Present at the award ceremony were Xu Jialu, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, and Zhao Qizheng, director of the Information Office of the State Council.

"Senior Translators" including Yang Hsien-yi, Lin Wusun, Shen Suru, Xu Chengshi and Jia Dingzhi are from the Xinhua News Agency, China International Publishing Group, China Radio International, the China Association for International Friendly Contacts, and the Bureau for the Compilation and Translation of Works of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin under the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

TAC chairman Jiang Chunfang said the award winners have been dedicated to China's foreign publicity cause in the fields of news services, broadcasting and publishing covering 15 foreign languages. They have introduced China to the world and promoted friendships among countries.

They have also paid much attention to cultivating talented members of the younger generation, and translating Chinese masterpieces like The Red Mansion, Travels of Laocan, and The Selected Works of Luxun, as well as selected works of Chinese leaders.

"Senior Translator" Shen Suru, who is the former vice editor-in-chief of China Today, said China's successful bid for the 2008 Olympic Games and its entry into the World Trade Organization will facilitate its opening-up, which will give rise to many more foreign-oriented and professional translations. He called for translators to advance with the times, saying more critiques of translations and professional training courses should be held.

TCA, established in June 1982, is China's national organization for translators.

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2002)