The China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF) and Cathay Group jointly launched the CSCLF & Cathay Aviation Youth Development Fund at the Former Residence of Madame Soong Ching Ling, Honorary President of the People's Republic of China, in Beijing on May 23. Vice-Chairperson of the CSCLF Shen Beili and Director of Cathay Group's Department for Mainland China Affairs Arnold Cheng attended and addressed at the inaugural ceremony.
Shen said that during the past decades, the CSCLF has firmly inherited and carried forward Madame Soong's lofty ideals and organized many fruitful public welfare projects as well as activities. The launch of the special fund will create a new platform for children and teenagers from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) to enjoy healthy and all-round development and engage in exchanges and mutual learning, promote their extensive communication, comprehensive exchanges and in-depth integration, grasp a deep understanding of national development amid the implementation of charitable projects and activities, develop a deeper love for the country and its people through cultural interaction, and forge a strong sense of community for Chinese nation.
Cheng said that Cathay Group has proactively fulfilled its corporate social responsibility, made consistent investments into youth development and cultural exchange affairs, and remained true to its original aspiration of serving social development. In the years ahead, the company will further strengthen the integration of its resources and strengths in the aviation sector, fully leverage the CSCLF's extensive experience and practices in the development of children and teenagers' affairs, strive for the building of a cross-region and cross-sector exchange platform for youth living in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, and help them become interested in aviation, enhance cultural competence and bolster national identity.
At the ceremony, Li Anjin, Deputy Secretary-General of the CSCLF, and Sun Yueyi, General-Manager of Cathay Group's Department for Mainland China Affairs, signed a donation deal on behalf of the two sides. Children from Haidian District Children and Teenagers' Service Center and Shichahai Primary School gave a show on the sidelines of the donation ceremony.
The special fund was the first public welfare fund co-hosted by the CSCLF and Cathay Group in the Chinese mainland to help children and teenagers learn more about the country's achievements in technological development and innovation, stimulate their innovation dream, provide them with diverse growth channels, and reinforce exchanges and common development among youth from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.
Those in attendance of the ceremony also included Zhang Youcai, Deputy Director of Beijing Sub-Liaison Office of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong SAR, Liu Ying and Zhan Deming, deputy directors of the CSCLF Fund Department, Zhao Jun, Deputy Director of the China Soong Ching Ling Science & Technology Center for Young People, Lian Meijiao, Director of the Department for Cultural Affairs of the Hong Kong SAR Government's Beijing Office, Huang Wenjie, Manager of Cathay Group's Department for Corporate Affairs, and representatives of China's Civil Aviation Administration's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs Department.
