追思文 （世禮John）

I am honored to speak about my Uncle, John Cheng. I share a special bond with him that I am pretty sure nobody else here can say. I was named after him. My name is also John Cheng In fact my middle initial is also S. So i'm also John S. Cheng. As you know, John had 11 brothers and sisters. He was the oldest brother. My dad was the second oldest. All his brothers and sisters looked up to John. He was the leader of the family. So when I was born, my parents tried to come up with the best name possible for me My sister and brother were Diana and David. Was I going to get a named that started with the letter D too? No, My parents had something else in mind. They wanted to honor Uncle John who didn't have any children himself by naming me after him. Was it confusing? Not at all. I loved sharing the same name as him. I remember sometimes he would get mail at my house. I would be so excited because I thought the letters were for me, but i was just a kid so there wasn't any reason for me to get mail. But i would always pretend they were for me. I remember seeing some awards and certificates he had earned over the years and I would imagine that they were mine and I dreamt of being as successful and respected as him someday. He set the bar very high.

One of my earliest memories in life was when I was around 4 or 5 years old. My parents told me that Uncle John and Aunt Mary didn't have any kids of their own so my parents thought it would be sign of respect and make them so happy if I could call them both Baba and Mama. They would become my second parents. My parents said Uncle and Aunt would really appreciate this and it would bring the a lot of joy. Thinking back on this as an adult, I feel like this is a very simple thing to do. What's so hard about calling somebody else Baba and Mama? However as a young child, this was my worst nightmare. It felt strange to me for some reason. I remember we would go to their house every weekend in Beverly Hills to see our grandparents. All of our uncles, aunts and cousins would be there every Saturday. I think I can speak for everybody in our family when i say we all looked forward to going every Saturday. We got to play with all the cousins, there was great food and the best thing was that Uncle John and Aunt Mary had cable TV. This was the 80's when cable TV was brand new. I'm talking MTV and HBO. Every time we arrived, in Taiwanese custom as you know, all the kids had to pay respects to our grandparents and elders by saying their name. I remember feeling very nervous because I knew I had to call Uncle and Aunt Baba and Mama. I would wait until my brother, sister and cousins all said their greetings and then I would say mine last after everybody had gone off to play because I felt embarrassed. But every time I said Baba and Mama to them, they both would have the biggest smiles on their faces. Even as a young child, I knew that it made them very happy and I was happy that I could be a part of that. I did this through my adolescent and even through my teenage years. As I got older and graduated from college, I slowly stopped saying it. I'm not sure why. I regret it terribly now and have always felt guilty about it. I wish I continued. It was such a simple thing to do and it wasn't hard for me to say and I know it brought them joy.

Uncle John loved his family more than anything. I think I can speak for all my cousins when I say he taught us how important family is. He never really said it us, but we all learned it by watching him and our parents. Actions speak louder than words. We saw how he treated our grandparents. He took such great care of them. Not only did they live with him but he provided them with all the best things in life. We saw how he treated the other uncles and aunts.He loved all his brothers and sisters. I remember all the adults would sit in the living room or kitchen and just talk. I have no idea what they were talking about but looking back I know they were all getting his advice. He was so smart, well respected and had so much experience in everything. He loved all of his nieces and nephews. He had over 25 nieces and nephews that he treated like they were his own kids. I know he stayed in touch with every single one of them and always wanted the best for all of them. Most of them are here today from all over the world. That's how much he meant to all of us. We wouldn't miss an opportunity to honor him.

The one thing Uncle John loved as much as his family was Taiwan. He loved his country so much. Almost every time I saw him, he would tell me how I should come to Taiwan to visit. He was so proud of his home. This reminds me of the time after college when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. All of my uncles, aunts and cousins all have such a high academic background in engineering, medicine, business and law. When I told him i was interested in making movies, I thought he was going to be disappointed in me. It was the exact opposite. He actually encouraged me to follow my dreams. He told me he always loved film as well and was a big movie fan. We would have long conversations about Hollywood and he would ask me so many questions about the business of making movies.He was so interested in it. He wanted to learn everything about it. He told me it was exciting for him just to talk to me about it because he felt he was living out his dreams through me.The one thing he would always tell me is that I should make a movie In Taiwan. Every time I would see him or talk to him on the phone, he'd always end it with come to Taiwan and make a movie. I'm sorry to say I haven't done it yet, but this is a goal I will never stop aiming for. I will honor him by making a movie in Taiwan. That's my promise to my Uncle.

There is no doubt in my mind that everybody in this room has been positively affected by him. We've all been around him. He seemed like he was always happy. One thing I noticed besides his positive energy was that he was always thinking about something, His brain never stopped. I feel like he was always trying to come up with the next big idea whether it was for business or just something to make our family better. That's something I have tried to emulate in my life because of him. I try to always be happy and never stop trying to improve my life and those around me. I thank you for that.

I'm honored to share the same name as you and I hope I can accomplish a fraction of what you've accomplished in your lifetime to make the name John Cheng proud and honorable as you did. Thank you for everything you've done for Taiwan, the entire Cheng family and me.

BABA, I love you and will never forget you.

世禮 John