I saved this little item from the newspaper last week. About a week ago, it's reported that Vienna, Austria has acted to honor Feng Shan Ho. Dr. Ho was the Chinese consul-general in Vienna from 1938-1940 and issued visas that saved hundreds, possibly thousands of Jews who were able to escape to Shanghai and other cities.

Dr. Ho was never appropriately honored by China for his actions during World War II, but instead had to deal with possibly false charges of embezzlement. (This isn't the first time I've read of this state of affairs. Often diplomats or other staffers at embassies who did this work were disobeying orders and this, at times, was considered more important than saving lives.) Ten years after his death, his ashes were returned to his home, and a park in Hunan Province, was named for him. He was, however, denied his pension when he retired in the 70s after a forty year diplomatic career. He settled in the US and died in 1997 at the age of 96.

In 2001, Ho was named as one of the "Righteous Among all the Nations" at Yad Vashem in Israel. He is one of two Chinese people to ever receive this honor. It especially struck home to read this story because as noted here, I recently read SJ Rozan's SHANGHAI MOON, her upcoming (Feb, 2009) Lydia Chin/Bill Smith book which tells the story of Shanghai as a center for Jewish escape and emigration in those hideous times. It's a disgrace that Feng Shan Ho was not honored enough in his lifetime. It does still help to know that his name, his amazing courage and his acts will live on, not just in names on walls and plaques, or a park, but in the lives of those who survived (and their descendants) thanks to Feng Shan Ho.

"He who saves one life... it is as if he saves an entire universe."