US Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta spoke at a luncheon held in his honor by the American Chamber of Commerce on Friday. Mr Mineta was secretary of commerce under President Clinton, becoming the first Asian-American to serve in a presidential cabinet. It is very rare for one official to serve in the cabinets of presidents from different parties.

　　From 1975 to 1995, Mr Mineta represented a district in Silicon Valley in the US House of Representatives. He was prominent in the fight to pass the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, by which the US government officially apologized for the roundup and internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War.(听英文53482)