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May 16, 2023

U.S. Ambassador Speaks Highly of Belize in Recent Feature

Michelle Kwan

Shondaland, an American television production company, has done a feature on U.S. Ambassador Michelle Kwan in which the U.S. diplomat spoke highly of Belize. In responding to the question about what it is like to live and work in Belize, Kwan said, “I could definitely see why Belizeans and others refer to this country as ‘the Jewel.’ I’ve been so impressed by the diversity. It has a large youth population, and it has a long tradition of democracy and respect for different cultures. There’s an extraordinary amount of biodiversity that can be found here, from the marine to terrestrial ecosystems, and its forests and mangroves, which play a huge part in combating climate change here. My brother and his family just visited. We went snorkeling. It has the second largest barrier reef. It almost looks too beautiful to be real.” The U.S. diplomat said that she thought it remarkable to be able to connect with Belizeans. She said that she has the opportunity to engage with people from all walks of life through her work. Speaking to her ethnicity, as the first Asian American woman to serve as ambassador to Belize, Kwan said she takes the post seriously and that representation is something that she tries to live by, whether it’s fighting for more diversity or women’s equality. The feature also puts Ambassador Kwan on ice in her previous career as a professional figure skater and an Olympian, before taking on her current role as a diplomat for the United States. Since retiring from the sport seventeen years ago, the two-time Olympic medalist and figure skating Hall of Famer told the televised show that she fell in love with ice skating at the age of five and became competitive at age seven. Speaking of the hobby, Kwan said, “It was the only thing I could really think of for twenty years. Everything I did was to see how I could be the best athlete that I could be.” Kwan shared that international diplomacy and international athletics have a lot in common. They both require hard work and practice to represent your country on the world stage. Both require a universal commitment to fair play.


Viewers please note: This Internet newscast is a verbatim transcript of our evening television newscast. Where speakers use Kriol, we attempt to faithfully reproduce the quotes using a standard spelling system.

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