Leadership program unites undergrads with their heritage

Leadership program unites undergrads with their heritage

BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News staff

China’s Hong Kong and Shanghai exemplify the cultural and business rivalry between a city that was a British imperial possession and a city that was a treaty port. Two Rice students got to experience those differences firsthand as participants in the “Dragon 100” Young Chinese Leaders Forum 2005.

Courtesy photo

From left, Sid Richardson College junior Ting Wang and Baker College senior Jo Kent were among the 100 people from around the world chosen by the Dragon Foundation to participate in this year’s “Dragon 100” forum. The Dragon Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization in Hong Kong whose mission is to nurture young people of Chinese origin worldwide to become leaders of tomorrow.

Baker College senior Jo Kent and Sid Richardson College junior Ting Wang were among the 100 people from around the world chosen by the Dragon Foundation to participate in this year’s forum. The Dragon Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization in Hong Kong whose mission is to nurture young people of Chinese origin worldwide to become leaders of tomorrow.

Kent and Wang spent nine days last August in China — half in Hong Kong and half in Shanghai. Through lectures, tours, meetings and some sight-seeing on their own, they learned about the challenges and opportunities of doing business in China in the 21st century.

Their itinerary included stops at Hong Kong Cyberport, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, CK Life Sciences International (Holdings) Inc., Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Hong Kong International Terminals, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the High Court of Hong Kong, Baoshan Iron and Steel Corporation, Zhanjiang Hi Tech Park and other prominent places and historical sites. They met with government and business leaders and stayed in hotels in Shanghai and university residence halls in Hong Kong, where they visited with Chinese students to get first-person accounts of what daily life is like there.

“It was an experience unlike anything else I’ve had before,” Kent said. “This was a chance for Chinese people to come together and understand their different backgrounds and China better. We saw the great variety of commerce and trade in China. And it was really interesting to go from Hong Kong, where we spoke mostly English, to mainland China, where I could communicate in Mandarin. We did a whirlwind tour every day meeting business and civic leaders, and every waking hour was worth it.”

Wang said, noting that he spoke to many real-estate brokers and other business leaders. “It was exciting to see the aspects of full-fledged capitalism in a transitional China. The real-estate moguls take very big risks there in part because they view things in the long-run perspective.”

On his first visit to Hong Kong, Wang was deeply impressed by the professionalism of its people. “They’re obviously very bright, and they’re located throughout a range of high positions and different professions,” he said. “When we met Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, his scope of knowledge on regional and global financial market interactions blew me away. I felt like I was talking to the Alan Greenspan of the East.”

Sitting in on two criminal trials and speaking to the chief judge in the Hong Kong High Court made Kent and Wang aware that Hong Kong has an established tradition of the rule of law, whereas the booming Shanghai tends to be more government-regulated.

Throughout the conference, Kent thought about how the U.S. is different from Hong Kong and Shanghai and how the two cities, although both in China, are different from each other. Hong Kong has become more of an international trade center, while Shanghai remains more traditionally Chinese. She expects that over time the two cities will morph and become more like each other. “China is really changing fast,” she said.

Kent, who is majoring in history, Asian studies and policy studies, and Wang, who is majoring in economics, Asian studies, political science and managerial studies, both said the Dragon 100 forum provided useful lessons in meeting people. “We cultivated the beginnings of some very important and meaningful friendships that will also help us into the future,” said Kent, who plans to stay in touch with her fellow “Dragons.”

Steven Lewis, director of the Asian Studies Program at Rice and a research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, where Kent and Wang are members of the Baker Institute Student Forum, nominated them for the Dragon 100. Lewis said he was impressed that two Rice students were selected for the very competitive program.

“Jo and Ting are smart, motivated and very nice, and they’re both interested in Asian studies, public service and some type of leadership role, so I knew they could benefit from this travel to the Far East,” he said. “Only about a dozen undergraduates from North America were chosen this year, and the competition included students from Princeton, Harvard and Stanford.”

Any of Kent’s and Wang’s travel expenses that were not covered by the Dragon Foundation were paid for by the Gee Family Association’s fund for Asian studies at Rice. The fund is supported by several Rice alumni: Harry Gee ’60, Andrew Gee ’97, Claudia Gee Vassar ’99 and Sonja Gee ’01.

“As the global business world becomes flatter and flatter, I believe it is imperative that Rice graduates have the opportunity to participate in various international symposiums, and I was pleased to see that two Rice students were chosen to participate with the prestigious Dragon Foundation program,” said

Harry Gee, a prominent member of Houston’s Chinese community and one of Rice’s earliest Chinese alumni. “I am confident that their participation will not only enhance their education but will continue to raise Rice’s profile on the international scene.”

Rice students of Chinese origin who are interested in applying for the Dragon 100 next year can contact Lewis at <swlewis@rice.edu> for details.