Chinese New Class Elites Selected in China

Mr. David L. Zhang, president of the ACRA said that the election aimed to make more new class elites attach importance to and participate in commonweal activities.

Mr. David L. Zhang (right), Mr. Hu Jinxing (middle) and Mr. Lu Guofu, deputy director of Shanghai Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Hu Jinxing, director of More Love Foundation, was delivering his words

Mr. David L. Zhang, publisher of China Business Focus and president of ACRA, was delivering his speech

The Night of More Love Charity Dinner & the Prize Awarding Ceremony of the First Chinese New Class Elite Leaders Selection successfully rang down its curtain in Shanghai on January 10, 2010. This evening was organized by China Business Focus and More Love Foundation.

In the evening, the famous female writer Bei La and the other seven people, as well as the Shanghai Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce were elected as the “First Chinese New Class Elite Leaders”. Shanghai Overseas Returned Scholars Association and the other two organizations were awarded the prizes of “New Confucian Business Groups”.

Mr. Hu Jinxing, director of More Love Foundation, said that the evening might make more new class elites attach importance to philanthropy and commonweal and contribute to the construction of harmonious society. These are the duties the society and history endow these new class people.

During the evening, Mr. David L. Zhang, publisher of China Business Focus and president of the Australia China Relationship Association (ACRA), said that this selection didn’t only focus on the new class elites but also on the “rising stars”. Wealth was not the only criteria, which included how much the candidates devote themselves to the commonweal affairs. The main goal of the selection was not merely to establish successful and shining examples in the business field, but also to give encouragement to the elites in the fields of science, technology and culture. According to Mr. David L. Zhang, apart from the senior executives of private companies, hi-tech enterprises and multinationals, the new class also included returned overseas people, overseas businessman, lawyers, financial staff, architecture designers, artists and medical workers.

Mr. Bao Yujun, head of China Private Economy Research Institute, came to the site and gave out his congratulations. As he said, the new class people should be understood and respected by the society for their contribution to social and economic development. However, they have not been fully recognized by now. In his opinion, the First Chinese New Class Leaders Selection owned significant social meaning.

According to the introduction, this selection mainly targeted the new class people in the southeastern coastal areas of China – Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where the reform and opening up got its biggest fruits. The following selections will engage the qualified candidates all over China. In this event, 26 individuals and organizations were listed as the final candidates. After strict and careful appraisals, eight people and one organization were elected as the award winners; they were: Chinese Canadian writer Bei La, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited’s CEO Chen Tianqiao, Shanghai 6^th People’s Hospital’s director Jia Weiping, Jiangsu Hongdou Group’s president Zhou Haijiang, Citibank (China) Co., Ltd’s director Huang Xiaoguang, Brady’s North Asia Corporation’s managing director Welson Zhou, MicroPort Medical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd’s board chairman Chang Zhaohua, Zhejiang Yongli Industry Group Co., Ltd’s board chairman Zhou Yongli, and Shanghai Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Shanghai Overseas Returned Scholars Association, Shanghai European and American Chinese Students Association, Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce were awarded the prizes of “New Confucian Business Groups”.

Quite a large number of award winners were the overseas Chinese or the returned Chinese. Most of them have experiences of living or studying in foreign countries, including the new-generation financial talents, senior executives of multinationals in China, as well as the overseas Chinese artists having got certain achievements in arts. Shanghai Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce is the main organization for the overseas Chinese businessmen in China. This organization made great contribution to the Chinese social development by the 20 million yuan (USD 2.93 million) it has invested in China and the 600 million yuan (USD 87.93 million) it has donated in these years.

Mr. David L. Zhang (right) was awarding the prize to a winner

Several auctions were held in the interludes of the evening. The guests actively joined in the auctions. It was known that millions of yuan was accumulated in the evening and all the money will be donated for improving the living conditions of the particularly poor families in Shanghai in the coming Chinese Spring Festival.