Participated Figureheads
Of
"555 Inspirations Award Presentation Ceremony"

Academia

1. Richard Wrangham: Anthropologist and Zoologist

Richard Wrangham graduated from Oxford University in 1970. In 1975 he earned a Ph.D. in zoology (animal behavior) from Cambridge University, following which he taught at world-renowned institutions such as the universities of Cambridge and Michigan. Since 1989 he has been professor of anthropology at Harvard University. There he has made an exhaustive study of chimpanzees, and works tirelessly for a number of animal conservation organizations involved in the protection of wild animals such as the Chinese panda.

2. Quanyu Huang: Author of "Quality Education in the United States".

Quanyu Huang holds a Ph.D. in Education Management from the University of Miami, as well as a bachelor's degree in literature and a master's degree in organization and management. Dr. Huang has devoted himself to education for many years, and been actively involved in promoting academic and cultural exchanges between the United States and China, as well as in enterprise management and training work. Now published widely as a commentator, his book "Quality Education in the United States" was published recently to great critical acclaim.

3. Liao Weijian: Professor, Zhongshan University

Liao Weijian is a graduate of the philosophy department of Zhongshan University and holds a master's degree in philosophy. He is now professor of government and associate dean of politics and administration at Zhongshan University, as well as director of the School of Public Relations and Advertising. He is also a director of the China International Public Relations Association, and the author of several books on public relations subjects.

Culture and the Arts

4. Tan Dun: Renowned Chinese Musician

Tan Dun is one of the first top international Chinese musicians since 1949, and in 1996 was named "Best Composer" of the year by influential German opera magazine Opera World. In 1997 he was named "World's Best Classical Musician" by the New York Times. In 1998, in recognition of his opera "Marco Polo", he was awarded the Grawemeyer Award, the world's most prestigious composer prize. In 1999, he was appointed a director of the influential Tangelwood Festival of International Modern Music; and the following year he was chosen as musical director for the Global 55 Channels "Millennium" live broadcast program.

5. Christine Choy: Director, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

A native of Shanghai, Christine Choy went to the United States to further her studies at the age of 14. She holds a BA in architecture from the University of Princeton and a master's degree in town planning from Columbia University. She was director of New York University's department of film, and in 1998 was appointed director of Hong Kong City University's School of Creative Media. In all she has shot 52 documentaries, one of which was "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary. In 1998 she was chosen as "Ms Internet" by the Hong Kong chapter of the International Webgirls organization.

6. Fruit Chan: Best Director in Hong Kong's Film Award

During his career, Fruit Chan has earned the sobriquet of "Low-cost Director" and the "Grass- roots Director". Once, on a budget of HK$500,000 and using 80,000 feet of discarded film stock, he shot the film "Made in Hong Kong" which won best director in the Hong Kong Film Award. Following up on "The Longest Summer Profile", which won the grand prize at the International Berlin Film Festival, and with the support of a Japanese corporation, he recently made "Little Cheung", a film which became the talk of Hong Kong. In 1999, Mr. Chan was made Hong Kong Artist of the Year.

The Media

7. Jennifer Sharp: Renowned British media expert and mentor.

Jennifer Sharp graduated in English from Oxford University, and has many years of media experience. As a director of the Hearst Corporation's international multimedia group, she nurtures and mentors many of the talents necessary for successful consumer magazines, e.g. journalists, photographers and models. Since 1995 she has been the restaurant critic for Harpers & Queen, the most upscale publication in the group's portfolio.

8. Yau Lop Poon: Editor-in-Chief, Yazhou Zhoukan

Born in Hong Kong, Yau Lop Poon graduated from the economics department of Taipei Normal University, and earned his master's degree in economics from New York's New School for Social Research. He has altogether 28 years of media experience, working for such publications as Taipei's China Times, the New York Sing Tao Daily, the Los Angeles China Times, the New York Daily News, and Hong Kong's Ming Pao Monthly. He is now editor-in-chief of Hong Kong's Yazhou Zhoukan (Asia Week).

9. Eva Man: Multimedia Expert

Eva Man has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is currently associate professor and course director in the humanities department of the Hong Kong Baptist University. A former visiting scholar at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, her areas of research included Sino-Western comparative aesthetics, the philosophy of culture, and gender and humanities studies. She is now a columnist for Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily, Hong Kong Economic Times, and the Sing Tao Daily as well as a presenter of cultural programs for Radio Television Hong Kong.

Technology

10. Wang Zhidong: Founder, sina.com

Often referred to as the "Chinese Software King", Wang Zhidong's software products include "Bdwin", "Chinese Star" and "RichWin". In 1993, he established Stone Rich Sight Info. Tech., and in 1998 he joint ventured with China Resources {Life Information Net} to establish the largest Chinese-language website in the world, Sina.com. In the year 2000, Sina.com spread its wings outside China for the first time and was listed on the American market.

11. Vincent Lau: Outstanding Young IT Person

Vincent Lau, a 1992 graduate of Hong Kong University's computer science department, has worked as a pioneer in developing Chinese software, and was seconded to the Microsoft headquarters in the United States to work on the development of the Chinese Windows software. In 1996, he collaborated with Mark Leung to set up Qcode; in 1999 he successfully developed the "Nine-square" entering system, and in the same year was chosen one of the "Ten Most Outstanding Young IT Persons" of the year.

12. Mark Leung: [Qcode] Developer

Mark Leung was a screenwriter for 20 years, producing many hit Chinese-language TV series, including "Judge Pao". Later he independently conceived the Qcode Chinese-language word processing, and entered the IT arena. In 1996 he co-founded Qcode Information Technology Co. Ltd. with Vincent Lau, and in 1998 Qcode won the Gold Medal for IT innovation in Hong Kong.