Dear friends:
It is my great pleasure to report to you our CASB delegation’s successful visit to Beijing and Tianjin in April in response to the Chinese Government’s Thousand Talented People Program.
CASB members were excited at the Chinese Government’s announcement of the new program to hire 1,000 specialists from overseas, and they have responded enthusiastically. As many accomplished members intended to return to China together to serve the motherland under this program, we organized a delegation which visited Beijing and Tianjin from April 15 to 21. We received very warm welcome and high-level reception.
During our visit to the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, 中国工程院) on April 16, we met President Xu Kuandi（徐匡迪院长）and had a good discussion about our projects. He also showed us the modern building of CAE. We were deeply moved when we saw the electronic banner “Warm Welcome to the CASB delegation” at the CAE main hall entrance.
We also visited the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (全国政协), and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council (国务院侨办), and attended their welcoming banquets, hosted respectively by Vice Director Zhang Daocheng （张道诚副主任）and Vice Director Ren Qiliang (任启亮副主任).
One of the most exciting moments was the April 17 meeting in Tianjin with the Tianjin Party Secretary Zhang Gaoli (张高丽), Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo（黄兴国市长） and 5 top leaders of the city. Zhang Gaoli is one of the most powerful men in the Chinese leadership, serving in the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. In a highly enthusiastic speech, he told us that Tianjin is growing quickly with a stunning growth rate of 16% in the first quarter, 2009, compared with the national average rate of 6.5%, and -6.5% for the US. It has great potentials. He expressed the hope that CASB could help bring more high-level specialists and high-tech projects to Tianjin. We also discussed our projects with officers of the Tianjin Science and Technology Commission and of the High-tech Zone. Many of our members were very interested in the idea of developing their projects in Tianjin.
(Photo) Meeting with Tianjin Party Secretary Zhang Gaoli & Mayor Huang Xingguo
The highlight of our visit was the meeting with Li Yuanchao（李源潮）, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of CPC, Member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. Li Yuanchao is a prominent politician in China in charge of the appointment of high-level officers. As one of the top Chinese leaders with an important portfolio, Li Yuanchao has a very busy schedule. It was a pleasant surprise that he spent about 2 hours talking with us, discussing our projects, listening to our suggestions and answering our questions. He showed great enthusiasm about attracting high-level overseas talents and encouraged us to apply for the Thousand-people Program, telling us that our suggestions were well considered, that the age limit restriction was flexible for special talents, and that not only Overseas Chinese, but also foreign high-level specialists may apply for the program. The meeting was held in the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. There was an electronic banner of “Warm Welcome to the CASB Delegation” in the meeting hall. After the meeting, Li Yuanchao saw us off to the gate, and waved his hand until our car had disappeared from sight. We all were very impressed.
Group photo, with Li Yuanchao, April 20, 2009
We also visited the Ministry of the Science & Technology on the afternoon of April 20, and met Vice Minister Liu Yanhua(刘燕华副部长). We had a very interesting meeting there.
All in all, it was really a very exciting visit indeed . Some photos of this trip are included. For more photos, please visit http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=dsir3bn.8q9rrpo7&x=0&y=yqv723&localeid=en_US.
We are going to organize a second delegation to visit China. If anyone is interested in joining us, please let me know. Thank you very much for your support.
Best regards,
Daxi Li, Ph.D.
Chairman, CASB
