The joint opening of the 10th General Assembly of CAS Members and the 5th General Assembly of CAE was held on June 5 in Beijing. More than 400 CAS Members attended the assembly and six Foreign Members of CAS were present at the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Before the ceremony, State leaders Jiang Zemin, Li Peng, Zhu Rongji, Li Ruihuan, Hu Jintao, Wei Jianxing, Li Lanqing, Li Tieying, Wu Bangguo, Luo Gan, Qian Qichen, Wen Jiabao, Zeng Qinghong, Wu Jieping, Zhou Guangzhao, Wang Zhongyu, Song Jian, Qian Zhengying and Zhu Guangya met with the CAS and CAE members present at the meeting and had a group photo taken with them.
At the opening ceremony chaired by CAE President Song Jian, CAS President Lu Yongxiang announced the theme of the assemblies in his opening speech: To unite all S&T workers across the country to make due contributions to the enforcement of the national strategies of reviving China through science and education and sustainable development in the new century, to actively participate into the development of the national innovation system and the consultant service on the major projects for the national socio-economic development, and to strive for the objectives of the Ninth Five-year Plan and the third-stage implementation strategy. Also at the opening ceremony, Chinese President Jiang Zemin made an important speech on bringing forth scientific spirit.
Premier Zhu Rongji reported the national conditions to the participants, briefing the national economic situation, related policies and key administrative measures adopted by the Central Government and giving an in-depth analysis of some key issues and countermeasures in the growth of the national economy. He iterated the national government’s determination and actions to achieve the strategic goal of national rejuvenation through science and education. At the same time, he put forward hopes to the CAS and CAE members as well as all other Chinese S&T workers.
On the afternoon of June 9, the closing ceremony of the assemblies was held with the attendance of State leaders Li Lanqing, Zhou Guangzhao, Wu Jieping, Song Jian, Qian Zhengying and Zhu Guangya. Vice Premier Li Lanqing delivered a speech under the title of “Resolutely shouldering the historic commitment of developing the primary production forces,?and conferred the awarding certificates to the awardees of the 8th Tan Kah Kee Awards and the 3rd Guanghua Engineering and Technological Science Awards. He expressed the hopes that the CAS and CAE members would join hands with other S&T workers across the country to fulfill the Party’s requirements consciously in their research work, to be active practitioners of technological transfer, trail blazers for innovations, enthusiastic mentors for training young talents and tireless propagators of the scientific spirit so as to make due contributions to the blast-off of China’s S&T endeavors.
Other tasks finished at the assembly included: the adoption of a revised version of the Bylaws for the CAS Members; the election of the Academy’s 4th AD Presidium, the leadership of each divisions, and the fourth batch of Foreign Members of CAS; and a public lecturing under the theme of Retrospect & Prospect for the New Century.