This is an interesting article about Kirsten Gillibrand, the junior senator from New York (she replaced Hillary Clinton), who was an Asian studies major at Dartmouth, studied Chinese in China and Taiwan, and worked as a lawyer in Hong Kong.

She is one of only two members of Congress who is fluent in Mandarin.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/nyregion/15kirsten.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

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