本會籌劃「外交憶舊」系列，邀請資深外交人員及對涉外事務熟稔的專家分享曾經發生在他們身上有趣或令人玩味的小故事。以下來自本會李常務理事澄然大使的親身經歷，也是「外交憶舊」系列的第三篇，請撥冗閱讀並與親朋故舊分享!
【我進入了白宮】
李澄然 (對外關係協會常務理事)
日期: 2019.02.01
1979年4月10日美國總統卡特簽署「台灣關係法」後，另又發布了一個機密備忘錄給美國各行政機關，強調自美國與中共建交之日起，美國與我國已不能有任何官方或政府的關係，因此駐美代表處的官員不得前往美國官署洽公，AIT駐台官員也不得前往我政府具有敏感性的官署，如總統府、外交部等機關洽公。該備忘錄也指出美官員在任何時、地都不能使用我國號等等限制性的措施。
此後3年，雙方互信很差，交往十分困難。1981年美方甚至阻止國民黨秘書長蔣彥士所率的代表團參加當年1月20日雷根總統的就職典禮。此期間駐美代表處唯一可以進入國務院辦事的人，只有負責總務的當地雇員馮景江先生。
1983年初，駐美新任代表錢復先生履新。眾所周知，在他的努力下，美國與我國的互信逐漸建立了起來，錢代表與美各機關高層官員的互動也愈益頻繁密切。在這個友善的氛圍下，1986年7月29日美財政部國際事務助理部長David Mulford約錢代表到其辦公室談我國的匯率問題時，時任國務院亞太助卿的席格爾(Sigur)即認為並無不妥。此後，錢代表即不時應邀到美財政部與Baker部長、Mulford助理部長等高官洽公。
個人是1987年夏天派赴華府工作，任三等秘書。那時負責的工作之一是與美保守派智庫傳統基金會聯繫，每個禮拜平均都會跑傳統基金會一次，或洽辦事情，或參加其所辦的研討會，或與其相關研究員餐敘，就有關問題交換意見。 二、三年下來，傳統基金會從上到下幾乎都很熟稔。
大概1989或1990年夏，傳統基金會在白宮行政大樓舉辦研討會，邀我去參加。我委婉表示，個人甚願參加，惟美政府有相關的限制措施，恐不便讓代表處人員進入白宮。個人原以為沒什麼希望，不意3天後，傳統基金會的朋友打電話來說，其長官已跟白宮溝通過了，沒有問題，屆時帶護照經安檢就可進入白宮參加是項研討會。我即稱謝，並請示長官同意後，於研討會當天前往白宮。當進入白宮行政大樓，看到黑白相間的地板，典雅的廊柱及明亮的房間，心裡實在是五味雜陳。由於時間久遠，是項研討會的內容早已忘記，但白宮行政大樓的樣貌卻仍歷歷在目。
The Association is planning a "Diplomatic Memories" series, inviting senior diplomats and experts with knowledge of foreign affairs to share interesting or interesting little stories that have happened to them. The following is the personal experience of Ambassador Lee, the third in the "Diplomatic Memories" series. Please take the time to read and share with family and friends!
【I entered the White House 】
Lee Chengran (External Relations Association)
Date: 2019.02.01
On April 10, 1979. President After Carter signed the Taiwan Relations Act, he issued a confidential memorandum to various US administrative agencies, emphasizing that since the date the United States established diplomatic relations with China, the United States and China, officials of the representative office in the United States are not allowed to go to the US official offices for business, and AIT officials in Taiwan are not allowed to visit the sensitive offices of our government, such as Presidential Office Building and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The memo also states that US officials cannot use our country name at any time or place.
For the next 3 years, mutual trust was poor and communication was very difficult. In 1981 the US side even blocked the delegation led by the Kuomintang Secretary-General from attending the inauguration ceremony of Reagan President on January 20th of that year. The only person who can enter the State Department office during this period is Mr. Jiang Jingjiang, a local employee in charge of general affairs.
In early 1983 Mr. Qian Fu, the new representative in the US, took up his new As everyone knows, thanks to his efforts, mutual trust between the United States and our country has gradually been established, and the interaction between money representatives and high-level officials of various US agencies has become more and more frequent. In this friendly atmosphere, when David Mulford, assistant secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury on July 29, 1986, asked a representative to come to his office to talk about our country's exchange rate, Sigur, then assistant secretary of state for Asia Pacific, thought it was not wrong. Since then, money representatives have been invited to the U.S. Department of the Treasury from time to time to meet with senior officials such as Secretary Baker and Assistant Secretary Mulford.
The individual was sent to Washington in the summer of 1987 as a third secretary. One of the tasks in charge was to connect with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, which runs the Heritage Foundation on average once a week, or talks about things, or attend a workshop it holds, or talks with its fellow researchers to exchange views on issues. Two or three years later, the Heritage Foundation is almost familiar from top to bottom.
Around the summer of 1989 or 1990 the Heritage Foundation held a seminar at the White House administration building and invited me to attend. I euphemistically say that individuals are willing to participate, but the US government has relevant restrictions, which may not allow representative office staff to enter the White House. Personally thought there was no hope, but three days later, friends of the Heritage Foundation called and said that their chief had passed the White House, no problem, and then you can enter the White House with your passport and attend the seminar. I thank you and ask for permission from the sheriff to go to the White House on the day of the seminar. When entering the White House administration building, seeing black and white floors, elegant porch columns and bright rooms, the heart is really mixed. The contents of this workshop have long been forgotten due to the time, but the White House administration building looks like.


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