The 1978 National Reconstruction Seminar

The 1978 National Reconstruction Seminar opened July 30 in Taipei, with a total of 139 scholars from overseas and within the Republic of China participating. To conclude the seminar, a garden party was held Aug. 15 at the Taipei Guest House, to which more than 300 Chinese scholars, most of them from abroad, were invited. They were welcomed with members of their families by high-ranking government officials, including President Chiang Ching-kuo and Premier Sun Yun-suan. In an address, President Chiang said that the nation's ultimate goal is to recover the mainland, restore freedom to all the people there, reunite the Republic of China, and establish a country based on Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People. By contributing their wisdom and knowledge to the national cause, the scholars have demonstrated a deep love for the motherland, the President said. He added that the seminar has rendered valuable help to speeding up the nation's reconstruction work, and will propel the country into a new stage of development in science and technology. "We will always stand together because we have a common goal, cherish common hopes and share a common fate," President Chiang concluded. Chen Ho-mei, thanking the government on behalf of the scholars, said that the Republic of China is a base of anti-Communism. All the scholars will follow the lead of the President, and be proud of doing so, he said. A closing brief prepared by all the scholars on the conclusions reached at the conference, was presented to Premier Sun before the party. In addition, each of nine groups formed by the seminar gave a five-minute oral report to the Premier. The nine groups are: Education and culture, science, engineering, commerce, transportation, finance, rural construction, urban construction and drugs and health. The nine groups spent much of their time in the Republic of China visiting the national construction projects. They also heard reports on national affairs from the government and held open discussions on their findings. Premier Sun said that more than 700 overseas Chinese experts have given many valuable suggestions to the government during the past seven years the seminar has been held.