Expats hailed for work in Shanghai
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, September 15, 2016
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| Linda Tsao Yang [Shanghai Daily] |
The Shanghai People's Congress yesterday gave their approval to confer honorary citizenship on two expatriates for their contribution to the city.
The two are American Linda Tsao Yang, who is the honorary chairman of Asian Corporate Governance Association, and Malaysian Fatt Heng Wong, general manager of Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Ltd.
The city government had proposed their names for the city’s top award for foreigners.
Yang, 90, who was born in Shanghai, is being honored for her role in promoting understanding, trust and cooperation between China and America. She was the US Ambassador and Executive Director of the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank from 1993 to 1999.
During her tenure, Yang helped raise US$300 million in loans for the environment treatment program of Suzhou Creek.
The program was carried out successfully and the water quality in the creek had improved by the end of 2000, the government said in its recommendation.
The Asian Development Bank also brought international technology and standards in water quality management and treatment, it added.
Yang makes trips to Shanghai almost every year and follows up on the creek treatment program even after the end of her tenure.
She introduced 11 new policies in ADB to help Asian countries benefit from globalization.
The Committee of 100, which was co-founded by her, promoted Sino-American exchanges by organizing seminars relevant to both countries. It also honored people who made great contribution to Sino-American relationship and American society.
Wong, 60, is credited for bringing latest technologies into China that benefited the medical community, cultivated talents in the field of bioscience and promoted the development of clinical laboratory in Shanghai and other parts of China.
After he was appointed general manager of the company in 2006, Roche Diagnostics (Shanghai) Ltd became the company’s second largest subsidiary in terms of business volume. It paid nearly 800 million yuan in taxes — listed 20th in the top 100 service-sector tax payers in the Pudong New Area.
Under his term, Roche invested 860 million yuan to build an innovation center in the city in 2014 and set up an Asia-Pacific training center here. He was also responsible for bringing in related technologies to deal with H7N9 and Ebola virus.
Wong won the Magnolia Silver Award in 2011 and Magnolia Gold Award in 2013. He got the permanent residence permit in 2014. Yang and Wong will be awarded certificates later this month.
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