The 9th General Assembly
The joint opening ceremony for the 9th General Assembly of CAS Members and 4th General Assembly of CAE was held on June 1, 1998 in Beijing. A total of 508 CAS Members attended the assembly. Eleven Foreign Members of CAS were present at the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.
Before the meeting, State leaders Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji, Li Lanqing, Chi Haotian, Wen Jiabao, Zhou Guangzhao, Qian Weichang, Lu Jiaxi, Song Jian, Qian Zhengying and Zhu Guangya met with some Members, Foreign Members and members of the presidiums and their advisors of CAS and CAE, and posed for a group photo with them. Chinese President Jiang Zemin gave an address brimming with warm feelings, and Zhu Rongji, Zhou Guangzhao, Qian Weichang, Lu Jiaxi, Song Jian and Qian Zhengying attended the opening ceremony. In his opening speech, Zhu Guangya listed the main tasks for the Congress: to mobilize and organize the CAS and CAE members in the promotion of unity and cooperation among Chinese scientists and engineers so as to advance the implementation of the national strategy to revive our nation by science and education and to make more contributions to the realization of the targets preset by the 9th NPC.
Also at the opening ceremony, Premier Zhu Rongji gave a keynote speech, briefing the country’s economic situation, issues and the countermeasures the Government was to adopt. He expressed his sincere expectations to the two academies?members that they would be more concerned about various endeavors in the national economy and social progress, more enthusiastic for taking part in the consultant service in the decision-making course on the country’s socio-economic development. In addition, he hoped they would devote more in the upbringing of young people so that the qualified successors could go on with the research work initiated by the elder generation of Chinese scientists.
CAS President Lu Yongxiang and CAE President Zhu Guangya made work reports, respectively.
After having finished all preset tasks on the afternoon of June 5, the assemblies of the two academies was concluded with the attendance of State leaders Li Lanqing, Zhou Guangzhao, Qian Weichang, Lu Jiaxi, Song Jian, Qian Zhengying and Zhu Guangya. Vice Premier Li Lanqing made a speech at the closing ceremony, stressing that opportunities should be seized to win the challenges. To achieve this, a newer and deeper understanding must be made on the urgency and necessity for implementing the national strategy of rejuvenating China with scientific and educational means. He called for attaching more importance to the strategy, making it a public consensus and a populace’s practical action.
Other tasks completed at the Assembly included: the adoption of the amended version of the Bylaws for the CAS Members, the election leadership of Academic Divisions and eight Foreign Member s of CAS, holding a CAS-CAE joint lecturing under the theme of introducing sustainable social, economic and S&T development, the announcement of the name list for the first batch of 145 Senior Members of CAS and the presentation of the 7th Tan Kah Kee Awards.
