Vice Premier Meets Cheung Kong Award WinnersChinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing met the winners of an education award program Thursday at the Great Hall of People.A total of 143 scholars were appointed to professorial chairs in 49 higher-education institutions and two won first-level awards at the ceremony for the third round of the Cheung Kong Scholars Program, a special program jointly established and sponsored by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and his Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited. Li Lanqing, also a member of the Political Bureau Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, expressed greetings to the winners and said he hopes that they make even greater contributions in education and scientific research. The Cheung Kong Scholars Program is aimed at speeding up the training of a generation of young and middle-aged academic leaders in colleges and universities. It is intended to magnetize a multitude of young and middle-aged elite academics at home and abroad to participate in the construction of Chinese colleges and universities so as to attain world levels in key branches of learning. Chen Zhili, minister of education, said at today's ceremony that since its formal launching, the Cheung Kong Scholars Program has been well received at home and abroad, and has made substantial progress. The official pointed out that the program will greatly speed up the cultivation of talented people and the development of disciplines in higher-education institutions, and will consolidate the academic status of Chinese higher-education institutions and strengthen their competitiveness. She asked related departments and higher-education institutions to support these scholars. Zhu Guangya, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) attended today's ceremony. |
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