From Professor Ling-chi Wang of UC Berkeley addressed to George Koo’s wife and close friends:

Hi, May:

I was shocked, devastated, dumbfounded, and sad to learn indirectly from Denise, that George had suddenly left us Tuesday this week. I could not believe that nor can I accept that. It was only last Friday when we had a delighted dinner at the same table at the Fujian Business Association at the Peninsula Restaurant in South San Francisco, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of PRC. I could not sleep all night. I kept thinking about you and George and how it must have been extraordinary difficult for you and your children to digest and absorb the shock of your lives and how you were coping with the unexpected departure of George, the love and companion of your life.

George and I never met until we became deeply involved in the protracted struggle to free Dr. Wen Ho Lee of the LANL in New Mexico in 1999. He was wrongly and unjustly accused of being a spy for China. We fought hard to obtain justice for him. Lee was set free in September 2000.

That was 25 years ago. We quickly became close friends and comrades in arms. Not long after that meeting at the headquarters of Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) in April 1999, we came to know each other quickly and quite well. To our great surprise and delight, we discovered one day George and I were in the tiny, beautiful island of Gulangyu (鼓浪屿), Xiamen, Fujian and we went to the same elementary school, 校友小学, outside the front gate of Anglo-American High School (英华中学), but we never knew each other until 1999 in San Francisco, most likely, because our elementary education was abruptly disrupted by the brutal Japanese invasion of Xiamen and China. George’s parents quickly moved the family into the interior of China to escape Japanese occupation. My father was a teacher at the high school. The high school principal, 沈省愚, escaped summary execution by fleeing in advance as well into the interior because he was a known vocal critic of Japanese invasion. My father became the principal, as a result. After WW II and the liberation of China in 1949, his family came to the U.S. as refugees where he soon proved to be an outstanding student at MIT.

It was a happy coincident when we met in S.F. When we discovered our shared roots in Gulangyu, Xiamen, nstantly we became soulmates and we communicated with each other, sometimes in English and sometimes in Minnan dialect (闽南话), the lingua franca of southern Fujian and Taiwan Provinces. Before long we found many shared interests and we worked together well on national and international issues, especially, US-China relations, we both care deeply.

In recent years, George discovered a hidden talent: he can write political comentaries and articles and the concerns of all Chinese Americans. What a perceptive, analytical writer he was. He was widely read and he had a strong sense of humor. His writings appeared frequently in national and international newspapers and magazine. I love his style of writing. He was also quick on his feet. Before long, he became an articulate commentator on TV and radio and YouTube. His voice reflected the sentiment, perspective, and concerns of Chinese Americans, missing routinely in the mainstream media. In other words, he was not only the voice of Chinese Americans, he was also a valiant fighter on behalf of Chinese American rights.

May, I am going to miss him very much. So will Chinese Americans across the nation who followed his writings and commentaries.

I write this email to let you know how much we respect him and appreciate his voice in the sea of anti-Chinese sentiment and violence across the nation. His voice will be missed. Hopefully, other Chinese American voices will appear because he was a fine example of Chinese Americans.

I understand that your daughter, Denise, is in town to stay with you during this period of sorrow and hardship. Linda and I will do whatever we can to help. Please do not hesitate to call on us any time. Needless to say, do let us know if there will be a funeral and/ or memorial service.

In the mean time, do take good care of yourself.