Kwan takes turn as diplomat in China

BEIJING – Michelle Kwan’s first performance as an American diplomat was almost flawless.

In two hours Thursday at a hardscrabble school for migrant children – and two more at one of Beijing’s most prestigious high schools – America’s most decorated figure skater turned on the charm.

“She skates, she’s Chinese, she’s Disney and she’s magic,” said Zheng Hong, principal of Dandelion School, an abandoned cinderblock factory on the southern edge of the capital converted into a middle school that has 380 students.

Kwan seemed unfazed as America’s first “Public Diplomacy Envoy,” a position created to try to improve the U.S. image abroad. Greeted by students two- to three-deep, Kwan waded into the crowd and surprised a young boy, Luo Haoming.

“Hi. How are you? Nice to meet you. Give me five,” Kwan said.

Kwan is a five-time world champion and has won Olympic silver and bronze. She underwent right hip surgery five months ago and will skip this season.

Kwan got the diplomat job last year. At a White House dinner with Chinese President Hu Jintao, President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Kwan told Rice she was studying political science at the University of Denver. Rice, who earned her Ph.D. at Denver, later made an offer.

The daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong and southern China, the 26-year-old Kwan was born in California. She speaks Cantonese – a dialect used in southern China but one all but unintelligible in the north, where Mandarin, the national language, is common. So Kwan used mostly English and a bit of what she called “Chinglish” to communicate.

“I’m studying Mandarin, so you can help me,” Kwan said. “A lot of my dreams have come true. I know that a lot of your dreams will come true, too.”

Her only slip came when leaving the Renmin University high school, where she almost fell; Kwan’s high heels caught on a step.

“Off the ice, I’m the biggest klutz,” she said.