—the Mullen Company and the National Council—shared a common reception area, receptionist and some common office facilities. The Mullen Company had a much larger staff presence, with at least a dozen in-house Washington staff. 

During the Watergate hearings in 1973-74 it was disclosed that the Mullen Company, while engaged in legitimate PR business, was also acting as a cover operation for the CIA. Some CIA agents overseas were allowed to represent themselves as employees of the company. Indeed, while visiting Manyee's workplace from time to time, I had noticed that some of the Mullen people I met there were more worldly than was typical for Washington, revealing having had considerable foreign experience and speaking Malay, Swedish or some other exotic language surprisingly well. The Washington office became a convenient parking spot for retired or “off-duty” CIA officers on rotation. One person on the Mullen payroll at the time (as a “writer”) was the former CIA agent E. Howard Hunt, Jr., who became notorious as one of the Watergate burglars and was later jailed for conspiracy and his part in the Watergate break-in. 

A U.S. Senate investigative report in 1974 publicly exposed the Mullen-CIA connection. The company was forced to quickly shut down, and Manyee and her boss had to scramble to find new quarters. Manyee bought the L-shaped receptionist’s desk, where we found Hunt’s name and phone extension inscribed on the side panel office directory. 

Manyee had been completely unaware of the CIA connection. Bob Fillet, though, probably knew; tarred by the bad publicity, the small National Council office was itself soon disbanded, swallowed into the U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce. In hindsight, perhaps, Manyee and I could have  suspected something was amiss about this "public relations" Mullen setup. But we were new to Washington and the truth eluded us.

By coincidence, Toni’s husband's name is Dan Robert Mullen. No relation.

I got to know Manyee when she was a young reporter for a Chinese daily newspaper in Hong Kong. We met at the monthly news conferences staged by the then British colonial administration. I thought Manyee was quite brave; not only was she a woman when there weren’t many female reporters and there were few willing to speak up and question government officials, but the politics her paper represented was not popular with the colonial government. She stood out then and always thereafter for her spiritedness and independence of mind, qualities that belong to Toni as well. 

I must have received a call from Manyee on some professional matter, for I sent her a note: "After your phone call I thought it would be a good idea if we could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by going out together somewhere on Saturday night—if that doesn't upset any of your plans and is agreeable to you." It was, and we started seeing each other soon after that.


Manyee was kind, open-minded, always willing to explore new things, learn new skills, and forge ahead with life’s adventures. She was for a long time a big part of my life and I am deeply saddened by her passing. 


Toni has asked me to share a few stories here and I will. 

I first met Manyee when Toni was still a baby.  I knew her to be a dedicated, hard working woman who always wanted the best for Toni.  She was so brave to bring Toni to Toronto as a single mum.  I am sure Toni, Dan, Oliver, Charlie, and Marlowe brought her much comfort and joy over the years.  Toni cared for her mum with all the love and devotion which Manyee had shown her;  wonderful bond which will never leave you, Toni.

"Freedom from fear and how to love are the only things that matter. There is a lot to study, to learn, to meditate in my future. 

I am grateful to have this opportunity to talk with you of these experiences in life. Here is a passage from Krishnamurti's book that I like & shows you how I practice awareness. This way works for me very well."

we are seeing the fact, the 'what is,' which is suffering. That is an absolute fact. I suffer and the mind is doing everything it can to run away from it. When it does not run away then it observes. Then the observer, if it observes very very closely, is the observed, and that very pain is transformed into passion, which is compassion. The words are not the reality. So, don't escape from suffering, which does not mean you become morbid. Live with it. You live with pleasure, don't you? Why don't you live with suffering completely? Can you live with it in the sense of not escaping from it? What takes place? Watch. The mind is very clear, sharp. It is faced with the fact. The very suffering transformed into passion is enormous. From that arises a mind that can never be hurt. Full stop. That is the secret.

Inspired by Krishnamurti's teaching, Manyee had plans to produce a newsletter called "Phoenix," targeting single, older women. The motivation behind Phoenix was to inspire the possibility for change and transformation for those who were suffering. With her friend Carol, she drafted a business plan, mock up and booked a meeting with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to discuss the proposal.  

This past week, I have been comforted by a rabbit that frequently follows along during my walks with Jemma, my dog. A lone rabbit. I'm pretty sure it's my mom checking in on me during this difficult time.

I'm not running away from suffering. I really feel it. She taught me well.