Greetings from President Kao Tsung-lu We are starting off this new millenium by renewing old friendships and reaffirming our gratitude for your support and encouragement through this newsletter, which we hope to will keep us in touch as we pursue our common aims. The year 1998 was one of celebration for our Chinese Students Memorial Society as we launched a long held hope to found this Society to commemorate the students of the Chinese Educational Commission and through them the achievements and contributions of all Chinese Americans. Through a fortuitous contact with Ben Lee, a great-grandson of Yan-phou Lee, and the fourth generation to graduate Yale University, we were able to participate in an historic three day reunion of descendants of Yung Wing and other students of the CEC who came to Connecticut in 1872. A symposium, held at Yale University from September 21- 23, 1998, was attended by some 40 descendants of Yung Wing and other students of the CEC. They came from as far away as Singapore and Japan to share in this event. In the evening of September 22nd, the CSMS hosted a reception at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford in honor of our guests and friends, followed by a banquet at a local restaurant in honor of the descendants of the CEC. At the request of the Chinese Students Memorial Society, Governor John G. Rowland issued a declaration recognizing September 22, 1998 as "Yung Wing and the Chinese Educational Commission Day." We were able to present each of the descendants present with a quality facsimile of the Governor's declaration. We have now passed the anniversary of our first year in existence. We have been chartered by the State of Connecticut as a non-profit educational organization and we have just received out federal IRS tax-emption status for benefactors. We are grateful for the professional assistance of the law firm of Cole-Chu and Cipparone. of New London, for shepherding us through this process. Our efforts alone would not have achieved these results without the encouragement and generous support of so many of you who have joined in furthering the aims of the CSMS. We hope to use this newsletter to share with you our progress and our hopes, and news about our Society's activities. I remain grateful for your continuing support, Tsung-lu Kao President, CSMS