The Committee of 100 (C-100), a New York-based organization of leading Chinese Americans, and Tsinghua University, one of China’s foremost institutions of higher education, jointly held “Chinese Americans in the World”, a forum for exchange and dialogue between C100 members and China’s next generation of leaders, on Sept. 23 at the university.
The program at Tsinghua featured six C-100 members and prominent Chinese Americans: Mei-Wei Cheng, Chairman & CEO, Ford Motor (China) Ltd.; David Chu, founder of Nautica and Vice Chairman, DC Design International, LLC; David Ho, renowned AIDS scientist and Director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center; Dominic Ng, Chairman/President/CEO, East West Bank; Savio Tung, Managing Director, Investcorp International, Inc.; and Jerry Yang, Co-founder & Chief Yahoo!, Yahoo, Inc.
The six C-100 members shared their experiences first through a panel discussion, then as mentors through roundtable discussions with Tsinghua University students.
David Ho, Time Magazine’s Man of the Year in 1996, who initiated the program said: “C-100 is excited about the prospect of reaching out to college students in China. We hope this program will inspire young Chinese by telling them how we got started and advanced in our careers. We aim to plant seeds that will encourage some of China’s brightest young minds to reach for the stars, and to give back to their broader communities.”
Tsinghua President Gu Binglin, who welcomed the six speakers to the event, said, “I am delighted that our students have the opportunity to meet with C-100 members and learn their individual success stories. These are important lessons to supplement what they learn in the classroom.”
Founded in 1989 by celebrated architect I.M. Pei along with other prominent Chinese Americans, the Committee of 100 is an independent, non-profit membership organization composed of Chinese American leaders in a broad range of professions. Its dual mission is to (1) encourage a stronger relationship between the United States and Greater China and (2) to encourage the full participation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of American life.
