Noted HK Business Woman Congratulates Chang Hsueh-liang on 100th Birthday

Chang Hsueh-liang, a former Kuomintang general, will celebrate his 100th birthday in Hawaii, the United States, Sunday and Diana Cho, a noted business woman in Hong Kong, has sent him congratulations on the occasion.

Cho, whose family has maintained close ties with Chang, said in her telegram of congratulations that General Chang contributed his whole life to preserving national dignity, safeguarding state sovereignty and pursuing peace, thus winning the true respect of the public although he experienced rough times in his lifetime.

As an executive director of the U.S.-based Chang Hsueh-liang Research Center, Cho took part in the preparations for the celebration of Chang's 100th birthday and an international seminar on Chang to be held in Hawaii Sunday.

Cho told Xinhua that Chang was in fact born on June 4, but he regards June 3 as his birthday, because his father died in Japanese air strikes on June 4, 1928.

Chang thus put forward his birthday to remember for ever the national humiliation and his family misfortune, she added. Diana Cho, chairwoman of the International Association of Industry and Commerce of Hong Kong, met General Chang in Hawaii in 1997 and has since kept in touch with him by telephone and letter.

Cho said General Chang has kept a low profile in the past half century, but people still remember him for his lofty spirit.

Scholars from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taipei, the United States and Japan would attend the Chang Hsueh-liang International Seminar on Sunday. A photo exhibition on Chang's life and some related publications would be held during the seminar.



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