Committee of 100 Newsletter

Beijing Conference Honorees Play Large Role in Sino-American Relationship

November 2009 | By Jane Leung Larson

Two Chinese officials and one business executive whose names are largely unknown by Americans and a Chinese sports figure familiar to many Americans will be honored at the Third Annual Greater China Conference in Beijing on December 8. All have played an outsized role in the U.S.-China relationship.

Presented by the Committee of 100 to the American Public: “From Mao to the Met” on Local PBS Stations

November 2009 | By Jane Leung Larson

Cover of the 77-minute DVD of the performance (click to enlarge).

Beginning this December, the Committee of 100 is proud to present From Mao to the Met with Hao Jiang Tian, a pledge special program that will air on local PBS stations around the country. The Committee sponsored this television program because it believes that Tian’s story of overcoming formidable challenges to win great success will resonate deeply with the American public. The one-man performance, told in story and song by Metropolitan Opera bass Tian, was staged in New York at Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse on September 14 before a live audience.

The Committee of 100 and Shanghai Expo 2010: Monthly Progress Report

November 2009 | By Jane Leung Larson

On New Years Day in Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses, NBA superstar Yao Ming along with other athletes from the National Football League and Los Angeles Lakers will be waving to the crowds from a float depicting the 2010 World Expo’s modernistic pavilions set against Shanghai’s emblematic skyline. One hundred children, some from Shanghai, will dance and perform alongside.

The float will be built by Fiesta Parade Floats, which provided this sketch.

The Committee of 100 is co-sponsoring this magnificent float composed of 100,000 flowers, which will dramatically display U.S.-China cooperation. C-100 participation is made possible thanks to the generosity of Ming Hsieh, CEO, President and Chairman of Cogent Systems. “The parade is a wonderful event for the Chinese American community of Southern California to come together and show their support for the U.S. Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai,” commented Hsieh. The Committee’s name will appear on the float.

Chinese American Nobel Laureates to be Honored at Committee’s 19th Annual Conference

November 2009 | By Jane Leung Larson

The Committee of 100 will honor Chinese American Nobel Laureates at the 19th Annual Conference in San Francisco next spring. To date, two physicists, Daniel Tsui and Chen Ning (Franklin) Yang, have been confirmed to receive the Committee’s Award for Chinese American Distinction. Invitations to the other Chinese American Nobel-winners, including U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, are still outstanding.

Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for their fundamental breakthrough in the field of particle physics. Tsui won the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics along with two others for major discoveries in what is known as the fractional quantum Hall effect. Both Tsui and Yang were born in China, lived through tumult and war, and came to the U.S. to continue their higher education.

New Member: Tony F. Chan

November  2009 | By Jane Leung Larson

Mathematician, scientist and academic administrator Tony F. Chan has joined the Committee of 100. In September, Chan became President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), one of the top-ranking universities in the world although less than twenty years old. A desire to be in “the most exciting place in the world with the brainpower, innovative ideas, cutting edge technology and entrepreneurial skills to make a deep global impact that will benefit mankind” brought Chan back to Hong Kong, where he was born. Upon Chan’s appointment to the HKUST presidency, HKUST Council chairman Marvin Cheung said, “Professor Chan is a rare breed among academics. He is a visionary leader, a preeminent scholar and scientist, and a world-class administrator.”

U.S.-China Working Group Co-Chair Mark Kirk Meets Committee Members in New York

November 2009 | By Jane Leung Larson

On October 26, Committee of 100 members hosted a luncheon meeting at the Harvard Club in New York City with Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) who with Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) co-founded and co-chairs the Congressional U.S.-China Working Group. This bipartisan forum was begun in 2005 to educate members of Congress about the most important issues confronting the two countries. In the past, C-100 has provided expert advice to the Working Group, and this meeting continued that discussion.

Committee of 100 Greets Newly-Elected Representative Judy Chu in Washington, D.C.

November 2009 | By Jane Leung Larson

Washington area Committee members hosted a dinner meeting on November 4 in honor of Congresswoman Judy Chu (Democrat, El Monte, CA), who was elected in a special election this July to replace Hilda Solis, now Labor Secretary. Chu won her seat in the heavily Latino 32nd Congressional District and became the first Chinese American woman elected to the House of Representatives. Discussion at the meeting focused on Chu’s legislative priorities, which include immigration reform and education. She serves on the House Education and Labor Committee.

(l to r): Cheng Li, Nancy Yuan, Robert Gee, John L. Fugh, Congressman Judy Chu, Ben Wu, Michael Lin, Jeremy Wu, Frank H. Wu, Angie Tang.

Pre-Trip Briefings for C100 Journalists’ Delegation to China

November 2009| By Jane Leung Larson

Two of the nation’s most influential editors and a Pulitzer-Prize winning syndicated columnist will travel to China under the auspices of the Committee of 100, to participate in the Greater China Conference on December 7-8 and to visit Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing with member Kai-Fu Lee, Chairman and CEO of Innovation Works. Committee members working in China are assisting Public Relations Director An Ping in organizing an itinerary that fulfills the journalists’ special interests and gives them an accurate view of China today. Chairman and CEO of Golden Eagle Roger Wang is the delegation sponsor.

Delegations from China Meet Committee of 100

November 2009| By Jane Leung Larson

Sanya Initiative

The Sanya Initiative, an annual dialogue between retired senior military commanders from the U.S. and China for the purpose of establishing trust and confidence and increasing mutual understanding of each other’s military and security concerns, culminated its second annual exchange on October 22 on the USS Intrepid in New York City. On behalf of the Committee, C-100 Public Relations Director An Ping attended the private closing ceremony at the invitation of Admiral Bill Owens. Owens is the former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and founder of the Sanya Initiative, so named because the first meeting of the five American and five Chinese commanders took place at Sanya, Hainan in 2008. This year’s dialogue began in Hawaii and moved to Washington, D.C. and New York City. The American Sanya Initiative members are Admiral Owens, Admiral Joe Preuher (former U.S. Ambassador to China), General Ron Fogleman, General Charley Wilhelm, and General Dennis Reimer. The Chinese commanders are General Xiong Guangkai, General Yu Zhenwu, General Li Qianyuan, General Pei Huailiang, and Vice Admiral Zhao Guojun.

C100 Regional Activities

November 2009 | By Jane Leung Larson

C-100 members meet regularly in their regions (New York, Washington, D.C., Bay Area and Southern California), often using the occasion to reach out to other organizations with similar activities or missions or participate together in a Chinese cultural event.

[l to r] Joe Ko, Lily Chen, Ming Hsu, Director General Chung-chen Kung (standing), Charlie Woo (seated), Charlie Sie and Maureen Sie.

Southern California members were invited to a luncheon meeting on October 20 with the Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Los Angeles, Chung-chen Kung, to discuss future collaboration. Attending were Lily Chen, Andrew Cherng, Ming Hsu, Joe Ko, , Charlie Sie, and Charlie Woo. Since the early 1980s Kung has had extensive diplomatic experience in North America, including previous service in the Los Angeles TECO office as Deputy Director. The Los Angeles TECO is one of twelve regional offices in this country to facilitate unofficial cultural and commercial relations between Taiwan and the U.S.