Benjamin Ping Cheng Wang's Obituary
Benjamin Wang passed away at his home in San Francisco on
June 7th, 2024. It was his birthday. He was 96.
Ben (王秉成) was born in 1928 to Wang Bu Dan 王步丹 and
Lu Zhi Zhen 陸志珍 in Chi-Lin village 麒麟鄉, Haiman,
Kiangsu Province, 江蘇省海門縣 Republic of China. He hailed
from a small landowning farming family, the 3rd of 6 children.
His father was a farmer, shopkeeper, and local magistrate.
His formative years were colored by the Japanese invasion into China. He attended
5 different schools, each progressively more distant from home; finally graduating
from high school shortly after the Japanese surrender in 1945. After army training
in 1946, he worked as a Radio Tactical Officer in the Chinese Air Force. In 1947,
civil war broke out with the communist uprising. Already crippled by nearly two
decades of war, the Nationalist forces succumbed to the communist advances and
in 1949, the embattled regime retreated to Taiwan. Their plan was to return to the
mainland in a few years after recuperating military strength; reclaim the homeland
and restore the Nationalist government. History did not bear that out. Ben left
with the Air Force units, leaving behind his family. It would be 40 years before he
finally returned to his ancestral village in 1989. He never saw his parents again.
After the unrest of his early years in war-torn China, Ben lived a charmed life. In
1963, he married Lilian Chiang 姜玲玲 in Taiwan. His career as diplomat for the
Republic of China (ROC) brought him around the world, from the United Nations in
New York, to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of China to the International Atomic
Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, and to the Embassy of the Republic of China to the
Imperial Court of Iran, in Tehran. He and his wife, Lilian raised 3 daughters, each
born on different continents; Joy in Asia (Taipei), Sophia in Europe (Vienna), and
Alice in North America (San Mateo).
In 1971, the United Nations adopted Resolution 2758, which officially recognized
mainland China’s communist regime as the legitimate representative of China to the
UN. With all ROC representation expelled from the UN, Ben began to transition
from diplomatic life in Vienna, Austria. He immigrated to the United States in 1975
and became a naturalized US citizen in 1981; nearly 20 years after he first set foot in
America in 1962, as a delegate of the Republic of China to the 17th General Assembly of
the United Nations in New York. Here, in this great land of opportunity, he studied to
become a computer programmer and worked in that capacity for the City of San
Francisco until his retirement in 1998.
A lifelong student, Ben excelled academically, earning several degrees at universities
around the world. From the School of Diplomacy at National Cheng Chi
University 國立政治大學 in Taiwan, he earned both his undergraduate and graduate
degrees (LL.B 1960 and M.A. 1963). His masters thesis, “International Control of
Narcotics” was subsequently published and distributed worldwide. He later added Law
and Political Science (Rechts und Staatswissenschaftlichen) from the University of Vienna
and American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
He spoke Chinese, English, French and German.
After his retirement in 1998, Ben and Lilian traveled extensively – visiting over 50
countries. Despite circling the globe, he insisted he was a homebody, preferring San
Francisco to any place on the planet, except perhaps Vienna. Ben was never without
his Chinese newspapers, practiced Tai Chi, and kept in touch with friends and family
via email.
He lived his life based on Confucian principles -Discipline, Honesty, Patience, Routine
Benjamin Wang
An Ordinary fellow
An Extraordinary life
Ben is survived by 2 granddaughters - Alexandra and Vivienne;
3 daughters- Joy, Sophia (Dennis Jang) and Alice (Maria Delao)
and his wife of 61 years, Lilian Chiang Wang
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Benjamin's memory to the Alzheimer's Association.
https://act.alz.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=digital_wallet_donations&df_id=32112&cybba=true
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