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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Oct 13, 2009
OBAMA'S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Why he deserved it
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to last Saturday's report, 'Nobel surprise for Obama', on the shock which greeted the announcement that United States President Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize this year.
The big question was whether it was premature to award him the prize.
The Norwegian Nobel committee gave him the award because it felt he captured the world's attention and had given people hope for a better future.
President Obama said he viewed the award not as a recognition of his own accomplishments, but as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.
In other words, the Nobel Peace Prize was given not just as a recognition of what Mr Obama has done or seeks to achieve, but also as an award to the US for electing its first African-American President whom the citizens of the world embrace as their leader as well.
President Obama acknowledged the award as a call to action and his lofty rhetoric reminds me of the inaugural address of then US President John F. Kennedy in 1961, who enjoyed similar worldwide admiration for his youthful energy and ideals.
Today, as in 1961, the success or failure of the ideals embodied by President Obama - a world free of nuclear weapons, peaceful coexistence, eradication of poverty, disease and injustice - rests with the citizens of the world more than a single individual, no matter how globally powerful, influential or popular he may be.
However, as we have seen time and again, charismatic leaders in the mould of former South African president Nelson Mandela and assassinated American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr have made the difference in steering the course of history.
As the current leader of our long struggle for a peaceful and just world, Mr Obama has shown genuine humility, as was demonstrated by his response to the award; a praiseworthy virtue personally, and for America.
History will ultimately judge him, as it has other statesmen, on his integrity, selflessness, courage and consistency.
How much of these qualities he will show in leading America and the world, only time will tell.
Congratulations, Mr President.
Fulton Wong
<!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
OBAMA'S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Why he deserved it
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to last Saturday's report, 'Nobel surprise for Obama', on the shock which greeted the announcement that United States President Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize this year.
The big question was whether it was premature to award him the prize.
The Norwegian Nobel committee gave him the award because it felt he captured the world's attention and had given people hope for a better future.
President Obama said he viewed the award not as a recognition of his own accomplishments, but as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.
In other words, the Nobel Peace Prize was given not just as a recognition of what Mr Obama has done or seeks to achieve, but also as an award to the US for electing its first African-American President whom the citizens of the world embrace as their leader as well.
President Obama acknowledged the award as a call to action and his lofty rhetoric reminds me of the inaugural address of then US President John F. Kennedy in 1961, who enjoyed similar worldwide admiration for his youthful energy and ideals.
Today, as in 1961, the success or failure of the ideals embodied by President Obama - a world free of nuclear weapons, peaceful coexistence, eradication of poverty, disease and injustice - rests with the citizens of the world more than a single individual, no matter how globally powerful, influential or popular he may be.
However, as we have seen time and again, charismatic leaders in the mould of former South African president Nelson Mandela and assassinated American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr have made the difference in steering the course of history.
As the current leader of our long struggle for a peaceful and just world, Mr Obama has shown genuine humility, as was demonstrated by his response to the award; a praiseworthy virtue personally, and for America.
History will ultimately judge him, as it has other statesmen, on his integrity, selflessness, courage and consistency.
How much of these qualities he will show in leading America and the world, only time will tell.
Congratulations, Mr President.
Fulton Wong
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