The Chinese Association for Academic and Professional Society (CAAPS) in the East Coast, which has been established for 50 years, announced on July 13th that it will celebrate its 50th anniversary and hold the 2025 annual conference on August 16th at Sheraton Hotel in Flushing. The theme of the event is “Technological Innovation and Economic Prosperity,” featuring Dr. Chun-Chih Liao, President of Academia Sinica, and the 2022 Tang Prize laureate Jeffrey Sachs as keynote speakers for the theme lecture and opening ceremony, respectively.
CAAPS President, Xinghua Xiao, mentioned that the organization was founded in 1975 and has been a longstanding society within the Chinese community in New York, serving as an important platform for academic exchange among Chinese scholars in the United States. The 50th anniversary marks a significant milestone for the association.
The celebration of the 50th anniversary is highly valued by CAAPS, with the organizing team aiming to “inherit the past and usher in the future” as the guiding principle for the event. The day-long program will include a morning opening ceremony, afternoon specialized lectures, and an evening banquet featuring the theme lecture and entertainment programs. Dr. Chun-Chih Liao will present a lecture on “Future Society” focusing on “The Future of Society in Artificial Intelligence and Big Data,” while Jeffrey Sachs, the 2022 Tang Prize laureate and a professor at Columbia University, will be the guest speaker for the opening ceremony.
The specialized lectures will cover topics such as urban planning and transportation management, humanities and education, finance and economics, technology and innovation, smart and healthy living, and smart cities. Invited speakers include shadow play collector and founder of New York Chinese Opera Workshop, Mr. Guangyu Feng and his wife, Professor Qinghua Song from Weill Cornell Medical College, Dr. Sabrina Hsueh, Director of Artificial Intelligence Empowerment and Innovation at Pfizer, and Chinese-American writer Yuyang Zhang. Entertainment programs will feature performances by young tenor musician Yiting Chen, classic campus folk songs, and chamber music ensemble performances.
This year’s annual conference will introduce new initiatives including the presentation of scholarships for outstanding high school students and the “Future Star Awards.”
During the press conference, the chairman of the association Donglong Zhang, President Xinghua Xiao, Vice Presidents Liren Wang and Yalin Weng, former chairmen Xiangyuan Zheng, Fengbao Lin, Bingcai Zhong, among others, paid a visit to Yiru Wang, the newly appointed Director of the New York Overseas Chinese Education Service Center.
The association’s annual publications have been collected by the Library of Congress since 2012. Past conference speakers and award recipients have included Nobel laureates, National Academy of Sciences members, Academia Sinica fellows, university presidents, and other prestigious individuals.