Committee of 100 Newsletter

Committee Converges on California for 21st Annual Conference

As always, the Committee of 100’s annual conference will bring together seasoned perspectives on the future of U.S.-China relations and developments in the Chinese American community. The 21^st Annual Conference in Pasadena, California will begin with the Awards Gala Dinner on April 19, followed by a full day of conference proceedings on April 20. Four roundtables will focus on the political impact of leadership transition on U.S.-China relations, developments in Asian American philanthropy, U.S.-China bilateral investments, and new frontiers in the global film industry.

Honorable Mentions: Recent Awards to C-100 Members - Dominic Ng, Business Person of the Year, Los Angeles Business Journal

Committee of 100 Chairman Dominic Ng was honored by the Los Angeles Business Journal as its Business Person of the Year at a March 29 luncheon at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel attended by over 400 guests. Ng, East West Bank Chairman and CEO, has played an ever-growing role in the economic revitalization of Los Angeles. Past winners of this award include former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and Panda Express founder and Chairman Andrew Cherng.

Newsmakers: Links to Members in the News - Wing Chao, Gareth Chang, Steve Chen, David Ho, Yue Sai Kan, George Koo, Cheng Li, Edmond Pi, Jerry Yang, and Shirley Young

The Los Angeles-published Art and Living digital magazine celebrates creativity in all its forms, and the Chinese connection in particular in its 2012 issue. On the cover, Wing T. Chao stands near a painting of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, a salute to Chao’s 37-year “Enduring Legacy at Disney” as chief architect and master planner for Disney properties all over the world. Chao escorted Art and Living’s publisher Jeff Marinelli throughout China and other countries last year.

Newsmakers: Links to Members in the News - Wei Sun Christianson, Yue-Sai Kan, and Cher Wang

Three Committee of 100 members are among the 50 most powerful businesswomen in Asia, according to Forbes Asia, which issued its first list of Asia’s 50 Power Businesswomen on February 29:  Wei Sun Christianson, Managing Director and CEO of Morgan Stanley China; Yue-Sai Kan, President of Yue-Sai Kan Productions (China); and Cher Wang, Chair, HTC Corp (Taiwan). Forbes Asia acknowledged that “although the role of women in Asia-Pacific’s economy is growing, most of these honorees still have had to overcome significant barriers to get where they are today.”

Pro Bono: Committee Members Contributing to the Greater Good - Ronnie Chan

A new home for the Asia Society Hong Kong Center has long been the dream of its Chairman, Ronnie Chan, and on February 9, Chan presided over the opening of the new Center in Admiralty, located in re-purposed heritage buildings.

Chan also is Co-Chair of the Asia Society. Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang and Asia Society President Vishakha Desai attended the Center’s opening. New York architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien led the effort to preserve the past while transforming the buildings in the Explosives Magazine compound into offices, meeting halls, theaters, and galleries.

On March 15, Chan briefed CEOs on China’s economic outlook at the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre in Sydney.

C-100 Press Clips: “Recalling Birth of Committee of 100”

Photo Credit - China Daily

Committee of 100 Governor Henry Tang reflects on the origins of C-100 in 1989 and speaks frankly about the issues that dominated his C-100 Chairmanship, including the Wen Ho Lee case, in a lengthy interview by Kelly Chung Dawson in China Daily on March 9.

For Your Attention: Recommended by the Committee of 100

“2012 Statistical Portrait of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders” compiled by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center

In time for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May, UCLA's Asian American Studies Center has developed a handy website with the most current U.S. Census statistics about the nation’s fastest growing “major race group.” The 2010 Census showed 17.3 million U.S. residents of Asian descent, an increase in population of 46% since 2000.

Newsmakers: Links to Members in the News - John Chen

“John Chen, CEO of Sybase, has long pushed for a U.S.-China investment agreement similar to bilateral treaties negotiated with 40 other countries,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported March 21 in a story about the potential for major Chinese investments in the United States.

“We're getting just $3 billion out of the $100 billion a year of China's foreign direct investment. That's just ridiculous,’ Chen said after a meeting with Presidents Obama and Hu Jintao on this and other U.S.-China ‘irritants’ last year.”

In a March 14 interview with Chen filmed in Hong Kong on Bloomberg Television’s “On the Move Asia,” Chen said that China presents a “humongous opportunity” for American companies.