Many Japanese were upset by Nixon’s visit to China. George was contacted by his friends in the State Department, who knew his views. They offered to pay George an honorarium and expenses, if he would give a series of lectures at Japanese universities, from north to south, explaining the importance of Nixon’s visit to China. George was to explain to them why his visit would be helpful to Japan and for world peace. Needless to say, George was happy to do that.
Still, George was not able to visit China himself until 1978, when the US-China People’s Friendship Association arranged a tour, which he was eager to join. The tour covered China widely, even to visiting the newly excavated army vaults affiliated to Qin Shi Huang’s Tomb.
After returning from China, George met his second wife-to-be. She was a Chinese widow who was also attending a China People’s Friendship Association meeting in Chicago. Lilia Huiying Li had recently come to visit the U.S. She had been living in Hong Kong with her first husband who was a prominent Hong Kong doctor until his death. She worked with her first husband for the peaceful return of the British colony of Hong Kong to the Chinese motherland. It was after Mao Zedong had heard her give a talk on her work regarding the peaceful return of Hong Kong to the motherland that he invited her to talk with him privately; they used their local dialect, since both had been born near each other in Hunan Province! She became a reporter at the United Nations. George married Lilia on July 1, 1979. Her English was excellent and she helped George improve his Chinese greatly.
George never met Mao Zedong himself, but later through Lilia Huiying Li, George did meet Madame Zhou Enlai and others.