Chinese version pending for translation - Over 80 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) alumni, friends and their families gathered for an annual gala to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The event took place in a Chatham Square restaurant in Manhattan's Chinatown on Friday, March 18, 2011.

Alumni and friends welcomed Professor Jack Cheng, Post-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, who made a brief stop in New York to thank the alumni for their ongoing support of the university. Professor Cheng also shared an update on the university's latest developments, such as campus expansion, growth in the number of colleges and students, collaboration with other distinguished universities, academic honor bestowed, etc.

Elizabeth Kay, Founder of the Cross-Cultural Internship Program (CCIP) and President of FUSIA Communications, attended the event as a special guest. She gave a warm welcome to alumni and families and a brief introduction on CCIP.

"Although I am not a alumna of CUHK, I am proud to be here on this momentous occasion. I am equally proud to host CUHK students and give them the opportunity to obtain cultural and practical experiences in New York City, " said Kay.

Kay continued, "The association is a group of successful professionals with a plethora of life experiences who have come together purely out of goodwill. The members are dedicated to friendships, camaraderie, and giving back to society. They have been through a lot and have fought for their piece of the American dream just like other immigrants. I am really looking forward to their meeting with the CCIP interns to share their experiences this summer."

At the event, Raymond Yeung, an executive committee member of the association, and one of its core members announced the official launch of "CUHK Alumni in the East Coast of USA (中大人在美東)," a alumni publication containing 70 success stories written by the university's alumni (and current students) living on the US East Coast.

"With the combined effort and dedication from all of us over a period of more than one and half years," Yeung said, "our second alumni publication is finally coming to a successful completion! There is no better way to celebrate our achievement than with our special guests tonight!"

Yeung added, "Underneath this jubilant moment, we are fully aware that this is only the beginning of what we have set out to achieve. Our ultimate goal is to share our experience and to sell as many copies as possible so that more revenue will be generated to fund the "Little Bamboo" operations. Knowing more under-privileged children living in poor and remote villages in Mainland China benefited by our effort and having the opportunity to go to school and learn will be very gratifying to all of us! "

For more information about the association, please contact Raymond Yeung at 201-788-2145 or email him at choyeung@yahoo.com. Click to obtain for a brief introduction of the association.