Panda Politics: Tai Shan returning to China despite U.S. citizenship

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Stephen Yates is president of DC Asia Advisory, a business and public policy consultancy established in 2006. The Washington DC-based practice offers a range of services from strategic assessment to campaign strategy to specific business solutions. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Stephen Yates has traveled extensively throughout Asia, meeting with government and business leaders in capitals across the region. Before opening DC Asia Advisory, Mr. Yates served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs from April 2001 to September 2005. During his tenure in government, he was deeply involved in the development and execution of U.S foreign policy priorities in Asia, Latin America and Africa. He participated in the transformation of U.S. bilateral relations with Japan, Indonesia, and India; oversaw diplomatically sensitive relations with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and China; and handled crises ranging from North Korea to the Sudan, Liberia, Venezuela, and Haiti. Mr. Yates provided direct support to the Vice President and his national security advisor for White House and diplomatic meetings, and represented the Office of the Vice President in senior interagency deliberations. A highlight of his tenure includes accompanying the Vice President to the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai in December 2004 following that nation's first democratic elections. Mr. Yates currently is a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a board member of the US-Taiwan Business Council, a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and a regular Fox News commentator on US foreign policy. Mr. Yates also serves on the board of directors of the Hamilton Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on expanding middle market business and employment in developing economies. During the 2008 campaign, he served as senior Asia advisor for the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee. Mr. Yates previously served as Senior Policy Analyst at the Heritage Foundation from 1996 to 2001, and from 1991 to 1996 he served as an international affairs analyst at the U.S. Department of Defense. He received a Master's degree in China Studies from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). A Maryland native, Yates graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland at College Park with a bachelor's degree in Chinese Studies. From 1987 to 89, Yates spent two years in southern Taiwan as a church volunteer, immersed in everyday life and culture.