THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

19 November 2001

Dear Mr. Cha,

I should like to thank you for your kind invitation for Nane and me to join you at the forthcoming International Conference on New Economy, Living Environment and Chinese Culture, to be held in from 19 to 22 May, 2002. We were also touched that you have invited us to spend part of our holiday in , and I was, in addition, highly honoured to learn of the willingness of University to award me a degree, honoris causa.

While Nane and I would have welcomed the opportunity to visit the beautiful West Lake region of China, especially at the more relaxed pace of vacationers, I am sure you will understand that at the present juncture, my schedule will not permit me to attend the International Conference on New Economy, Living Environment and Chinese Culture. I hope that at some point in the future we will be in a better position to take you up on your very kind offer of hospitality.

Allow me, in closing, to extend to you and the other organizers my best wishes for a highly successful conference. I look forward to hearing about the outcomes of the important discussions that will be held at that time.

oUJJLiii Mr. Cha Chi Ming CCM () Office NOV 2 6 2001 Hong Kong LEQSG/QLNTRAL .J

8th November 2001

Private and Personal

H. E. Kofi Annan Secretary General United Nations 3 Sutton Place New York, N. Y. 10021 U. S. A.

Dear Kofi,

It has been quite some time since we met in Hong Kong during one of your visits, and I trust everything is well with you.

I am writing, as Honorary Chairman, to extend an invitation to you to participate as our most honoured guest and speakeTTn~trl"e'"comlng International Conference on New Economy, Living Environment and Chinese Culture. Your wife is also cordially invited to attend the conference. The conference is sponsored by , which is the biggest and second in academic ranking in China. The time of the conference is from May 19'h to 22nd, 2002, and will be held in Hangzhou, China. I am attaching herewith a brief description of the conference for your kind information.

Knowing how busy you must be, I am not sure if the dates of the conference would be convenient to you. Therefore, I would quite understand if you could not fit these dates in your heavy schedules.

Nevertheless, Zhejiang University and myself personally hope that you would be able to visit and share you vast knowledge and experiences with us even if you could not attend the conference. Thus, I would like to invite you and your wife to spend part of your holidays in China, especially Hangzhou, at a time that is convenient to you. We could organise a forum with you as our speaker at the time. The university would like to award an honorary degree of the highest order to you.

3708 £ 3708 Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong, -f-f£Tel: (852) 2522 6141 $.£. Fax: (852) 2411 6908 sxr. CCM(HongKong) Office

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I am sure you know that Hangzhou and the region is famous for its beautiful scenery. The West Lake is well known as a must-visit by the tourists all over the world. However, the region is not only known for its major tourist attractions. It is also the fastest growing economic region in China. I am sure you would find the holiday enjoyable.

If you could extend a few more days of your holiday in China, I could also organise a trip to Xian to visit the terracotta relics, or any other place of Chinese ancient culture that may be of interest to you and your wife.

I look forward to your early favourable reply so that plan could be made in time.

May I wish you and your family all the best.

With kind regards to you and Mrs Annan,

Yours sincerely

Cha Chi Ming

Attachment: 1

1 &•!£#» *Jt. 3708 t 3708 Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong, l: (852) 2522 6141 $.£.Fax: (852) 2411 6908 International Conference on New Economy, Living Environment and Chinese Culture HELECC The Symposium on the New Economy, Living Environment and Chinese Culture When man is striding into the 21th Century a totally new economic phenomenon is coming quietly with the high and new technology developing rapidly and market of globalization accelerating to form. The profound impact of this new economic phenomenon on the global economy, politics and culture is displaying for the first time, and hence calling for the general attention from the countries all over the world. What features does this economic tendency have got and where will it go? What kinds of charges will man's living environment take on and how does the traditional Chinese culture realize its creative transformation and play its active role under the new economic conditions? How do people make use of new economic development to set a better future? How does the new economy help the Chinese culture develop in the direction of advanced culture? All these issues need pondering and exploring. People are the starting point for all man's social activities and the terminal point of them as well, All man's activities including economy, science and technology are accomplished by people and their terminal goal is also to improve man's living environment and raise the living standards, or they will be meaningless. The occurrence of the new economic phenomenon not only reveals the bright future for the further improvement in man's living environment and life quality, but also brings about a series of new issues such as the challenge of man's gene technology to the environment of resources, shock of IT to the method of man's communication, conflict between economic globalization and cultural diversification, etc. Chinese culture, which has profound knowledge and scholarship and goes back to ancient times, possesses the tradition of distinct humanism. Under the new economic conditions, it should both self- renew in order to meet the needs of the epochal development and possibly contribute to restrict and lead man's social life onto the active and healthy track. Take all the above mentioned into consideration, Zhejiang University would sincerely extend an invitation to these experts and professors famous at home and abroad for the symposium on living environment and Chinese culture, aiming at seeking for the common issues and exchanging the views on them, which we are interested in, in hope that we will properly recognize the new economic phenomenon, find out solutions, promote the economic development and social progress so as to contribute to the realization of our nation's rapid development in the new century, Arrangements relating to the conference are as follows: I „ Main Topics (3). Analysis on the New Economic Phenomenon; (D. Studies on Man's Living Environment and Situation under the New Economic Conditions; 0). Studies on the Relationship between Economic Integration and Cultural Diversification; @. Studies on the Features and Functions of the living Environment and Chinese Culture under the New Economic Conditions; ©. Proposals for China's Economic and Cultural Development II , Honorary Chairman Junsheng, Professor and Expert of Engineering Optics, Zhejiang University ** Zhajiming, Honorary President, School of Economics, Zhejiang University, Famous Entrepreneur, Hong Kong Ul, Chair Pan Yunhe, President of Zhejiang University, Academician, Institute of China's Engineering Expert of Computer Technology Liangyong, President, School of Humanities, Zhejiang University, Famous Writer IV . Participants 100 experts and professors at home and abroad will be Invited. V . Date of the Conference From May 19th to 22th, 2002 (check in on May 19th and check out on 22th). VI, Meeting Place JinXi Villa (near the West Lake), Hangzhou, P. R. China VD, Sponsor Zhejiang University

** Zhajiming is the Chinese Putonghua pronunciation of Cha Chi Ming.